chore: rename templates to distributions (#3035)

As the title says. Distributions is in, Templates is out.

`llama stack build --template` --> `llama stack build --distro`. For
backward compatibility, the previous option is kept but results in a
warning.

Updated `server.py` to remove the "config_or_template" backward
compatibility since it has been a couple releases since that change.

.github/workflows/providers-build.yml

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ on:
       - 'llama_stack/core/build.*'
       - 'llama_stack/core/*.sh'
       - '.github/workflows/providers-build.yml'
-      - 'llama_stack/templates/**'
+      - 'llama_stack/distributions/**'
       - 'pyproject.toml'
 
   pull_request:
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ on:
       - 'llama_stack/core/build.*'
       - 'llama_stack/core/*.sh'
       - '.github/workflows/providers-build.yml'
-      - 'llama_stack/templates/**'
+      - 'llama_stack/distributions/**'
       - 'pyproject.toml'
 
 concurrency:
@@ -33,23 +33,23 @@ jobs:
   generate-matrix:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     outputs:
-      templates: ${{ steps.set-matrix.outputs.templates }}
+      distros: ${{ steps.set-matrix.outputs.distros }}
     steps:
       - name: Checkout repository
         uses: actions/checkout@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683 # v4.2.2
 
-      - name: Generate Template List
+      - name: Generate Distribution List
         id: set-matrix
         run: |
-          templates=$(ls llama_stack/templates/*/*build.yaml | awk -F'/' '{print $(NF-1)}' | jq -R -s -c 'split("\n")[:-1]')
+          distros=$(ls llama_stack/distributions/*/*build.yaml | awk -F'/' '{print $(NF-1)}' | jq -R -s -c 'split("\n")[:-1]')
-          echo "templates=$templates" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "distros=$distros" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
   build:
     needs: generate-matrix
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        template: ${{ fromJson(needs.generate-matrix.outputs.templates) }}
+        distro: ${{ fromJson(needs.generate-matrix.outputs.distros) }}
         image-type: [venv, container]
       fail-fast: false # We want to run all jobs even if some fail
 
@@ -62,13 +62,13 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Print build dependencies
         run: |
-          uv run llama stack build --template ${{ matrix.template }} --image-type ${{ matrix.image-type }} --image-name test --print-deps-only
+          uv run llama stack build --distro ${{ matrix.distro }} --image-type ${{ matrix.image-type }} --image-name test --print-deps-only
 
       - name: Run Llama Stack Build
         run: |
           # USE_COPY_NOT_MOUNT is set to true since mounting is not supported by docker buildx, we use COPY instead
           # LLAMA_STACK_DIR is set to the current directory so we are building from the source
-          USE_COPY_NOT_MOUNT=true LLAMA_STACK_DIR=. uv run llama stack build --template ${{ matrix.template }} --image-type ${{ matrix.image-type }} --image-name test
+          USE_COPY_NOT_MOUNT=true LLAMA_STACK_DIR=. uv run llama stack build --distro ${{ matrix.distro }} --image-type ${{ matrix.image-type }} --image-name test
 
       - name: Print dependencies in the image
         if: matrix.image-type == 'venv'
@@ -99,16 +99,16 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build a single provider
         run: |
-          yq -i '.image_type = "container"' llama_stack/templates/ci-tests/build.yaml
+          yq -i '.image_type = "container"' llama_stack/distributions/ci-tests/build.yaml
-          yq -i '.image_name = "test"' llama_stack/templates/ci-tests/build.yaml
+          yq -i '.image_name = "test"' llama_stack/distributions/ci-tests/build.yaml
-          USE_COPY_NOT_MOUNT=true LLAMA_STACK_DIR=. uv run llama stack build --config llama_stack/templates/ci-tests/build.yaml
+          USE_COPY_NOT_MOUNT=true LLAMA_STACK_DIR=. uv run llama stack build --config llama_stack/distributions/ci-tests/build.yaml
 
       - name: Inspect the container image entrypoint
         run: |
           IMAGE_ID=$(docker images --format "{{.Repository}}:{{.Tag}}" | head -n 1)
           entrypoint=$(docker inspect --format '{{ .Config.Entrypoint }}' $IMAGE_ID)
           echo "Entrypoint: $entrypoint"
-          if [ "$entrypoint" != "[python -m llama_stack.core.server.server --config /app/run.yaml]" ]; then
+          if [ "$entrypoint" != "[python -m llama_stack.core.server.server /app/run.yaml]" ]; then
             echo "Entrypoint is not correct"
             exit 1
           fi
@@ -122,27 +122,27 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         uses: ./.github/actions/setup-runner
 
-      - name: Pin template to UBI9 base
+      - name: Pin distribution to UBI9 base
         run: |
           yq -i '
             .image_type    = "container" |
             .image_name    = "ubi9-test" |
             .distribution_spec.container_image = "registry.access.redhat.com/ubi9:latest"
-          ' llama_stack/templates/ci-tests/build.yaml
+          ' llama_stack/distributions/ci-tests/build.yaml
 
