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Templates overview

A template is a complete, reusable snapshot of an agent. Instead of configuring a new agent from scratch, you start from a template and get a working agent in one step.

What’s in a template

Section titled “What’s in a template”

A template captures everything that makes an agent that agent:

  • Persona files — the markdown files that define the agent’s identity, tone, boundaries, and how it works. These are what give a template its character. See Persona files.
  • Integrations — the set of connected tools and channels the agent is set up to use. A template records which integrations belong to the agent, not your private credentials — you reconnect those when you install.
  • Workspace files — starter files that seed the new agent’s workspace, so it begins with the right structure and starting context.
  • Configuration — sensible defaults such as the recommended runtime and a suggested category, so the agent is ready to run.

Put together, a template is a self-contained recipe: install it and you get an agent that already knows who it is and how it’s meant to work.

Why start from a template

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  • Skip the blank page. A template gives a new agent a real identity and a first-conversation plan instead of an empty prompt.
  • Consistency across a team. Spin up several agents that share the same standards, tone, and conventions.
  • Reuse what works. Once you’ve shaped an agent you like, capture it as a template and reuse it — or share it — instead of rebuilding it.
  • Start from the community. Browse the marketplace and install a ready-made agent that someone else has already refined.

Snapshots are self-contained

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A template is an immutable snapshot. When you capture or install a template, its files are copied — a template isn’t a live link back to the agent it came from. That means a template you install today produces the same agent later, even if the original agent has since changed. Templates are also versioned: each time the underlying files change, a new version is recorded, and older versions stay available.

Where templates live

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  • Your own templates — the ones you’ve created or captured — are private to your organization by default.
  • The marketplace is where public templates are shared and discovered. It includes a set of built-in team templates that ship with Alfe, plus templates published by the community. You can search it, filter by category, and sort by what’s popular or new.

Two ways to use a template

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Alfe keeps two actions deliberately separate:

  • Install — create a brand-new agent from a template. This is the common path. See Using a template.
  • Fork — make your own editable copy of a template so you can change it and (optionally) republish it. See Publishing & forking.

Installing gives you a running agent; forking gives you a template you own.

Next steps

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