Tell me how to create a project template for the PHP language. Should the project template be in a zip file or can it be created on the fly?

Project templates are zip files. A template requires a metadata file that can be loaded by the UI + the project file itself (if any) + any files referenced by the project file. In general all you need to do is create a basic project the way you want and then zip it up and add a metadata file describing the template as discussed here . Note that if you have a project already open in VS then you can use export feature in VS. If you go to the Project menu then there is an option to export the project as a template. This zips up the files and generates the metadata for you.

Hello, if you use the Export Template Wizard feature in VS, the project template is exported into a .zip file and placed in the specified output location ( %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Visual Studio <version>\My Exported Templates ). If you did not select the option Automatically import the template into Visual Studio in the Export Template Wizard , you need to place the .zip file in the following directory: %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Visual Studio <version>\Templates\ProjectTemplates to make it available in the VS New Project window. You can edit the .vstemplate XML file and add language tag for PHP project template: <LanguageTag> Language Name </LanguageTag> For more details, please refer to: Add tags to project templates .

Creating a template that relates to the PHP language

Accepted answer

Michael Taylor 49,076 Reputation points

2024-05-07T14:58:44.93+00:00

Project templates are zip files. A template requires a metadata file that can be loaded by the UI + the project file itself (if any) + any files referenced by the project file. In general all you need to do is create a basic project the way you want and then zip it up and add a metadata file describing the template as discussed here.

Note that if you have a project already open in VS then you can use export feature in VS. If you go to the Project menu then there is an option to export the project as a template. This zips up the files and generates the metadata for you.
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валера карманов 101 Reputation points

2024-05-08T05:33:56.83+00:00

The template ZIP file itself must be somehow added programmatically, or is it enough to copy it to the desired directory and it will appear on its own in the “Project Creation” section?

валера карманов 101 Reputation points

2024-05-08T05:34:02.5133333+00:00

How can I add a new language to the “Create Project” window (new in the sense that it is not currently available in VS 2022)?

валера карманов 101 Reputation points

2024-05-08T06:27:14+00:00

Is there a file in the project that relates directly to the program itself, for example "AsyncQuickInfo" or "AsyncToolWindow" are they created by the extension itself or can they be tied to a specific project and only be used there?

валера карманов 101 Reputation points

2024-05-08T06:28:00.08+00:00

Is the folder called ".vs" created by VS 2022 itself?

Michael Taylor 49,076 Reputation points

2024-05-08T14:08:57.06+00:00

For adding a language, set the appropriate schema element in the VS Template file I mentioned earlier. I've never tried adding a new language but in theory it'll work. If not then you're looking at having to add a VS extension.

VS looks for templates in a well defined location that is part of the install. If you need to share your template with everyone on a machine then it would need to go in that location so you'd want to create a VSIX package to install it. But if it is just for you then in your Documents directory is the VS templates that you have created. You just drop your zip file there and VS will pick it up.

Any folder starting with . is an auto-generated folder and cannot/should not be included in the template. These files tend to be used for caching and are specific to the machine they are run against. For example breakpoints and open editor windows are stored here. They have no use in a template and would get stomped on even if they were there.

валера карманов 101 Reputation points

2024-05-08T15:01:20.4766667+00:00

Language configuration of the language you mean is this https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/extensibility/language-configuration?view=vs-2022

Michael Taylor 49,076 Reputation points

2024-05-08T15:07:31.38+00:00

That is for adding support for a language to the VS editor. It isn't for the new project dialog.

For Python I believe you would set your ProjectType in the TemplateData section of the template metadata file to Web and the ProjectSubType to Python. However I don't know if that is going to cause it to appear in the New Project dialog, again never tried it.

Of course even if it does show up as Python and you create a project then VS still isn't going to recognize Python unless you have also installed the Python workload. I would recommend you take a look at one of the shipped Python templates that are installed (?) when the workload is installed. The template metadata will show you the values to use.
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Creating a template that relates to the PHP language

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