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Investigate: DCT Template Metadata Update

IMPLEMENTATION RULES: Before implementing this plan, read and follow:

Status: Backlog​

Goal: Update the DCT template installer scripts (dev-template.sh, dev-template-ai.sh) to work with the finalised template metadata fields from dev-templates.

Priority: High

Last Updated: 2026-04-01

Related:

  • INVESTIGATE-template-metadata-system.md — the dev-templates investigation that defined the metadata system (completed Phase A + B)
  • helpers-no/devcontainer-toolbox (DCT) — where the changes need to be made
  • DCT plans already in backlog: PLAN-template-readme-instructions.md, PLAN-template-tools-dct.md

Context​

The dev-templates metadata system is now stable. All TEMPLATE_INFO files have been updated with the full field set, field naming aligns with DCT/UIS conventions, and the Docusaurus site generates from this metadata. The DCT template installer scripts need to be updated to read the new/renamed fields.

What changed in dev-templates​

ChangeDetails
TEMPLATE_PURPOSE → TEMPLATE_ABSTRACTField renamed to align with DCT SCRIPT_ABSTRACT
TEMPLATE_README addedPoints to the README filename for the completion message
TEMPLATE_TOOLS addedAlready handled by DCT (completed earlier)
TEMPLATE_DOCS repurposedNow points to GitHub source, not framework docs
TEMPLATE_WEBSITE can be emptyWill be used for live demo URLs in the future
TEMPLATE_ID addedExplicit ID (matches directory name)
TEMPLATE_VER addedVersion number
TEMPLATE_TAGS addedSpace-separated keywords
TEMPLATE_SUMMARY added3-5 sentence description
TEMPLATE_LOGO addedSVG logo filename
TEMPLATE_RELATED addedSpace-separated related template IDs
TEMPLATE_CATEGORY values changedWEB_SERVER → BASIC_WEB_SERVER

What DCT needs to update​

Critical (breaks existing functionality):

  1. read_template_info() reads TEMPLATE_PURPOSE → must read TEMPLATE_ABSTRACT instead
  2. TEMPLATE_CATEGORY value WEB_SERVER changed to BASIC_WEB_SERVER — menu grouping affected

New features: 3. Read TEMPLATE_README and show it in the completion message (cat README-xxx.md) 4. Show source ~/.bashrc in completion message when tools were installed

Nice to have (future): 5. Read and display extended metadata (tags, website, related) in the template selection dialog 6. Support dev-template --list with rich output 7. Update dev-template-ai.sh to use the same metadata system

DCT Plans Already Tracking This​

These plans already exist in helpers-no/devcontainer-toolbox:

PLAN-template-readme-instructions.md​

  • Covers: TEMPLATE_README field, TEMPLATE_ABSTRACT rename, completion message update
  • Status: Backlog
  • Updated: 2026-03-30 (includes the PURPOSE→ABSTRACT rename task)

PLAN-template-tools-dct.md​

  • Covers: TEMPLATE_TOOLS auto-install
  • Status: Backlog
  • Updated: 2026-03-30 (dev-templates side completed)

What's NOT covered by existing DCT plans​

  • BASIC_WEB_SERVER category rename (affects menu grouping in dev-template.sh)
  • Extended metadata fields (ID, VER, TAGS, SUMMARY, LOGO, WEBSITE, DOCS, RELATED)
  • dev-template-ai.sh implementation

Coordination Notes​

  • No backward compatibility needed — software is not released yet, both repos can change at the same time
  • dev-templates side is done — all metadata is stable on main, Docusaurus generates from it
  • DCT changes are independent — the DCT maintainer can implement at their pace
  • Test with: after DCT changes, run dev-template inside a devcontainer and verify it reads the new fields correctly from the dev-templates repo

Next Steps​

  • DCT maintainer implements PLAN-template-readme-instructions.md (TEMPLATE_README + ABSTRACT rename)
  • DCT maintainer implements PLAN-template-tools-dct.md (TEMPLATE_TOOLS auto-install)
  • DCT maintainer handles BASIC_WEB_SERVER category rename
  • DCT maintainer considers extended metadata for future dev-template --list