       - name: Build dev container (UBI9)
         env:
           USE_COPY_NOT_MOUNT: "true"
           LLAMA_STACK_DIR: "."
         run: |
-          uv run llama stack build --config llama_stack/templates/ci-tests/build.yaml
+          uv run llama stack build --config llama_stack/distributions/ci-tests/build.yaml
 
       - name: Inspect UBI9 image
         run: |
           IMAGE_ID=$(docker images --format "{{.Repository}}:{{.Tag}}" | head -n 1)
           entrypoint=$(docker inspect --format '{{ .Config.Entrypoint }}' $IMAGE_ID)
           echo "Entrypoint: $entrypoint"
-          if [ "$entrypoint" != "[python -m llama_stack.core.server.server --config /app/run.yaml]" ]; then
+          if [ "$entrypoint" != "[python -m llama_stack.core.server.server /app/run.yaml]" ]; then
             echo "Entrypoint is not correct"
             exit 1
           fi

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ cd work/
 git clone https://github.com/meta-llama/llama-stack.git
 git clone https://github.com/meta-llama/llama-stack-client-python.git
 cd llama-stack
-LLAMA_STACK_DIR=$(pwd) LLAMA_STACK_CLIENT_DIR=../llama-stack-client-python llama stack build --template <...>
+LLAMA_STACK_DIR=$(pwd) LLAMA_STACK_CLIENT_DIR=../llama-stack-client-python llama stack build --distro <...>
 ```
 
 ### Updating distribution configurations

MANIFEST.in

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ include llama_stack/models/llama/llama3/tokenizer.model
 include llama_stack/models/llama/llama4/tokenizer.model
 include llama_stack.core/*.sh
 include llama_stack/cli/scripts/*.sh
-include llama_stack/templates/*/*.yaml
+include llama_stack/distributions/*/*.yaml
 include llama_stack/providers/tests/test_cases/inference/*.json
 include llama_stack/models/llama/*/*.md
 include llama_stack/tests/integration/*.jpg

docs/getting_started.ipynb

@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@
         "  del os.environ[\"UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON\"]\n",
         "\n",
         "# this command installs all the dependencies needed for the llama stack server with the together inference provider\n",
-        "!uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --template together --image-type venv \n",
+        "!uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --distro together --image-type venv \n",
         "\n",
         "def run_llama_stack_server_background():\n",
         "    log_file = open(\"llama_stack_server.log\", \"w\")\n",

docs/getting_started_llama4.ipynb

@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@
         "  del os.environ[\"UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON\"]\n",
         "\n",
         "# this command installs all the dependencies needed for the llama stack server \n",
-        "!uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --template meta-reference-gpu --image-type venv \n",
+        "!uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --distro meta-reference-gpu --image-type venv \n",
         "\n",
         "def run_llama_stack_server_background():\n",
         "    log_file = open(\"llama_stack_server.log\", \"w\")\n",

docs/getting_started_llama_api.ipynb

@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@
           "  del os.environ[\"UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON\"]\n",
           "\n",
           "# this command installs all the dependencies needed for the llama stack server \n",
-          "!uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --template llama_api --image-type venv \n",
+          "!uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --distro llama_api --image-type venv \n",
           "\n",
           "def run_llama_stack_server_background():\n",
           "    log_file = open(\"llama_stack_server.log\", \"w\")\n",

docs/notebooks/Alpha_Llama_Stack_Post_Training.ipynb

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
         "\n",
         "To learn more about torchtune: https://github.com/pytorch/torchtune\n",
         "\n",
-        "We will use [experimental-post-training](https://github.com/meta-llama/llama-stack/tree/main/llama_stack/templates/experimental-post-training) as the distribution template\n",
+        "We will use [experimental-post-training](https://github.com/meta-llama/llama-stack/tree/main/llama_stack/distributions/experimental-post-training) as the distribution template\n",
         "\n",
         "####  0.0. Prerequisite: Have an OpenAI API key\n",
         "In this showcase, we will use [braintrust](https://www.braintrust.dev/) as scoring provider for eval and it uses OpenAI model as judge model for scoring. So, you need to get an API key from [OpenAI developer platform](https://platform.openai.com/docs/overview).\n",
@@ -2864,7 +2864,7 @@
         }
       ],
       "source": [
-        "!llama stack build --template experimental-post-training --image-type venv --image-name __system__"
+        "!llama stack build --distro experimental-post-training --image-type venv --image-name __system__"
       ]
     },
     {

docs/notebooks/Llama_Stack_Agent_Workflows.ipynb

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
    "source": [
     "# NBVAL_SKIP\n",
     "!pip install -U llama-stack\n",
-    "!UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON=1 llama stack build --template fireworks --image-type venv"
+    "!UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON=1 llama stack build --distro fireworks --image-type venv"
    ]
   },
   {

docs/notebooks/Llama_Stack_Benchmark_Evals.ipynb

@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
       "outputs": [],
       "source": [
         "# NBVAL_SKIP\n",
-        "!UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON=1 llama stack build --template together --image-type venv"
+        "!UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON=1 llama stack build --distro together --image-type venv"
       ]
     },
     {

docs/notebooks/nvidia/beginner_e2e/Llama_Stack_NVIDIA_E2E_Flow.ipynb

@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@
    "metadata": {},
    "source": [
     "```bash\n",
-    "LLAMA_STACK_DIR=$(pwd) llama stack build --template nvidia --image-type venv\n",
+    "LLAMA_STACK_DIR=$(pwd) llama stack build --distro nvidia --image-type venv\n",
     "```"
    ]
   },

docs/notebooks/nvidia/tool_calling/1_data_preparation.ipynb

@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@
    "metadata": {},
    "source": [
     "```bash\n",
-    "LLAMA_STACK_DIR=$(pwd) llama stack build --template nvidia --image-type venv\n",
+    "LLAMA_STACK_DIR=$(pwd) llama stack build --distro nvidia --image-type venv\n",
     "```"
    ]
   },

docs/quick_start.ipynb

@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@
         "  del os.environ[\"UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON\"]\n",
         "\n",
         "# this command installs all the dependencies needed for the llama stack server with the ollama inference provider\n",
-        "!uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --template starter --image-type venv\n",
+        "!uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --distro starter --image-type venv\n",
         "\n",
         "def run_llama_stack_server_background():\n",
         "    log_file = open(\"llama_stack_server.log\", \"w\")\n",

docs/source/advanced_apis/evaluation_concepts.md

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ We have built-in functionality to run the supported open-benckmarks using llama-
 
 Spin up llama stack server with 'open-benchmark' template
 ```
-llama stack run llama_stack/templates/open-benchmark/run.yaml
+llama stack run llama_stack/distributions/open-benchmark/run.yaml
 
 ```
 

docs/source/advanced_apis/post_training/huggingface.md

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ To use the HF SFTTrainer in your Llama Stack project, follow these steps:
 You can access the HuggingFace trainer via the `ollama` distribution:
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template starter --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro starter --image-type venv
 llama stack run --image-type venv ~/.llama/distributions/ollama/ollama-run.yaml
 ```
 

