Template Catalog - MADSci Documentation

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