tractorjuice--arckit-gemini/docs/guides/customize.md

Template Customization Guide

Guide Origin: Official | ArcKit Version: [VERSION]

/arckit:customize copies templates to .arckit/templates-custom/ for customization, preserving changes across updates.

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Command

# Copy a specific template
/arckit:customize requirements

# Copy all templates
/arckit:customize all

# List available templates
/arckit:customize list

# Show template info
/arckit:customize info requirements

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How It Works

Location	Purpose
.arckit/templates/	Default templates (refreshed by arckit init)
.arckit/templates-custom/	Your customizations (preserved across updates)

Commands automatically check for custom templates first, falling back to defaults.

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Common Customizations

Customization	Example
Document Control	Add organization-specific fields
Compliance Sections	Include ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, SOC 2 requirements
Approval Workflows	Add department-specific sign-off sections
Classification Banners	Customize UK Government classification headers
Branding	Add organization logo, footer, contact information

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Workflow

1. Copy template: /arckit:customize requirements
2. Edit: Modify .arckit/templates-custom/requirements-template.md
3. Use: Run /arckit:requirements — automatically uses your custom template
4. Update ArcKit: Run arckit init — your customizations preserved

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Template Structure

Templates use placeholders that commands replace:

Placeholder	Replaced With
[PROJECT_ID]	Project number (e.g., "001")
[PROJECT_NAME]	Project name
[VERSION]	Document version
[DATE]	Current date
[STATUS]	Document status (DRAFT, etc.)

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Best Practices

1. Start minimal: Copy only templates you need to customize
2. Document changes: Add comments explaining customizations
3. Test first: Verify custom template works before production use
4. Version control: Commit .arckit/templates-custom/ to git
5. Review updates: Check ArcKit release notes for template changes

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Reverting to Defaults

To revert a template to default:

# Delete the custom template
rm .arckit/templates-custom/requirements-template.md

# Command will now use default from .arckit/templates/

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Available Templates

Template	Command
requirements-template.md	/arckit:requirements
stakeholder-drivers-template.md	/arckit:stakeholders
risk-register-template.md	/arckit:risk
sobc-template.md	/arckit:sobc
architecture-principles-template.md	/arckit:principles
data-model-template.md	/arckit:data-model
sow-template.md	/arckit:sow
pages-template.html	/arckit:pages
...	(run /arckit:customize list for full list)