copyroom-template-edit

name	copyroom-template-edit
description	Edit a template from inside a generated project — the template-checkout → edit → template-test → template-preview → template-discard loop, preview-only.
auto_trigger	{"keywords":["edit the template","change the template","add to the template","fix the template","preview the update","what would my project look like","template-checkout","template-test","template-preview","template-discard","template change"]}

Edit a template from a project

Drive a change back into the template from inside a generated project and preview exactly what the project would receive on update — without touching the working tree and without pushing anything.

The loop

copyroom template-checkout            # 1. template → editable worktree (scratch branch)
# …edit files under the printed worktree path…   2. make the change
copyroom template-test [--check CMD]  # 3. confirm it still renders
copyroom template-preview [--from REF]  # 4. see what your project would receive
copyroom template-discard             # (optional) throw the edit away, start over

All commands are project-mode; run from the project directory. They re-resolve the same worktree, so edits persist across template-test and template-preview.

Rules

• Preview only. Nothing is applied; after previewing, commit/tag the change in the template repo and apply it with copyroom update <ref>.
• This loop edits the base layer's template only. template-checkout reads .copier-answers.yml and has no --layer flag. In a repo with overlay layers it always picks the genome. To change an overlay template, edit that template's own repo. Tag it, then run copyroom update --layer <name>. Run copyroom layer list to find which template owns a file. See docs/user/layers.md.
• .copier-answers.yml churn in the preview diff is expected metadata, not a content change — its recorded _commit advances on update.
• Conflicts/rejects are information, not failure — they show where the template change would clash with local edits.
• Reused edit branches with leftover commits are flagged — run template-discard to start fresh.
• Only .jinja files render. {{ … }} expressions reference the template's questions (docs/copier/overview.md §2).

Detail: docs/user/template-editing.md — read it before running the loop.

For when to edit the template vs. change only this project, see the copyroom skill.