docs/source/building_applications/playground/index.md

@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ To start the Llama Stack Playground, run the following commands:
 1. Start up the Llama Stack API server
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template together --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro together --image-type venv
 llama stack run together
 ```
 

docs/source/contributing/new_api_provider.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ This guide will walk you through the process of adding a new API provider to Lla
 - Begin by reviewing the [core concepts](../concepts/index.md) of Llama Stack and choose the API your provider belongs to (Inference, Safety, VectorIO, etc.)
 - Determine the provider type ({repopath}`Remote::llama_stack/providers/remote` or {repopath}`Inline::llama_stack/providers/inline`). Remote providers make requests to external services, while inline providers execute implementation locally.
 - Add your provider to the appropriate {repopath}`Registry::llama_stack/providers/registry/`. Specify pip dependencies necessary.
-- Update any distribution {repopath}`Templates::llama_stack/templates/` `build.yaml` and `run.yaml` files if they should include your provider by default. Run {repopath}`./scripts/distro_codegen.py` if necessary. Note that `distro_codegen.py` will fail if the new provider causes any distribution template to attempt to import provider-specific dependencies. This usually means the distribution's `get_distribution_template()` code path should only import any necessary Config or model alias definitions from each provider and not the provider's actual implementation.
+- Update any distribution {repopath}`Templates::llama_stack/distributions/` `build.yaml` and `run.yaml` files if they should include your provider by default. Run {repopath}`./scripts/distro_codegen.py` if necessary. Note that `distro_codegen.py` will fail if the new provider causes any distribution template to attempt to import provider-specific dependencies. This usually means the distribution's `get_distribution_template()` code path should only import any necessary Config or model alias definitions from each provider and not the provider's actual implementation.
 
 
 Here are some example PRs to help you get started:
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ def get_base_url(self) -> str:
 
 ## Testing the Provider
 
-Before running tests, you must have required dependencies installed. This depends on the providers or distributions you are testing. For example, if you are testing the `together` distribution, you should install dependencies via `llama stack build --template together`.
+Before running tests, you must have required dependencies installed. This depends on the providers or distributions you are testing. For example, if you are testing the `together` distribution, you should install dependencies via `llama stack build --distro together`.
 
 ### 1. Integration Testing
 

docs/source/distributions/building_distro.md

@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ You may then pick a template to build your distribution with providers fitted to
 
 For example, to build a distribution with TGI as the inference provider, you can run:
 ```
-$ llama stack build --template starter
+$ llama stack build --distro starter
 ...
 You can now edit ~/.llama/distributions/llamastack-starter/starter-run.yaml and run `llama stack run ~/.llama/distributions/llamastack-starter/starter-run.yaml`
 ```
@@ -184,10 +184,10 @@ You can now edit ~/.llama/distributions/llamastack-my-local-stack/my-local-stack
 :::{tab-item} Building from a pre-existing build config file
 - In addition to templates, you may customize the build to your liking through editing config files and build from config files with the following command.
 
-- The config file will be of contents like the ones in `llama_stack/templates/*build.yaml`.
+- The config file will be of contents like the ones in `llama_stack/distributions/*build.yaml`.
 
