# Templates Introduction

Source: https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/introduction/

## Overview

A **check template** is a reusable check definition. It holds everything a check needs except where it runs: the rule type, the filter clause, the rule's properties, the coverage, the description, the tags, and the additional metadata. When you apply a template to a table or file, Qualytics creates a check from it, and that check stays linked to the template.

Templates live in the **Library**, shared by the whole organization. They do not belong to any datastore, so one template can create checks on any datastore you can reach.

## Why this matters

Many data quality rules repeat across tables: every customer ID must be present, every amount must be positive, every daily load must have rows. Writing each of those checks by hand invites drift, where two checks meant to say the same thing end up with different thresholds or descriptions.

A template keeps the rule in one place:

- **Consistency.** Every check created from the template starts from the same definition.
- **One place to change.** On a **Locked** template, editing the template updates every linked check, so a new threshold reaches all of them at once.
- **Scale.** One template can create checks on many tables in a single step, and a filter with `each()` turns one template into one check per value, such as one per country.

## Templates and Their Checks

A check created from a template is an ordinary [Authored check](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/checks/deep-dive/authored-checks/): it runs in Scans, produces anomalies, and has its own owner and status. What makes it different is the link to its template, shown as a **Template** badge on the check's page.

How closely the check follows the template depends on the template's lock:

- A **Locked** template keeps its checks in sync. Later edits to the template reach every linked check.
- An **Unlocked** template only gives its checks a starting point. After creation, each check can change on its own.

Tags are the exception: they always follow the template, locked or unlocked. [How Templates Work](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/how-it-works/) lists exactly what reaches the linked checks.

## Where Templates Appear

- The **Library** lists every check template. From there you add a template, apply one, edit or archive templates, and export them.
- Each template has its own page with an **Overview**, the **Checks** created from it, and the **Anomalies** those checks found. See [Template Overview](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/template-view/overview/).
- A check created from a template links back to it from the **Template** badge in its Tags panel.

## Next Steps

- **How Templates Work**

  What a template defines, how checks are created from it, and what Locked and Unlocked change.

  [How Templates Work](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/how-it-works/)
- **Filter Permutations**

  How `each()` in a template's filter creates one check per value, and how adding or removing values changes them.

  [Filter Permutations](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/filter-permutations/)
- **Template Overview**

  Every part of a template's Overview: Summary, Description, Definition, and Timeline, plus the page's tabs and actions.

  [Template Overview](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/template-view/overview/)
- **Template Checks**

  Every check created from the template, across datastores, and how to review the drafts it creates.

  [Template Checks](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/template-view/checks/)
- **Template Anomalies**

  The anomalies found by every check created from the template, and how to triage them from the template's page.

  [Template Anomalies](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/template-view/anomalies/)
- **Template Examples**

  Scenarios that show when a template pays off, and whether to lock it.

  [Template Examples](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/examples/)
- **Template Best Practices**

  How to name, lock, and maintain templates so their checks stay trustworthy.

  [Template Best Practices](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/best-practices/)
- **Template Permissions**

  Who can create, edit, apply, archive, and export templates.

  [Template Permissions](https://userguide.qualytics.io/data-quality-checks/templates/deep-dive/permissions/)

*Last updated: November 10, 2026.*