Remote Templates

Boilerplate supports fetching templates from remote sources using HashiCorp go-getter URLs. This lets you share templates across teams and organizations.

Git URLs

SSH

boilerplate \
  --template-url "git@github.com:myorg/templates.git//go-service?ref=v1.0.0" \
  --output-folder ./output

HTTPS

boilerplate \
  --template-url "github.com/myorg/templates//go-service?ref=main" \
  --output-folder ./output

URL Format

<source>//<subdirectory>?ref=<branch-or-tag>

Part	Description
source	Git repository URL (SSH or HTTPS)
//	Separator between repo URL and subdirectory
subdirectory	Path within the repository to the template
?ref=	Git ref (branch, tag, or commit SHA)

Examples

# Specific tag
git@github.com:myorg/templates.git//microservice?ref=v2.1.0

# Branch
git@github.com:myorg/templates.git//microservice?ref=main

# Commit SHA
git@github.com:myorg/templates.git//microservice?ref=abc123

# Root of repository
git@github.com:myorg/single-template.git

Tip

Always pin to a specific tag or commit SHA in production pipelines to ensure reproducible builds.

Supported Sources

Go-getter supports many sources beyond Git:

• Git — git::https://... or git@...
• HTTP/HTTPS — Direct file downloads
• S3 — s3::https://s3.amazonaws.com/bucket/path
• GCS — gcs::https://www.googleapis.com/storage/v1/bucket/path
• Local files — Absolute or relative paths

Dependencies with Remote URLs

Dependencies can also reference remote templates:

dependencies:
  - name: shared-lib
    template-url: "git@github.com:myorg/templates.git//shared-lib?ref=v1.0.0"
    output-folder: ./lib