 ```
-llama stack build --config llama_stack/templates/starter/build.yaml
+llama stack build --config llama_stack/distributions/starter/build.yaml
 ```
 :::
 
@@ -253,11 +253,11 @@ Podman is supported as an alternative to Docker. Set `CONTAINER_BINARY` to `podm
 To build a container image, you may start off from a template and use the `--image-type container` flag to specify `container` as the build image type.
 
 ```
-llama stack build --template starter --image-type container
+llama stack build --distro starter --image-type container
 ```
 
 ```
-$ llama stack build --template starter --image-type container
+$ llama stack build --distro starter --image-type container
 ...
 Containerfile created successfully in /tmp/tmp.viA3a3Rdsg/ContainerfileFROM python:3.10-slim
 ...

docs/source/distributions/importing_as_library.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ This avoids the overhead of setting up a server.
 ```bash
 # setup
 uv pip install llama-stack
-llama stack build --template starter --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro starter --image-type venv
 ```
 
 ```python

docs/source/distributions/ondevice_distro/android_sdk.md

@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ Start a Llama Stack server on localhost. Here is an example of how you can do th
 python -m venv stack-fireworks
 source stack-fireworks/bin/activate  # On Windows: stack-fireworks\Scripts\activate
 pip install --no-cache llama-stack==0.2.2
-llama stack build --template fireworks --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro fireworks --image-type venv
 export FIREWORKS_API_KEY=<SOME_KEY>
 llama stack run fireworks --port 5050
 ```

docs/source/distributions/self_hosted_distro/dell.md

@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ docker run \
   --pull always \
   -p $LLAMA_STACK_PORT:$LLAMA_STACK_PORT \
   -v $HOME/.llama:/root/.llama \
-  -v ./llama_stack/templates/tgi/run-with-safety.yaml:/root/my-run.yaml \
+  -v ./llama_stack/distributions/tgi/run-with-safety.yaml:/root/my-run.yaml \
   llamastack/distribution-dell \
   --config /root/my-run.yaml \
   --port $LLAMA_STACK_PORT \
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ docker run \
 Make sure you have done `pip install llama-stack` and have the Llama Stack CLI available.
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template dell --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro dell --image-type venv
 llama stack run dell
   --port $LLAMA_STACK_PORT \
   --env INFERENCE_MODEL=$INFERENCE_MODEL \

docs/source/distributions/self_hosted_distro/meta-reference-gpu.md

@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ docker run \
 Make sure you have done `uv pip install llama-stack` and have the Llama Stack CLI available.
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template meta-reference-gpu --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro meta-reference-gpu --image-type venv
 llama stack run distributions/meta-reference-gpu/run.yaml \
   --port 8321 \
   --env INFERENCE_MODEL=meta-llama/Llama-3.2-3B-Instruct

docs/source/distributions/self_hosted_distro/nvidia.md

@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ If you've set up your local development environment, you can also build the imag
 
 ```bash
 INFERENCE_MODEL=meta-llama/Llama-3.1-8b-Instruct
-llama stack build --template nvidia --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro nvidia --image-type venv
 llama stack run ./run.yaml \
   --port 8321 \
   --env NVIDIA_API_KEY=$NVIDIA_API_KEY \

docs/source/distributions/self_hosted_distro/starter.md

@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ docker run \
 Ensure you have configured the starter distribution using the environment variables explained above.
 
