| name | templates |
| description | Use when creating a new val and choosing which starter to fork. Covers the catalog of official starter templates, which project shape each one fits, and when forking an existing val is the better starting point. |
| triggers | ["template","starter","remix","scaffold","boilerplate","new","create","fork","example"] |
Templates
Always start from a template with remix_val — never build from scratch. Templates handle the boilerplate (entrypoints, imports, build config) and are kept up to date with Val Town's current patterns. Pick the closest match and customize from there.
Catalog
Map the user's intent to the closest starter:
| Project shape | Template |
|---|
| Interactive web app (dashboard, SaaS, CRUD, form, anything with client-side state) | templates/react-hono-starter |
| Static page (landing page, link-in-bio, simple docs) | templates/basic-html-starter |
| AI agent built with OpenAI Agents SDK | templates/openai-agents |
| AI agent, model-agnostic (Vercel AI SDK) | templates/vercel-ai-agent-demo |
| Webhook + AI + dashboard (lead qualification, enrichment) | templates/leads |
| Webhook + enrichment + Slack | templates/new-user-enrichment |
| Telegram bot | templates/telegram-bot-starter |
Full list of official starters: https://www.val.town/orgs/templates
When to skip a template
Simple cron jobs (monitoring, alerts, periodic polling) don't need a template — create a new val with a single interval-type file directly. Templates exist to scaffold complex shapes (UI, multi-file apps, integrations); a one-file cron isn't one of them.
Forking an existing val
When the user references an existing val or asks to build something "like" another val, use remix_val to fork that val as the starting point instead of an official starter. The user's own prior work is often a closer match than any generic template.
After remixing
Share the live URL immediately so the user can watch the work come together, then customize files one at a time. Update the README last.
