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name: template-smart-defaults description: > Applies cross-parameter default rules when creating .NET projects with dotnet new, filling gaps consistently without overriding values the user set explicitly. USE FOR: choosing which target framework to pair with native AOT, deciding whether to keep HTTPS when authentication is enabled, recognizing that controllers and minimal-API flags are mutually exclusive, filling unset related parameters during project creation, explaining why a default was applied and ensuring an explicit user value is never overridden. DO NOT USE FOR: creating the project itself (use template-instantiation), finding or comparing templates (use template-discovery and template-comparison), authoring or validating custom templates (use template-authoring and template-validation). license: MIT

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

| Input | Required | Description | |-------|----------|-------------| | Template short name | Yes | The template the project will be created from (e.g., webapi) | | Parameters already chosen | Yes | The parameter values the user has explicitly set | | Available choices | Recommended | Parameter names/choices from dotnet new <template> --help |

Workflow

1. Gather the parameters the user has explicitly set.
2. Apply each rule below only where the corresponding parameter is unset — never override a value the user set explicitly.
3. Confirm the chosen parameter names and choices against dotnet new <template> --help whenever the user asks for an exact command. This inspection does not create files and is worthwhile even for advice-only requests. Skip it only for a conceptual explanation that does not claim exact option names.
4. Emit the two required outputs (see below) — this is what makes the skill decisive rather than inert.

For advice-only prompts that say "don't create files", make the displayed command safe to run by appending --dry-run. If a scenario needs a named example and the user omitted the name, choose a short descriptive sample name and mark it Source = rule. Do not add a name when the user asked for a command containing only explicitly requested choices or when the template can demonstrate those choices safely without one.

Required output

Always produce both, in this order:

A. A "Defaults applied" log — one row per parameter, covering both the explicit values you preserved (Source = user) and the gaps you filled by rule (Source = rule), so the user can see and override every choice:

| Parameter | Value | Source | Why | |-----------|-------|--------|-----| | --framework | net10.0 | rule | Native AOT (from --aot) needs the latest AOT-capable TFM | | --auth | Individual | user | Explicitly requested — left unchanged | | --name | AotWorker | rule | Added a descriptive sample name for this named example |

Use Source = user for explicit values (never overridden) and Source = rule for gap-fills.

B. The exact single dotnet new command line you would run — include only the flags you are actually passing. Do not list flags you decided not to pass (e.g. don't mention --no-https when you are keeping HTTPS; don't mention a minimal-API flag when using controllers). Silence on an omitted flag is the correct, decisive signal.

Always emit a flag the user explicitly requested when the observed template help exposes it, even when its value matches the template default; this keeps intent visible and reproducible (for example, --auth None). Omit only inferred defaults that you are not actually passing. Boolean switches such as --no-https are passed without true.

AOT at create time vs publish time. --aot is a dotnet new flag only on the templates that expose it — always confirm with dotnet new <template> --help rather than assuming a given template does or doesn't offer it. 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

| Rule | Default applied | Rationale | |------|-----------------|-----------| | --aot is set (on any template whose --help exposes it) and --framework is unset | Set --framework to the latest AOT-compatible framework the template offers | Native AOT requires a recent, AOT-capable target framework; using the latest avoids build failures. (A framework already pinned by the workspace or global.json counts as set — keep it unless it's incompatible with AOT.) | | --auth is anything other than None | Do NOT pass --no-https | Authentication flows (cookies, tokens, redirects) require HTTPS; disabling it breaks auth. | | --use-controllers is set | Do NOT also pass a minimal-API flag | Controllers and minimal APIs are mutually exclusive program models; passing both is contradictory. | | User set a value explicitly | Leave it unchanged | Smart defaults only fill gaps; explicit user intent always wins. | | Advice-only command must not create files | Add --dry-run | The command itself must honor the no-write constraint, not only the agent's behavior. |

When controllers are explicitly requested, the command must contain the controller option shown by --help; explaining controllers without passing the option is incomplete.

Validation

• [ ] A "Defaults applied" log was produced with a Source (user/rule) and rationale per row
• [ ] The exact single dotnet new command line was emitted, listing only flags actually passed
• [ ] No parameter the user set explicitly was overridden
• [ ] Only unset parameters were filled
• [ ] Exact parameter names/choices were confirmed against dotnet new <template> --help, including for advice-only exact commands
• [ ] A no-file advice command includes --dry-run
• [ ] Boolean switches are emitted without a trailing true

Common Pitfalls

| Pitfall | Solution | |---------|----------| | Treating heuristics as enforcement | These are guidance rules, not validation. Always confirm against dotnet new <template> --help choices, since parameter names vary by template. | | Overriding an explicit user value | Apply a rule only when the target parameter is unset. | | Assuming a flag name | The exact flag differs per template — always verify with --help (e.g. --aot is present only where --help lists it; controllers use --use-controllers). | | Picking a framework the template doesn't support | Use the latest framework that appears in the template's --framework choices, not an arbitrary newest version. | | Showing a plain creation command after "don't create files" | Append --dry-run so the displayed command is safe to execute. |

More Info

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