tp: Orchestrate from Boilerplates

template (alias: tp) is a lightweight cmdline helper to materialize boilerplate files from a personal template tree stored under ~/.template/<ext>/<name>.
Without flags it prints the template to stdout; with -w it writes ./<name>.<ext> safely (refuses to overwrite).

Features

• Flat, human-readable directory layout grouped by extension.
• Zsh completion, enumerates available <ext>/<name> pairs.
• Minimal, dependency-free (pure shell).

Directory Layout

Place templates like:

~/.template/
├── py
│   ├── minjson
│   ├── printdf
│   └── reformat
├── sbatch
│   ├── job
│   └── matrix
└── yaml
    └── pre-commit-config

Calling tp py/script prints ~/.template/py/script.
tp -w py/script creates ./script.py.

Installation

1. In .zshrc:

   source /home/meng_wang/.template/template.zsh

2. Reload shell.

The function defines both template and the alias tp.

Usage

tp [-w|--write] <ext>/<name>
tp -h

Arguments:

• <ext>/<name> Required spec pointing to ~/.template/<ext>/<name> Options:
• -w Write to ./<name>.<ext>
• -h Help

Examples

Preview:

tp py/script

Write (fails if ./script.py exists):

tp -w py/script

Generate a Markdown scaffold:

tp -w md/doc

Pipe through a processor:

tp sh/init | sed 's/PROJECT/foo/'

Completion

Press after starting tp to see available specs.
Completion lists every file under ~/.template/*/*.

Exit Codes

0 success 1 usage / template missing / destination exists (other) copy error

Tips

• Make executable templates (e.g., chmod +x ~/.template/sh/init) if you often copy scripts.
• Keep templates free of extensions in their stored form; the utility appends .<ext> only on write.
• Use version control on ~/.template to sync across machines.

Updating Templates

Edit the source under ~/.template; no cache is kept.

Uninstall

Remove or comment out the source line and delete .template if desired.