template_catalog.md

Template Catalog

MADSci includes 33 built-in templates for scaffolding lab components. Browse templates with:

madsci new list                       # Show all templates
madsci new list --category module     # Filter by category
madsci new list --tag device          # Filter by tag

Bundled Agent Skills

All templates automatically include relevant agent skills in the generated project's .agents/skills/ directory. These skills provide AI coding agents (Claude Code, etc.) with domain-specific knowledge about MADSci patterns and conventions. See Agent Skills Reference for details.

Category	Bundled Skills
Module, Node, Interface, Comm	madsci-nodes
Experiment	madsci-experiments
Workflow	madsci-nodes, madsci-managers, madsci-cli
Lab	madsci-nodes, madsci-experiments, madsci-managers, madsci-cli

---

Module Templates (6)

Templates for creating complete node module packages with server, interface(s), types, tests, and documentation.

module/basic

Minimal module with a single example action.

madsci new module --template module/basic --name my_module

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
module_name	string	my_module	Module name (lowercase, underscores)
module_description	string	A MADSci node module	Module description
author_name	string		Author name
port	integer	2000	Default port (1024-65535)
include_tests	boolean	true	Include test scaffolding
include_dockerfile	boolean	true	Include Dockerfile

module/device

Standard device module with lifecycle actions (initialize, shutdown, status) and resource management.

madsci new module --template module/device --name my_device

Parameters: Same as module/basic (default name: my_device).

module/instrument

Measurement instrument module with calibration and data acquisition actions.

madsci new module --template module/instrument --name my_instrument

Parameters: Same as module/basic (default name: my_instrument).

module/liquid_handler

Liquid handling module with aspirate, dispense, and transfer actions.

Includes location representation template boilerplate with JSON Schema definitions for deck slot positions and plate type configuration. See the Location Templates Guide for details on customizing these templates.

madsci new module --template module/liquid_handler --name my_liquid_handler

Parameters: Same as module/basic (default name: my_liquid_handler).

module/camera

Camera/vision system module with image capture and configuration actions.

madsci new module --template module/camera --name my_camera

Parameters: Same as module/basic (default name: my_camera).

module/robot_arm

Robot arm module with pick, place, move, and home actions for material handling.

Includes location representation template boilerplate with JSON Schema definitions for deck access positions, gripper configuration, and payload limits. See the Location Templates Guide for details on customizing these templates.

madsci new module --template module/robot_arm --name my_robot_arm

Parameters: Same as module/basic (default name: my_robot_arm).

---

Interface Templates (4)

Templates for adding interface variants to existing modules.

interface/fake

In-memory simulation interface for testing without hardware.

madsci new interface --type fake

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
module_name	string	my_module	Module name
simulated_latency	float	0.1	Simulated operation latency in seconds (0.0-60.0)

interface/real

Real hardware interface stub with connection lifecycle and error handling patterns.

madsci new interface --type real
# or: madsci new module  (included by default in module templates)

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
module_name	string	my_module	Module name
connection_type	string	tcp	Connection type

interface/sim

Interface for connecting to an external device simulator (e.g., Omniverse).

madsci new interface --type sim

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
module_name	string	my_module	Module name
simulator_url	string	http://localhost:9000	Simulator URL

interface/mock

Pytest mock-based interface for unit testing.

madsci new interface --type mock

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
module_name	string	my_module	Module name

---

Node Templates (1)

node/basic

Standalone REST node server for an existing interface.

madsci new node --name my_device --interface-module my_device.interface

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
node_name	string	my_node	Node name
node_description	string	A MADSci REST node	Node description
port	integer	2000	Default port (1024-65535)

---

Experiment Templates (4)

Templates for different experiment execution modalities.

experiment/script

Simple run-once experiment script using ExperimentScript modality.

madsci new experiment --modality script --name my_study

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
experiment_name	string	my_experiment	Experiment name
experiment_description	string	A MADSci experiment	Description
author_name	string		Author name

experiment/notebook

Interactive Jupyter notebook experiment using ExperimentNotebook modality.

