# Project templates

> Turn a repeatable project shape into a template so the next one starts configured.

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/llms.txt).

Source: https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/projects/project-templates

---
If you run the same kind of project repeatedly — client onboarding, a release
cycle, a site build — a template saves the setup and, more importantly, stops
steps being forgotten.

Available on every tier.

## What a template carries

| Included | Not included |
| --- | --- |
| Task structure and titles | Assignees |
| Milestones | Absolute dates |
| Statuses and workflow | Comments and attachments |
| Custom fields | Logged time |
| Checklists | Historical activity |

Dates are stored as **offsets from the project start**, so a task due "day 10"
lands correctly whenever you kick off.

## Create one

**Run the project once properly**

    Templates built from imagination miss the steps that only surface in
    practice. Build from a project you have actually finished.

**Save it as a template**

    From project settings.

**Strip what shouldn't repeat**

    Remove one-off tasks and anything specific to that client or release.

**Name it for the situation**

    "New client onboarding", not "Copy of Acme project".

## Use one

**Projects → Create → From template.** Set the name, short name and start date;
relative dates resolve from there.

> **Templates create unassigned tasks**
>
> Assignment is deliberately not carried over — the right owner differs per
> project. Assign in the same sitting, or you will have a project full of tasks
> nobody owns.

## What makes a good template

- **The steps people forget**: Kick-off call, access requests, the compliance sign-off. Templates are most valuable for the boring mandatory things.

- **Real dependencies**: If design must precede build, encode it — see [Subtasks and dependencies](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/tasks/subtasks-and-dependencies).

- **Realistic offsets**: Base them on how long things actually took, not the optimistic version.

- **Checklists for detail**: Keep the task list readable; push the fine-grained steps into [checklists](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/tasks/checklists).

## Keeping them alive

Templates rot. A template encoding last year's process actively misleads people.

**Give each template an owner**

    Someone whose job it is to keep it current.

**Review after each use**

    What did you add every time? What did you delete every time? Fold both back
    in.

**Retire unused ones**

    A list of twelve templates where three are current is worse than three
    templates.

> **Tip**
>
> When a retrospective produces "we should always remember to…", the template is
> where that belongs. Otherwise it is forgotten by the next project.

## Not the same as automation

A template shapes a project **at creation**. [Automation](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/projects/project-settings#automation)
reacts to events **while it runs**. Use both: the template creates the review
task, automation assigns it when the work reaches Review.

- [Next: programs](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/projects/programs): Grouping related projects on Premium.