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Preview Issue Templates

Preview the content of one or more issue templates before adding them to your repository.

Usage​

gh-templates issue preview [TEMPLATES]...

Arguments​

ArgumentDescription
[TEMPLATES]...Names of templates to preview

Options​

OptionDescription
-h, --helpPrint help

Examples​

Preview a Single Template​

gh-templates issue preview bug

This displays the complete content of the "bug" issue template.

Preview Multiple Templates​

gh-templates issue preview bug feature

Shows the content of both the "bug" and "feature" templates in sequence.

Preview All Templates​

gh-templates issue preview

When no template names are provided, this may show a selection prompt or preview all available templates.

Sample Output​

$ gh-templates issue preview bug

# Bug Report Template
name: 🐛 Bug Report
description: Report unexpected behavior, failures, or issues in the project.
title: "[Bug]: "
labels:
   - bug
body:
   - type: dropdown
      id: bug-category
      attributes:
         label: Bug Category
         description: Please select the most appropriate category for this bug. If none apply, select "_No Response_"
         options:
         ...

Available Templates​

To see all available templates, use:

gh-templates issue list

Sample output:

> bug - Bug Report Template
> chore - Chore Issue Template
> community - Report issues or suggestions related to community, collaboration, or project governance.
> docs - Report issues or suggest improvements related to documentation, guides, or help content.
> dx - Report issues that affect developers' experience
> feature - Suggest a new feature or improvement for a project.
> refactor - Refactor Issue template for GitHub
> support - Ask a question or request support (not for bugs or feature requests)
> technical-debt - Technical Debt Issue Template
> test - Report issues related to testing or quality assurance.

Why Preview?​

Previewing templates is useful for:

  1. Understanding Content: See exactly what will be added to your repository.
  2. Choosing Templates: Compare different templates to find the best fit.
  3. Customization Planning: Identify what might need to be modified after adding.
  4. Avoiding Conflicts: Check if templates match your project's style.

Template Structure​

Issue templates are always written in YAML format. They define all content and structure using YAML fields, following GitHub's issue forms specification.

  • Metadata: Fields like name, description, title, and labels are specified at the top of the YAML file.
  • Form Fields: The body section contains definitions for form elements such as dropdowns, checkboxes, input fields, and more, using GitHub's issue form syntax.

Best Practices​

  1. Preview Before Adding: Always preview templates to understand their YAML structure and content.
  2. Compare Options: Preview multiple templates to select the most suitable one for your workflow.
  3. Check Compatibility: Ensure the template's YAML format matches your project's requirements and GitHub's issue forms specification.

Next Steps​

After previewing templates:

  1. Add the template if you like it:

    gh-templates issue add bug

  2. Explore alternatives if needed:

    gh-templates issue list