madsci new experiment --modality notebook --name my_analysis

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
experiment_name	string	my_experiment	Experiment name
experiment_description	string	A MADSci notebook experiment	Description
author_name	string		Author name
lab_server_url	string	http://localhost:8000/	Lab server URL

experiment/tui

Interactive terminal UI experiment using ExperimentTUI modality.

madsci new experiment --modality tui --name my_interactive

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
experiment_name	string	my_experiment	Experiment name
experiment_description	string	A MADSci experiment	Description
author_name	string		Author name

experiment/node

REST API server experiment using ExperimentNode modality.

madsci new experiment --modality node --name my_service

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
experiment_name	string	my_experiment	Experiment name
experiment_description	string	A MADSci server experiment	Description
author_name	string		Author name
server_port	integer	6000	Server port (1024-65535)

---

Workflow Templates (2)

workflow/basic

Simple single-step workflow.

madsci new workflow --name sample_transfer

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
workflow_name	string	my_workflow	Workflow name
workflow_description	string	A MADSci workflow	Description
node_name	string	example_node	Target node name
action_name	string	example_action	Action to execute

workflow/multi_step

Multi-step workflow with sequential node actions.

madsci new workflow --template workflow/multi_step --name process_pipeline

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
workflow_name	string	my_workflow	Workflow name
workflow_description	string	A multi-step MADSci workflow	Description
node_1_name	string	node_1	First node name
node_1_action	string	action_1	First action
node_2_name	string	node_2	Second node name
node_2_action	string	action_2	Second action

---

Lab Templates (3)

lab/minimal

Minimal lab configuration with no Docker required.

madsci new lab --template minimal --name my_research_lab

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
lab_name	string	my_lab	Lab name
lab_description	string	A MADSci self-driving laboratory	Description

lab/standard

Standard lab with all managers and Docker Compose infrastructure.

madsci new lab --template standard --name my_lab

Parameters: Same as lab/minimal.

lab/distributed

Distributed lab configuration for multi-host deployments.

madsci new lab --template distributed --name production_lab

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
lab_name	string	my_lab	Lab name
lab_description	string	A distributed MADSci self-driving laboratory	Description

---

Communication Templates (5)

Templates for instrument communication interfaces, used within node modules.

comm/serial

Serial port communication using pySerial patterns.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
interface_name	string	my_serial	Interface name
interface_description	string	A serial port communication interface	Description

comm/socket

TCP/UDP socket communication interface.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
interface_name	string	my_socket	Interface name
interface_description	string	A socket communication interface	Description

comm/rest

REST API client for HTTP-based instrument communication.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
interface_name	string	my_rest_client	Interface name
interface_description	string	A REST API client interface	Description

comm/sdk

Vendor SDK wrapper for instrument communication.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
interface_name	string	my_sdk	Interface name
interface_description	string	A vendor SDK wrapper interface	Description

comm/modbus

Modbus TCP/RTU communication using pymodbus patterns.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
interface_name	string	my_modbus	Interface name
interface_description	string	A Modbus communication interface	Description

---

Addon Templates (8)

Templates for adding optional components to existing module projects via madsci add.

addon/docs

Add documentation directories (docs/, guides/, API reference stubs).

madsci add docs

addon/drivers

Add instrument driver directories with connection boilerplate.

madsci add drivers

addon/notebooks

Add testing notebooks (Jupyter notebooks for interactive testing).

madsci add notebooks

addon/gitignore

Add a Python .gitignore file.

madsci add gitignore

addon/compose

Add a Docker Compose file for containerized deployment.

madsci add compose

addon/dev_tools

Add developer tooling configuration (ruff, pytest, pre-commit).

madsci add dev_tools

addon/agent_config

Add agentic coding configuration (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md).

madsci add agent_config

addon/all

Add all available addon components at once.

madsci add all

---

Summary

Category	Count	Templates
Module	6	basic, device, instrument, liquid_handler, camera, robot_arm
Interface	4	fake, real, sim, mock
Node	1	basic
Experiment	4	script, notebook, tui, node
Workflow	2	basic, multi_step
Lab	3	minimal, standard, distributed
Communication	5	serial, socket, rest, sdk, modbus
Addon	8	docs, drivers, notebooks, gitignore, compose, dev_tools, agent_config, all
Total	33