New "Create Template" Path on Templates Homepage of the Coder UI

^{Originally posted by **jcjiang** October 9, 2025}
Currently, there is a single path for starting a custom template - "Upload Template," which asks users to upload an existing template.

This has led to confusion for users who assume that only the use cases in the starter templates are supported, as opposed to any Terraform-allowed use cases being supported. As a result, they ask the Coder support team to create starter templates that support their needs as opposed to feeling empowered to write their own using Terraform.

There is a Scratch starter template which provides the basic scaffolding for a user to write their own template from scratch. Today, however, it is not highlighted amongst the many starter templates offered.

The proposed change is to add a second path named "Create Template," which provides a direct link from the templates home page to the edit mode of the `main.tf` of the Scratch starter template.

In addition, comments should be added to the `main.tf` that provides an introduction that reduces need for README.