Template Variables

Bonsai uses Go’s text/template engine to render .tmpl files at generation time. Every template has access to a TemplateContext that provides project and agent information.

TemplateContext Fields

Variable	Type	Description
{{ .ProjectName }}	string	Project name from .bonsai.yaml
{{ .ProjectDescription }}	string	Project description from .bonsai.yaml
{{ .AgentName }}	string	Agent type identifier (e.g., tech-lead, backend)
{{ .AgentDisplayName }}	string	Human-readable agent name (e.g., Tech Lead Agent, Backend Agent)
{{ .AgentDescription }}	string	Agent description from agent.yaml
{{ .OtherAgents }}	[]OtherAgent	List of sibling agents installed in the same project
{{ .Workspace }}	string	Agent’s workspace directory path (e.g., station/, backend/)
{{ .DocsPath }}	string	Project docs path from .bonsai.yaml (e.g., station/)
{{ .Protocols }}	[]string	List of installed protocol names for this agent
{{ .Skills }}	[]string	List of installed skill names for this agent
{{ .Workflows }}	[]string	List of installed workflow names for this agent
{{ .Routines }}	[]string	List of installed routine names for this agent

OtherAgent Fields

Each item in the {{ .OtherAgents }} list has:

Field	Type	Description
{{ .AgentType }}	string	Agent type identifier (e.g., backend)
{{ .Workspace }}	string	Agent’s workspace directory path (e.g., backend/)

Custom Template Functions

Function	Description	Example
{{ title .AgentName }}	Converts a kebab-case string to Title Case. Capitalizes the first letter of each word (split on hyphens and spaces).	tech-lead becomes Tech-Lead

Note

The title function capitalizes the first letter after each hyphen or space but preserves the delimiter. This means tech-lead renders as Tech-Lead, not Tech Lead. For display names without hyphens, use {{ .AgentDisplayName }} instead.

Usage Examples

Simple variable substitution

Template:

# {{ .ProjectName }} — {{ .AgentDisplayName }}

Rendered (for the Bonsai project, Tech Lead agent):

# Bonsai — Tech Lead Agent

Conditional content

Template:

{{ if .Routines }}
## Routines

This agent has {{ len .Routines }} routines installed.
{{ end }}

Rendered (for an agent with routines):

## Routines

This agent has 7 routines installed.

Iterating over lists

Template:

Installed protocols:
{{ range .Protocols }}- {{ . }}
{{ end }}

Rendered:

Installed protocols:
- memory
- scope-boundaries
- security
- session-start

Using OtherAgents

Template:

{{ if .OtherAgents }}
## Sibling Agents

{{ range .OtherAgents }}- **{{ title .AgentType }}** at `{{ .Workspace }}`
{{ end }}{{ end }}

Rendered (for a project with backend and frontend agents):

## Sibling Agents

- **Backend** at `backend/`
- **Frontend** at `frontend/`

Referencing the workspace path

Template:

Your assigned plan lives at `{{ .DocsPath }}Playbook/Plans/Active/`.
Check `{{ .Workspace }}agent/Core/memory.md` for working memory.

Rendered:

Your assigned plan lives at `station/Playbook/Plans/Active/`.
Check `station/agent/Core/memory.md` for working memory.

Where Templates Are Used

Files ending in .tmpl are rendered through the template engine during generation. The .tmpl extension is stripped from the output filename.

File type	Template extension	Example
Agent identity	.md.tmpl	identity.md.tmpl renders to identity.md
Agent memory	.md.tmpl	memory.md.tmpl renders to memory.md
Sensor scripts	.sh.tmpl	session-context.sh.tmpl renders to session-context.sh
Routine procedures	.md.tmpl	backlog-hygiene.md.tmpl renders to backlog-hygiene.md
Scaffolding templates	.md.tmpl	Status.md.tmpl renders to Status.md

Files without .tmpl are copied as-is — no template rendering is applied.

Related

• meta.yaml Schema — The metadata format that defines abilities
• agent.yaml Schema — The agent definition that populates agent-specific variables
• Configuration — The project config that populates project-level variables