How Templates Work¶

This page explains what a check template defines, how checks are created from it, what reaches those checks when the template changes, and what happens when a template is archived.

What a Template Defines¶

The template form groups its settings the same way the check form does, minus the target:

Group	Setting	What it does
Target	Rule type	The rule every check from the template applies. It cannot be changed once the template is saved.
	Filter Clause	An optional SQL `WHERE` expression that limits the records evaluated. It can use `each()` to create one check per value. See Filter Permutations.
Properties	Rule properties	The values specific to the rule type, such as the minimum on a Min Value template.
Pass Criteria	Coverage	The percentage of evaluated records each check must satisfy.
Template Options	Locked	Whether the checks created from the template stay in sync with it. See Locked and Unlocked Templates.
Metadata	Description, Tags, Additional Metadata	The plain-language description, the tags, and the key-value metadata the checks start with.

A template has no table, file, or field. Those are chosen each time the template is applied, so the same template can run anywhere.

When AgentQ is configured, the Template Assistant panel next to the form can propose a template from a plain-language description.

Creating Checks from a Template¶

A template can create checks in three ways:

Way	What it creates
Add a Check	One check, through the check form with the template already selected. You pick the datastore, table or file, and fields, then validate and save. See Add a Check from a Template.
Multiple Checks	One check per target you list, each with its own table or file, fields, and filter clause. The checks are created as Draft, for review before they run. See Add Multiple Checks from a Template.
`each()` in the filter	One check per value, or per combination of values, in the template's filter. See Filter Permutations.

Every check created this way is an Authored check linked to the template. When you add a single check, you can turn off Associate with a Check template before saving to create an independent copy instead, with no link to the template.

You can also go the other way and turn an existing check into a template. See Create a Template from a Check.

Locked and Unlocked Templates¶

The Locked option decides how the linked checks follow later edits to the template. It does not make the template read-only: a locked template can still be edited, and that is exactly how its checks get updated.

When the template's...	Locked template	Unlocked template
Tags change	Added tags are added to every linked check, and removed tags are removed from them.	The same: tags always follow the template.
Rule properties, Coverage, or Filter Clause change	Copied to every linked check.	Not copied. Each check keeps its own.
Description or Additional Metadata change	Copied to every linked check.	Not copied.
`each()` values change	Values added create checks, and values removed delete their checks.	Values added create checks. Values removed keep their checks.

Two things always stay with the check, even on a locked template:

Its target and status. The datastore, table or file, and fields remain the check's own, and so does its Active or Draft status.
Its permutation filter. A check created by each() keeps the filter for its own value, such as country_code = 'BRA', while the rest of the template's definition is copied to it.

On a check linked to a locked template, only the target can be changed. The other properties are managed from the template.

When a Template Edit Is Refused¶

An edit that reaches the linked checks is applied to all of them or to none:

If any linked check refuses the new definition, the template is not saved, and the message lists the checks that refused it and why.
Users without the Admin role can only make such an edit when they can access every datastore that holds a linked check. Otherwise the edit stops with Cannot update this template: it has linked checks in datastores you do not have access to. An Admin can make the change.

Archiving a Template¶

Archiving removes a template from the Library:

A Locked template that still has linked checks cannot be archived. Unlock it first.
Archiving an Unlocked template unlinks every check created from it. The checks keep running exactly as they are, but they no longer follow the template, and their Template badge disappears.

See Archive a Template.