Visual Studio 2022/.NET template engine (template.json): Can I add custom UI inputs and multi-page wizard steps?

Question

Visual Studio 2022/.NET template engine (template.json): Can I add custom UI inputs and multi-page wizard steps?

Ajay Gera 50

Hi All,

I’m creating an MCP Server project template using the .NET template engine (template.json) and want a richer project creation experience in Visual Studio 2022 (File → New → Project).

Is it possible to define additional user inputs beyond the standard parameters (e.g., custom UI controls like dropdowns/checkboxes, conditional fields, or dynamically populated values)?

Can the template drive a multi-step / multi-page wizard flow (i.e., more than the default “Additional information” page), so users can click Next/Back through additional pages before the project is created?

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3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

The .NET template engine (template.json) itself does not support adding custom Visual Studio UI controls, dynamic multi-page wizards, or arbitrary extra dialogs. It is limited to the standard parameter collection experience that Visual Studio provides (the built-in “Configure your new project” / “Additional information” page).

To get a richer, multi-step wizard experience with custom UI and logic when creating a project in Visual Studio, a custom wizard must be implemented using the Visual Studio extensibility model, not just template.json.

Visual Studio supports this via the IWizard interface and project templates packaged in a VSIX:

Implement Microsoft.VisualStudio.TemplateWizard.IWizard in an assembly.
Package that assembly in a VSIX.
Connect the wizard to a project template by adding a <WizardExtension> section to the .vstemplate file of the project template:

<WizardExtension>
    <Assembly>MyProjectWizard, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=Neutral, PublicKeyToken=token</Assembly>
    <FullClassName>MyProjectWizard.WizardImplementation</FullClassName>
</WizardExtension>

In the WizardImplementation class, use RunStarted (and other IWizard methods if needed) to:
- Display custom UI (for example, Windows Forms) to collect user input.
- Add custom parameter values into the Dictionary<string, string> of template parameters.
- Use those parameters in the template source via $parameterName$ substitutions.

The IWizard approach allows:

Custom UI: any Windows Forms or WPF dialog(s) can be shown, with arbitrary controls (dropdowns, checkboxes, conditional fields, etc.).
Multi-step / multi-page flows: multiple forms can be shown in sequence, implementing Next/Back logic as desired before the project is created.
Dynamic behavior: values can be computed at runtime, additional files can be added, and the project can be customized programmatically.

In summary:

template.json alone cannot define extra Visual Studio UI pages or multi-step wizards.
For rich, multi-page project creation in Visual Studio 2022, a VSIX-based project template with an IWizard implementation and a .vstemplate file must be used.

References:

Answer 2

Ajay Gera 50

I tried using .vstemplate + IWizard, but that launches wizard pages as modal dialogs on top of the existing “Configure your project” page. Instead, I want each step to be a separate page within the same wizard flow, not stacked dialogs.

Also I need to change caption of Create button to Next on "Configure your project” page.

How we can acheive this?

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Answer 3

Anonymous

Thanks for reaching out!

Yes you can add richer inputs to a .NET template shown in Visual Studio 2022, but only within the constraints of the .NET Template Engine UI. And no templates cannot drive a true multi-step flow inside the built‑in New Project experience. Below is the clear breakdown and the supported options.

Additional user inputs in the “Additional information” page

Using the .NET template engine (template.json), you can define extra parameters that Visual Studio automatically renders on the single “Additional information” page. Supported inputs include

Dropdowns using "datatype": "choice"
Checkboxes using "datatype": "bool"
Text fields using "datatype": "text"
custom wizards

You can create a VSIX extension and implement IWizard to show custom UI and collect additional input.

However:

The wizard UI appears as separate modal dialogs
It is not integrated into the built‑in New Project wizard pages
It cannot replace or extend the standard wizard flow

Ajay Gera 50 Reputation points

2026-03-31T11:37:48.7433333+00:00

Thanks for the update. Is it possible to populate dropdowns, checkboxes, and text fields dynamically? At the moment, it looks like I have to define the values statically in template.json.
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Anonymous

2026-04-06T10:28:33.96+00:00

In Visual Studio’s “New Project” experience, the template engine reads UI options from the template metadata. For choice parameters, the available selections are typically provided as a predefined list in the template configuration (for example, via datatype: "choice" and choices).

If the goal is to use values that vary per machine/session (for example, a GUID, a timestamp, or a computed value derived from another input), you can use generated/derived/computed symbols during template processing (for example, guid, now, port, random, switch). This supports dynamic defaults/derived values even though the UI choice list itself is defined by the template.
Ajay Gera 50 Reputation points

2026-04-06T10:47:40.33+00:00

I am asking is it possible to provide values of controls outside the template.json? If yes then provide the sample for same which can be used while create new project which is based on template engine (template.json)
Anonymous

2026-04-08T10:30:45.96+00:00
Currently, dropdowns, checkboxes, and text fields shown in the Visual Studio “Additional information” page cannot be populated dynamically when using the .NET template engine (template.json).

This means:

The values for dropdowns must be defined statically inside template.json.

It is not possible to load dropdown values at runtime from:

APIs / web services

Local files

Environment variables

Machine configuration

Any external or dynamic source

Visual Studio reads the UI options directly from the template.json file, so these values must be predefined when the template is created.
Anonymous

2026-04-15T03:45:01.14+00:00

As we haven’t received any further updates or follow-up on this thread, we will proceed to close it for now. If you need additional assistance or have new information to share, please feel free to post a new thread. We’ll be happy to support you further as needed.