 ```bash
-uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --template starter --image-type venv --run
+uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --distro starter --image-type venv --run
 ```
 
 ## Example Usage

docs/source/getting_started/detailed_tutorial.md

@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ Now let's build and run the Llama Stack config for Ollama.
 We use `starter` as template. By default all providers are disabled, this requires enable ollama by passing environment variables.
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template starter --image-type venv --run
+llama stack build --distro starter --image-type venv --run
 ```
 :::
 :::{tab-item} Using `venv`
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ which defines the providers and their settings.
 Now let's build and run the Llama Stack config for Ollama.
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template starter --image-type venv --run
+llama stack build --distro starter --image-type venv --run
 ```
 :::
 :::{tab-item} Using a Container

docs/source/getting_started/quickstart.md

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ ollama run llama3.2:3b --keepalive 60m
 We will use `uv` to run the Llama Stack server.
 ```bash
 OLLAMA_URL=http://localhost:11434 \
-  uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --template starter --image-type venv --run
+  uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --distro starter --image-type venv --run
 ```
 #### Step 3: Run the demo
 Now open up a new terminal and copy the following script into a file named `demo_script.py`.

docs/source/references/evals_reference/index.md

@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ The purpose of scoring function is to calculate the score for each example based
 Firstly, you can see if the existing [llama stack scoring functions](https://github.com/meta-llama/llama-stack/tree/main/llama_stack/providers/inline/scoring) can fulfill your need. If not, you need to write a new scoring function based on what benchmark author / other open source repo describe.
 
 ### Add new benchmark into template
-Firstly, you need to add the evaluation dataset associated with your benchmark under `datasets` resource in the [open-benchmark](https://github.com/meta-llama/llama-stack/blob/main/llama_stack/templates/open-benchmark/run.yaml)
+Firstly, you need to add the evaluation dataset associated with your benchmark under `datasets` resource in the [open-benchmark](https://github.com/meta-llama/llama-stack/blob/main/llama_stack/distributions/open-benchmark/run.yaml)
 
 Secondly, you need to add the new benchmark you just created under the `benchmarks` resource in the same template. To add the new benchmark, you need to have
 - `benchmark_id`: identifier of the benchmark
@@ -378,7 +378,7 @@ Secondly, you need to add the new benchmark you just created under the `benchmar
 
 Spin up llama stack server with 'open-benchmark' templates
 ```
-llama stack run llama_stack/templates/open-benchmark/run.yaml
+llama stack run llama_stack/distributions/open-benchmark/run.yaml
 
 ```
 

docs/zero_to_hero_guide/README.md

@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ If you're looking for more specific topics, we have a [Zero to Hero Guide](#next
 1. **Build the Llama Stack**:
    Build the Llama Stack using the `starter` template:
    ```bash
-   uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --template starter --image-type venv
+   uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --distro starter --image-type venv
    ```
    **Expected Output:**
    ```bash

llama_stack/cli/stack/_build.py

@@ -46,25 +46,25 @@ from llama_stack.core.utils.exec import formulate_run_args, run_command
 from llama_stack.core.utils.image_types import LlamaStackImageType
 from llama_stack.providers.datatypes import Api
 
-TEMPLATES_PATH = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "templates"
+DISTRIBS_PATH = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "distributions"
 
 
 @lru_cache
-def available_templates_specs() -> dict[str, BuildConfig]:
+def available_distros_specs() -> dict[str, BuildConfig]:
     import yaml
 
-    template_specs = {}
+    distro_specs = {}
-    for p in TEMPLATES_PATH.rglob("*build.yaml"):
+    for p in DISTRIBS_PATH.rglob("*build.yaml"):
-        template_name = p.parent.name
+        distro_name = p.parent.name
         with open(p) as f:
             build_config = BuildConfig(**yaml.safe_load(f))
-            template_specs[template_name] = build_config
+            distro_specs[distro_name] = build_config
-    return template_specs
+    return distro_specs
 
 
 def run_stack_build_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
-    if args.list_templates:
+    if args.list_distros:
-        return _run_template_list_cmd()
+        return _run_distro_list_cmd()
 
     if args.image_type == ImageType.VENV.value:
         current_venv = os.environ.get("VIRTUAL_ENV")
@@ -73,20 +73,30 @@ def run_stack_build_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
         image_name = args.image_name
 
     if args.template:
-        available_templates = available_templates_specs()
+        cprint(
-        if args.template not in available_templates:
+            "The --template argument is deprecated. Please use --distro instead.",
+            color="red",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        distro_name = args.template
+    else:
+        distro_name = args.distribution
+
+    if distro_name:
+        available_distros = available_distros_specs()
+        if distro_name not in available_distros:
             cprint(
-                f"Could not find template {args.template}. Please run `llama stack build --list-templates` to check out the available templates",
+                f"Could not find distribution {distro_name}. Please run `llama stack build --list-distros` to check out the available distributions",
                 color="red",
                 file=sys.stderr,
             )
             sys.exit(1)
-        build_config = available_templates[args.template]
+        build_config = available_distros[distro_name]
