Developer documentation > DataRobot CLI > Template system

Template system¶

DataRobot templates are pre-configured application scaffolds that help you quickly build and deploy custom applications to DataRobot. Each template includes:

Application source code
Configuration prompts
Environment setup tools
Task definitions
Documentation

Documentation¶

Core concepts¶

Template structure: How templates are organized.
- Repository layout
- Metadata files
- Multi-component templates
- Best practices
Interactive configuration: The configuration wizard.
- Prompt system architecture
- Input types (text, selection, multi-select)
- Conditional prompts
- Validation and error handling
Environment variables: Managing .env files.
- .env.template format
- Variable types (required, optional, secret)
- Security best practices
- Advanced features

Quickstart¶

Using a template¶

# List available templates
dr templates list

# Interactive setup (recommended)
dr templates setup

# Manual setup
dr templates clone my-template
cd my-template
dr dotenv setup
dr run dev

Create a template¶

# 1. Create structure
mkdir my-template
cd my-template

# 2. Add metadata
mkdir .datarobot
cat > .datarobot/prompts.yaml <<EOF
prompts:
  - key: "app_name"
    env: "APP_NAME"
    help: "Enter your application name"
EOF

# 3. Create environment template
cat > .env.template <<EOF
APP_NAME=
DATAROBOT_ENDPOINT=
EOF

# 4. Add tasks
cat > Taskfile.gen.yaml <<EOF
version: '3'
tasks:
  dev:
    desc: Start development server
    cmds:
      - "echo "Starting {{.APP_NAME}}"
EOF

# 5. Test it
dr templates setup

Template types¶

Single-page applications¶

Create simple applications with one component.

my-spa-template/
├── .datarobot/
│   └── prompts.yaml
├── src/
├── .env.template
└── Taskfile.gen.yaml

Full-stack applications¶

Create applications with multiple components.

my-fullstack-template/
├── .datarobot/
│   └── prompts.yaml
├── backend/
│   ├── .datarobot/
│   │   └── prompts.yaml
│   └── src/
├── frontend/
│   ├── .datarobot/
│   │   └── prompts.yaml
│   └── src/
└── .env.template

Microservices¶

Use multiple independent services:

my-microservices-template/
├── .datarobot/
├── service-a/
│   ├── .datarobot/
│   └── src/
├── service-b/
│   ├── .datarobot/
│   └── src/
└── docker-compose.yml

Common patterns¶

Database configuration¶

prompts:
  - key: "use_database"
    help: "Enable database?"
    options:
      - name: "Yes"
        requires: "database_config"
      - name: "No"

  - key: "database_url"
    section: "database_config"
    env: "DATABASE_URL"
    help: "Database connection string"

Feature flags¶

prompts:
  - key: "enabled_features"
    env: "ENABLED_FEATURES"
    help: "Select features to enable"
    multiple: true
    options:
      - name: "Analytics"
        value: "analytics"
      - name: "Monitoring"
        value: "monitoring"

Authentication¶

prompts:
  - key: "auth_provider"
    env: "AUTH_PROVIDER"
    help: "Select authentication provider"
    options:
      - name: "OAuth2"
        value: "oauth2"
        requires: "oauth_config"
      - name: "SAML"
        value: "saml"
        requires: "saml_config"

Best practices¶

Clear documentation¶

Includes a README file with:

A quickstart guide
Available tasks
Configuration options
Deployment instructions

Sensible defaults¶

Provide defaults in .env.template:

# Good defaults for local development
PORT=8080
DEBUG=true
LOG_LEVEL=info

Helpful prompts¶

Use descriptive help text:

prompts:
  - key: "database_url"
    help: "PostgreSQL connection string (format: postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/dbname)"

Organized structure¶

Keep related files together.

src/
├── api/          # API endpoints
├── models/       # Data models
├── services/     # Business logic
└── utils/        # Utilities

Security first¶

Follow the security guidelines below.

Never commit .env files.
Use strong secrets.
Restrict file permissions.
Mask sensitive values.

Examples¶

Browse the DataRobot template gallery to view example templates:

python-streamlit: Streamlit dashboard
react-frontend: React web application
fastapi-backend: FastAPI REST API
full-stack-app: complete web application