---
layout: "docs"
page_title: "template Stanza - Job Specification"
sidebar_current: "docs-job-specification-template"
description: |-
The "template" block instantiates an instance of a template renderer. This
creates a convenient way to ship configuration files that are populated from
environment variables, Consul data, Vault secrets, or just general
configurations within a Nomad task.
---
# `template` Stanza
Placement |
job -> group -> task -> **template**
|
The `template` block instantiates an instance of a template renderer. This
creates a convenient way to ship configuration files that are populated from
environment variables, Consul data, Vault secrets, or just general
configurations within a Nomad task.
```hcl
job "docs" {
group "example" {
task "server" {
template {
source = "local/redis.conf.tpl"
destination = "local/redis.conf"
change_mode = "signal"
change_signal = "SIGINT"
}
}
}
}
```
Nomad utilizes a tool called [Consul Template][ct]. Since Nomad v0.5.3, the
template can reference [Nomad's runtime environment variables][env]. Since Nomad
v0.5.6, the template can reference [Node attributes and metadata][nodevars]. For
a full list of the API template functions, please refer to the [Consul Template
README][ct]. Since Nomad v0.6.0, templates can be read as environment variables.
## `template` Parameters
- `change_mode` `(string: "restart")` - Specifies the behavior Nomad should take
if the rendered template changes. Nomad will always write the new contents of
the template to the specified destination. The possible values below describe
Nomad's action after writing the template to disk.
- `"noop"` - take no action (continue running the task)
- `"restart"` - restart the task
- `"signal"` - send a configurable signal to the task
- `change_signal` `(string: "")` - Specifies the signal to send to the task as a
string like `"SIGUSR1"` or `"SIGINT"`. This option is required if the
`change_mode` is `signal`.
- `data` `(string: "")` - Specifies the raw template to execute. One of `source`
or `data` must be specified, but not both. This is useful for smaller
templates, but we recommend using `source` for larger templates.
- `destination` `(string: )` - Specifies the location where the
resulting template should be rendered, relative to the task directory.
- `env` `(bool: false)` - Specifies the template should be read back in as
environment variables for the task. ([See below](#environment-variables))
- `left_delimiter` `(string: "{{")` - Specifies the left delimiter to use in the
template. The default is "{{" for some templates, it may be easier to use a
different delimiter that does not conflict with the output file itself.
- `perms` `(string: "644")` - Specifies the rendered template's permissions.
File permissions are given as octal of the Unix file permissions `rwxrwxrwx`.
- `right_delimiter` `(string: "}}")` - Specifies the right delimiter to use in the
template. The default is "}}" for some templates, it may be easier to use a
different delimiter that does not conflict with the output file itself.
- `source` `(string: "")` - Specifies the path to the template to be rendered.
One of `source` or `data` must be specified, but not both. This source can
optionally be fetched using an [`artifact`][artifact] resource. This template
must exist on the machine prior to starting the task; it is not possible to
reference a template inside of a Docker container, for example.
- `splay` `(string: "5s")` - Specifies a random amount of time to wait between
0 ms and the given splay value before invoking the change mode. This is
specified using a label suffix like "30s" or "1h", and is often used to
prevent a thundering herd problem where all task instances restart at the same
time.
- `vault_grace` `(string: "15s")` - Specifies the grace period between lease
renewal and secret re-acquisition. When renewing a secret, if the remaining
lease is less than or equal to the configured grace, the template will request
a new credential. This prevents Vault from revoking the secret at its
expiration and the task having a stale secret.
If the grace is set to a value that is higher than your default TTL or max
TTL, the template will always read a new secret. **If secrets are being
renewed constantly, decrease the `vault_grace`.**
If the task defines several templates, the `vault_grace` will be set to the
lowest value across all the templates.
## `template` Examples
The following examples only show the `template` stanzas. Remember that the
`template` stanza is only valid in the placements listed above.
### Inline Template
This example uses an inline template to render a file to disk. This file watches
various keys in Consul for changes:
```hcl
template {
data = "---\nkey: {{ key \"service/my-key\" }}"
destination = "local/file.yml"
}
```
It is also possible to use heredocs for multi-line templates, like:
```hcl
template {
data = <