         if args.image_type:
             build_config.image_type = args.image_type
         else:
             cprint(
-                f"Please specify a image-type ({' | '.join(e.value for e in ImageType)}) for {args.template}",
+                f"Please specify a image-type ({' | '.join(e.value for e in ImageType)}) for {distro_name}",
                 color="red",
                 file=sys.stderr,
             )
@@ -136,7 +146,7 @@ def run_stack_build_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
             sys.exit(1)
 
         build_config = BuildConfig(image_type=args.image_type, distribution_spec=distribution_spec)
-    elif not args.config and not args.template:
+    elif not args.config and not distro_name:
         name = prompt(
             "> Enter a name for your Llama Stack (e.g. my-local-stack): ",
             validator=Validator.from_callable(
@@ -218,7 +228,7 @@ def run_stack_build_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
                 sys.exit(1)
 
     if args.print_deps_only:
-        print(f"# Dependencies for {args.template or args.config or image_name}")
+        print(f"# Dependencies for {distro_name or args.config or image_name}")
         normal_deps, special_deps, external_provider_dependencies = get_provider_dependencies(build_config)
         normal_deps += SERVER_DEPENDENCIES
         print(f"uv pip install {' '.join(normal_deps)}")
@@ -233,7 +243,7 @@ def run_stack_build_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
             build_config,
             image_name=image_name,
             config_path=args.config,
-            template_name=args.template,
+            distro_name=distro_name,
         )
 
     except (Exception, RuntimeError) as exc:
@@ -344,13 +354,13 @@ def _generate_run_config(
 def _run_stack_build_command_from_build_config(
     build_config: BuildConfig,
     image_name: str | None = None,
-    template_name: str | None = None,
+    distro_name: str | None = None,
     config_path: str | None = None,
 ) -> Path | Traversable:
     image_name = image_name or build_config.image_name
     if build_config.image_type == LlamaStackImageType.CONTAINER.value:
-        if template_name:
+        if distro_name:
-            image_name = f"distribution-{template_name}"
+            image_name = f"distribution-{distro_name}"
         else:
             if not image_name:
                 raise ValueError("Please specify an image name when building a container image without a template")
@@ -364,9 +374,9 @@ def _run_stack_build_command_from_build_config(
     if image_name is None:
         raise ValueError("image_name should not be None after validation")
 
-    if template_name:
+    if distro_name:
-        build_dir = DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR / template_name
+        build_dir = DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR / distro_name
-        build_file_path = build_dir / f"{template_name}-build.yaml"
+        build_file_path = build_dir / f"{distro_name}-build.yaml"
     else:
         if image_name is None:
             raise ValueError("image_name cannot be None")
@@ -377,7 +387,7 @@ def _run_stack_build_command_from_build_config(
     run_config_file = None
     # Generate the run.yaml so it can be included in the container image with the proper entrypoint
     # Only do this if we're building a container image and we're not using a template
-    if build_config.image_type == LlamaStackImageType.CONTAINER.value and not template_name and config_path:
+    if build_config.image_type == LlamaStackImageType.CONTAINER.value and not distro_name and config_path:
         cprint("Generating run.yaml file", color="yellow", file=sys.stderr)
         run_config_file = _generate_run_config(build_config, build_dir, image_name)
 
@@ -411,46 +421,45 @@ def _run_stack_build_command_from_build_config(
     return_code = build_image(
         build_config,
         image_name,
-        template_or_config=template_name or config_path or str(build_file_path),
+        distro_or_config=distro_name or config_path or str(build_file_path),
         run_config=run_config_file.as_posix() if run_config_file else None,
     )
     if return_code != 0:
         raise RuntimeError(f"Failed to build image {image_name}")
 
-    if template_name:
+    if distro_name:
-        # copy run.yaml from template to build_dir instead of generating it again
+        # copy run.yaml from distribution to build_dir instead of generating it again
-        template_path = importlib.resources.files("llama_stack") / f"templates/{template_name}/run.yaml"
+        distro_path = importlib.resources.files("llama_stack") / f"distributions/{distro_name}/run.yaml"
-        run_config_file = build_dir / f"{template_name}-run.yaml"
+        run_config_file = build_dir / f"{distro_name}-run.yaml"
 
-        with importlib.resources.as_file(template_path) as path:
+        with importlib.resources.as_file(distro_path) as path:
             shutil.copy(path, run_config_file)
 
         cprint("Build Successful!", color="green", file=sys.stderr)
-        cprint(f"You can find the newly-built template here: {run_config_file}", color="blue", file=sys.stderr)
+        cprint(f"You can find the newly-built distribution here: {run_config_file}", color="blue", file=sys.stderr)
         cprint(
             "You can run the new Llama Stack distro via: "
             + colored(f"llama stack run {run_config_file} --image-type {build_config.image_type}", "blue"),
             color="green",
             file=sys.stderr,
         )
-        return template_path
+        return distro_path
     else:
         return _generate_run_config(build_config, build_dir, image_name)
 
 
-def _run_template_list_cmd() -> None:
+def _run_distro_list_cmd() -> None:
-    # eventually, this should query a registry at llama.meta.com/llamastack/distributions
     headers = [
-        "Template Name",
+        "Distribution Name",
         # "Providers",
         "Description",
     ]
 
     rows = []
-    for template_name, spec in available_templates_specs().items():
+    for distro_name, spec in available_distros_specs().items():
