Templates for container apps and functions
Start a service or a function from a template instead of an empty screen. In a project, the template catalog creates PostgreSQL or Redis with a persistent volume and generated credentials, or an Nginx web service you later replace with your own image. When you create a function, starters for Node.js, Python and Go give you a working handler—an HTTP API, data processing, streaming, an AI summarizer—to change from there.
Last updated: 2026-06-28
- Databases and caches as container apps: PostgreSQL and Redis with persistent storage and generated credentials.
- A web service starter (Nginx) to replace with your own image or Dockerfile.
- Function starters for Node.js, Python and Go: HTTP API, data processing, streaming, error handling, AI summarizer.
Answer first
Direct answer
Templates for container apps and functions. A database template creates an ordinary container app: a persistent volume, generated credentials and a private TCP endpoint. Connect it to another app and the connection URL lands in that app’s variables. The CLI uses the same templates: inquir apps create db --template postgres.
When it fits
- You need a database or a cache next to a service without writing its container setup.
- You are onboarding engineers who learn faster from a running example.
Tradeoffs
- A template that knows nothing about the platform still leaves volumes, ports and environment contracts manual—exactly where mistakes leak credentials or lose data.
- Starters that skip the handler contract push the work back into trial and error instead of giving you a running example.
Workload and what breaks
Empty services hide setup work
A database needs a volume, credentials, a port and a connection URL in every service that uses it. A new function needs an entry point in the shape its runtime expects. Doing this by hand in every project is where small mistakes creep in.
Copying random repos invites drift: runtime versions disagree with the platform, and handler signatures do not match what the gateway sends.
Trade-offs
Templates only help when they match the platform
A template that knows nothing about the platform still leaves volumes, ports and environment contracts manual—exactly where mistakes leak credentials or lose data.
Starters that skip the handler contract push the work back into trial and error instead of giving you a running example.
How Inquir helps
Templates built from the same parts as your own services
A database template creates an ordinary container app: a persistent volume, generated credentials and a private TCP endpoint. Connect it to another app and the connection URL lands in that app’s variables. The CLI uses the same templates: inquir apps create db --template postgres.
Function starters follow Node.js 22, Python 3.12 and Go 1.22 and the handler contract used across the product. After creation you edit them in the browser IDE and deploy them like any other function.
Templates are a shortcut, not a separate runtime: backups, logs, releases and execution history work the same way as for resources you create by hand.
What you get
What the templates include
PostgreSQL
A relational database with persistent storage and generated credentials, reachable from your other apps over the private network.
Redis
Key-value storage with persistence and password authentication—for caches, queues and agent memory.
Web service starter
Nginx with the default welcome page, to check routing and domains before you deploy your own image.
Function starters
Node.js, Python and Go handlers for HTTP APIs, data processing, server-sent events, error handling and async work, plus an AI summarizer and ML inference.
What to do next
From a template to the first request
Templates are in the console once your workspace has a plan.
Pick a template
In a project, add a service from the template catalog; for code, choose a starter when you create a function.
Name it and connect it
Give the app a name and connect the database to the service that needs it. For a function, add the environment variables the starter mentions; its packages come from its inquir.yaml.
Deploy and check
Release the service or deploy the function, then open the logs or the execution history to confirm the first request.
Explore
Continue learning after you pick a template
These guides cover what comes after a template: extending, debugging and iterating on the resources it created.
Code example
The same templates from the CLI
Database templates work the same way from the terminal.
# PostgreSQL and Redis from templates, each on its own volume inquir apps create db --template postgres inquir apps create cache --template redis # put db's private connection URL into the web app's variables inquir apps connect db web
When it fits
When to start from a template
When this works
- You need a database or a cache next to a service without writing its container setup.
- You are onboarding engineers who learn faster from a running example.
When to skip it
- Your service already has a Dockerfile or an image—deploy it directly as a container app.
- You need a ready-made integration with a specific vendor—start from a function starter and add the integration yourself.
FAQ
FAQ
Where are the templates?
In the console: the template catalog opens when you add a service to a project, and function starters appear when you create a function. This page describes them; it is not the catalog itself.
Which templates are available?
For container apps: PostgreSQL, Redis and an Nginx web service. For functions: starters in Node.js, Python and Go. The console shows what is available for your workspace.
Can I change the code or settings afterwards?
Yes. Resources created from a template behave like any others—change the code or the settings, deploy again, and monitor them as usual.
Are database backups included?
Yes. Database templates run on a persistent volume that the platform backs up automatically on a schedule, every 6 hours today, as a crash-consistent snapshot taken during a brief freeze. You restore a snapshot yourself with inquir apps backups <app> restore <id>. Applications whose volumes hold more than 2 GB in total are not included yet; keep your own copy of that data.