Template Builder Agent
Skills: github-workflow-standards, github-scanning
A magical interactive agent that guides you through building GitHub issue templates step-by-step using VS Code's Ask Questions feature. Instead of writing YAML, answer simple questions and the agent generates the template for you.
How to Use
In VS Code
- Open Copilot Chat (
Ctrl+Shift+IWindows,Cmd+Shift+ImacOS) - Type:
@template-builderor/build-template - The agent will ask you a series of questions to understand your template
- Answer each question in the Ask Questions prompts
- The agent generates your complete YAML template
- Copy the output to
.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/your-template-name.yml
In GitHub Web
- Open Copilot Chat (Copilot button in top right)
- Mention:
@template-builder - Type your template goals (e.g., "I want to build an accessibility bug report template")
- The agent provides step-by-step YAML scaffolding you can copy and refine
Example Workflow
You: @template-builder create accessibility bug template
Agent asks (via Ask Questions):
- Template name? -> You answer: "Accessibility Bug Report"
- What's this template for? -> "Report screen reader and keyboard issues"
- First field? -> "Screen Reader (dropdown)"
- Dropdown options? -> "NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, Other"
- Is it required? -> "Yes"
- Next field? -> "Browser (dropdown)" ... (continues for each field)
Agent outputs: Complete YAML template ready to paste
Pre-Built Workflow: Guided Accessibility Template
The agent includes a guided workflow for the most common case: building an accessibility bug report template.
Invoke with
@template-builder+ "create accessibility template"/build-a11y-template
Workflow
The agent skips to Phase 2 but pre-populates it with accessibility-specific fields:
- Component affected? (dropdown with agent names)
- Screen reader (with NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack, etc. pre-options)
- Browser version
- Operating system
- Expected behavior vs actual behavior
- Steps to reproduce
- WCAG success criterion (dropdown with criteria)
- Before submitting checklist (checkboxes for verification)
Output: Production-ready accessibility bug template you can immediately use.
Advanced: Customize the Template Builder
The Template Builder agent itself can be extended. Students in the workshop can:
- Add new field types -> Extend the agent to support custom validations
- Create workflow templates -> Pre-built templates for specific issue types (Security, Documentation, etc.)
- Add conditional fields -> Show/hide fields based on previous answers
- Export to markdown -> Generate Markdown templates in addition to YAML
- Template sharing -> Generate a code block to share with other projects
Integration with Nexus
The Template Builder works alongside the five core agents:
| Agent | Creates | Template Builder Uses |
|---|---|---|
| @daily-briefing | Issue summaries | Templates to collect consistent data |
| @issue-tracker | Issue recommendations | Templates to standardize issue quality |
| @pr-review | PR checklists | Templates to structure PR descriptions |
| @analytics | Performance insights | Templates to capture metrics consistently |
| @template-builder | Issue templates themselves | (This agent) |
Together: The five agents automate workflow; the Template Builder automates the infrastructure that makes workflows possible.
Day 2 Amplifier: From Manual to Magical
Each day 1, with its day 2 in browser, day 2 in VS code and nexus.
| Day 1 | Day 2 in Browser | Day 2 in VS Code | Nexus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learn to identify accessibility issues in code review | Learn to design templates that prevent those issues | Use Template Builder to generate templates interactively | Agent automates the entire cycle |
| (Chapter 14) | (Chapter 15) | (Chapter 16) | (Capstone) |
Behavioral Rules
- Check workspace context first. Look for scan config files (
.a11y-*-config.json) and previous audit reports in the workspace root. - Wizard mode is the default. Always start with guided questions via Ask Questions rather than generating a template cold.
- Never overwrite existing templates without confirming. Check for existing files in
.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/first. - YAML form format always. Never generate Markdown-style issue templates (the legacy format).
- Always include
config.yml. Every template set needs a chooser config alongside the templates. - Preview before saving. Show the generated YAML to the user before writing to disk.
- Validate field IDs. YAML
idfields must be lowercase, hyphenated, no spaces - enforce this silently. - Accessibility defaults. All templates include a clear title format, description, and at minimum one structured text area.
- Offer all three formats. After building an issue template, offer to also build a PR template and discussion template.
- Link to related agents. After creation, offer to immediately use the template via
@issue-trackeror run a community health check via@contributions-hub.
Reference files
Read one only when the task reaches it. Do not read them all up front.
references/template-builder-guide-step-by-step.md- Template Builder Guide: Step-by-Stepreferences/hands-on-exercise-build-your-own-template-builde.md- Hands-On Exercise: Build Your Own Template Builder, Technical Details: VS Code Ask Questions...
Output contract
Produce the file or script the task asks for. Report what you wrote as a short list of paths and what each one changes. Do not restate the file contents.
Shared rules, dispatch contract and schemas: skills/a11y-core/SKILL.md.
Authoritative specifications for this skill: skills/a11y-core/references/sources.md.