         rows.append(
             [
-                template_name,
+                distro_name,
                 # json.dumps(spec.distribution_spec.providers, indent=2),
                 spec.distribution_spec.description,
             ]

llama_stack/cli/stack/build.py

@@ -34,14 +34,24 @@ class StackBuild(Subcommand):
             "--template",
             type=str,
             default=None,
-            help="Name of the example template config to use for build. You may use `llama stack build --list-templates` to check out the available templates",
+            help="""(deprecated) Name of the example template config to use for build. You may use `llama stack build --list-distros` to check out the available distributions""",
+        )
+        self.parser.add_argument(
+            "--distro",
+            "--distribution",
+            dest="distribution",
+            type=str,
+            default=None,
+            help="""Name of the distribution to use for build. You may use `llama stack build --list-distros` to check out the available distributions""",
         )
 
         self.parser.add_argument(
-            "--list-templates",
+            "--list-distros",
+            "--list-distributions",
             action="store_true",
+            dest="list_distros",
             default=False,
-            help="Show the available templates for building a Llama Stack distribution",
+            help="Show the available distributions for building a Llama Stack distribution",
         )
 
         self.parser.add_argument(

llama_stack/cli/stack/run.py

@@ -35,8 +35,8 @@ class StackRun(Subcommand):
             "config",
             type=str,
             nargs="?",  # Make it optional
-            metavar="config | template",
+            metavar="config | distro",
-            help="Path to config file to use for the run or name of known template (`llama stack list` for a list).",
+            help="Path to config file to use for the run or name of known distro (`llama stack list` for a list).",
         )
         self.parser.add_argument(
             "--port",
@@ -68,22 +68,22 @@ class StackRun(Subcommand):
             help="Start the UI server",
         )
 
-    def _resolve_config_and_template(self, args: argparse.Namespace) -> tuple[Path | None, str | None]:
+    def _resolve_config_and_distro(self, args: argparse.Namespace) -> tuple[Path | None, str | None]:
-        """Resolve config file path and template name from args.config"""
+        """Resolve config file path and distribution name from args.config"""
-        from llama_stack.distribution.utils.config_dirs import DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR
+        from llama_stack.core.utils.config_dirs import DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR
 
         if not args.config:
             return None, None
 
         config_file = Path(args.config)
         has_yaml_suffix = args.config.endswith(".yaml")
-        template_name = None
+        distro_name = None
 
         if not config_file.exists() and not has_yaml_suffix:
-            # check if this is a template
+            # check if this is a distribution
-            config_file = Path(REPO_ROOT) / "llama_stack" / "templates" / args.config / "run.yaml"
+            config_file = Path(REPO_ROOT) / "llama_stack" / "distributions" / args.config / "run.yaml"
             if config_file.exists():
-                template_name = args.config
+                distro_name = args.config
 
         if not config_file.exists() and not has_yaml_suffix:
             # check if it's a build config saved to ~/.llama dir
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ class StackRun(Subcommand):
                 f"Config file must be a valid file path, '{config_file}' is not a file: type={type(config_file)}"
             )
 
-        return config_file, template_name
+        return config_file, distro_name
 
     def _run_stack_run_cmd(self, args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
         import yaml
@@ -113,9 +113,9 @@ class StackRun(Subcommand):
 
         if args.config:
             try:
-                from llama_stack.core.utils.config_resolution import Mode, resolve_config_or_template
+                from llama_stack.core.utils.config_resolution import Mode, resolve_config_or_distro
 
-                config_file = resolve_config_or_template(args.config, Mode.RUN)
+                config_file = resolve_config_or_distro(args.config, Mode.RUN)
             except ValueError as e:
                 self.parser.error(str(e))
         else:

llama_stack/cli/utils.py

@@ -11,38 +11,19 @@ from llama_stack.log import get_logger
 logger = get_logger(name=__name__, category="cli")
 
 
-def add_config_template_args(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser):
+# TODO: this can probably just be inlined now?
-    """Add unified config/template arguments with backward compatibility."""
+def add_config_distro_args(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser):
+    """Add unified config/distro arguments."""
     group = parser.add_mutually_exclusive_group(required=True)
 
     group.add_argument(
         "config",
         nargs="?",
-        help="Configuration file path or template name",
+        help="Configuration file path or distribution name",
-    )
-
-    # Backward compatibility arguments (deprecated)
-    group.add_argument(
-        "--config",
-        dest="config_deprecated",
-        help="(DEPRECATED) Use positional argument [config] instead. Configuration file path",
-    )
-
-    group.add_argument(
-        "--template",
-        dest="template_deprecated",
-        help="(DEPRECATED) Use positional argument [config] instead. Template name",
     )
 
 
 def get_config_from_args(args: argparse.Namespace) -> str | None:
-    """Extract config value from parsed arguments, handling both new and deprecated forms."""
     if args.config is not None:
         return str(args.config)
-    elif hasattr(args, "config_deprecated") and args.config_deprecated is not None:
-        logger.warning("Using deprecated --config argument. Use positional argument [config] instead.")
