Template Smart Defaults

This skill helps an agent fill in cross-parameter defaults when creating a dotnet new project. The rules below are guidance heuristics that keep related parameters consistent — they only fill gaps and never override a value the user set explicitly.

When to Use

• The user asks to create a project but leaves related parameters unspecified
• A parameter the user chose implies a sensible value for another parameter
• You need to explain why a particular default was selected

When Not to Use

• User wants to actually create the project — route to template-instantiation
• User wants to find or compare templates — route to template-discovery or template-comparison
• User wants to author or validate a custom template — route to template-authoring or template-validation

Inputs

Workflow

1. Gather the parameters the user has explicitly set.
2. Apply each rule below only where the corresponding parameter is unset — never override an explicit user value.
3. Log every applied default with a short rationale so the user can see and override it.
4. Confirm the chosen parameter names and choices against dotnet new <template> --help before creating.

AOT at create time vs publish time. --aot is a dotnet new flag only on the templates that expose it (e.g. console, worker, grpc); it is not on webapi/webapp. There is no --publish-aot template flag — publish-time native AOT is enabled with the MSBuild property PublishAot=true (via dotnet publish or in the .csproj), not through dotnet new. Apply the framework rule only when the template actually offers --aot.

Rules

Validation

• Each applied default was logged and explained to the user
• No parameter the user set explicitly was overridden
• Only unset parameters were filled
• The resulting parameter names/choices were confirmed against dotnet new <template> --help

Common Pitfalls

More Info

• dotnet new — CLI reference
• Native AOT deployment — AOT framework requirements