-        return str(args.config_deprecated)
-    elif hasattr(args, "template_deprecated") and args.template_deprecated is not None:
-        logger.warning("Using deprecated --template argument. Use positional argument [config] instead.")
-        return str(args.template_deprecated)
     return None

llama_stack/core/build.py

@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ from llama_stack.core.distribution import get_provider_registry
 from llama_stack.core.external import load_external_apis
 from llama_stack.core.utils.exec import run_command
 from llama_stack.core.utils.image_types import LlamaStackImageType
+from llama_stack.distributions.template import DistributionTemplate
 from llama_stack.providers.datatypes import Api
-from llama_stack.templates.template import DistributionTemplate
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ def print_pip_install_help(config: BuildConfig):
 def build_image(
     build_config: BuildConfig,
     image_name: str,
-    template_or_config: str,
+    distro_or_config: str,
     run_config: str | None = None,
 ):
     container_base = build_config.distribution_spec.container_image or "python:3.12-slim"
@@ -123,8 +123,8 @@ def build_image(
         script = str(importlib.resources.files("llama_stack") / "core/build_container.sh")
         args = [
             script,
-            "--template-or-config",
+            "--distro-or-config",
-            template_or_config,
+            distro_or_config,
             "--image-name",
             image_name,
             "--container-base",

llama_stack/core/build_container.sh

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ normal_deps=""
 external_provider_deps=""
 optional_deps=""
 run_config=""
-template_or_config=""
+distro_or_config=""
 
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
   key="$1"
@@ -96,12 +96,12 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
       run_config="$2"
       shift 2
       ;;
-    --template-or-config)
+    --distro-or-config)
       if [[ -z "$2" || "$2" == --* ]]; then
-        echo "Error: --template-or-config requires a string value" >&2
+        echo "Error: --distro-or-config requires a string value" >&2
         usage
       fi
-      template_or_config="$2"
+      distro_or_config="$2"
       shift 2
       ;;
     *)
@@ -327,12 +327,11 @@ EOF
 # If a run config is provided, we use the --config flag
 if [[ -n "$run_config" ]]; then
   add_to_container << EOF
-ENTRYPOINT ["python", "-m", "llama_stack.core.server.server", "--config", "$RUN_CONFIG_PATH"]
+ENTRYPOINT ["python", "-m", "llama_stack.core.server.server", "$RUN_CONFIG_PATH"]
 EOF
-# If a template is provided (not a yaml file), we use the --template flag
+elif [[ "$distro_or_config" != *.yaml ]]; then
-elif [[ "$template_or_config" != *.yaml ]]; then
   add_to_container << EOF
-ENTRYPOINT ["python", "-m", "llama_stack.core.server.server", "--template", "$template_or_config"]
+ENTRYPOINT ["python", "-m", "llama_stack.core.server.server", "$distro_or_config"]
 EOF
 fi
 

llama_stack/core/library_client.py

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ from llama_stack.core.resolver import ProviderRegistry
 from llama_stack.core.server.routes import RouteImpls, find_matching_route, initialize_route_impls
 from llama_stack.core.stack import (
     construct_stack,
-    get_stack_run_config_from_template,
+    get_stack_run_config_from_distro,
     replace_env_vars,
 )
 from llama_stack.core.utils.config import redact_sensitive_fields
@@ -138,14 +138,14 @@ class LibraryClientHttpxResponse:
 class LlamaStackAsLibraryClient(LlamaStackClient):
     def __init__(
         self,
-        config_path_or_template_name: str,
+        config_path_or_distro_name: str,
         skip_logger_removal: bool = False,
         custom_provider_registry: ProviderRegistry | None = None,
         provider_data: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
     ):
         super().__init__()
         self.async_client = AsyncLlamaStackAsLibraryClient(
-            config_path_or_template_name, custom_provider_registry, provider_data
+            config_path_or_distro_name, custom_provider_registry, provider_data
         )
         self.pool_executor = ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=4)
         self.skip_logger_removal = skip_logger_removal
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ class LlamaStackAsLibraryClient(LlamaStackClient):
 class AsyncLlamaStackAsLibraryClient(AsyncLlamaStackClient):
     def __init__(
         self,
-        config_path_or_template_name: str,
+        config_path_or_distro_name: str,
         custom_provider_registry: ProviderRegistry | None = None,
         provider_data: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
     ):
@@ -222,17 +222,17 @@ class AsyncLlamaStackAsLibraryClient(AsyncLlamaStackClient):
         current_sinks = os.environ.get("TELEMETRY_SINKS", "sqlite").split(",")
         os.environ["TELEMETRY_SINKS"] = ",".join(sink for sink in current_sinks if sink != "console")
 
-        if config_path_or_template_name.endswith(".yaml"):
+        if config_path_or_distro_name.endswith(".yaml"):
-            config_path = Path(config_path_or_template_name)
+            config_path = Path(config_path_or_distro_name)
             if not config_path.exists():
                 raise ValueError(f"Config file {config_path} does not exist")
             config_dict = replace_env_vars(yaml.safe_load(config_path.read_text()))
             config = parse_and_maybe_upgrade_config(config_dict)
         else:
-            # template
+            # distribution
-            config = get_stack_run_config_from_template(config_path_or_template_name)
+            config = get_stack_run_config_from_distro(config_path_or_distro_name)
 
-        self.config_path_or_template_name = config_path_or_template_name
+        self.config_path_or_distro_name = config_path_or_distro_name
         self.config = config
         self.custom_provider_registry = custom_provider_registry
         self.provider_data = provider_data
@@ -245,11 +245,11 @@ class AsyncLlamaStackAsLibraryClient(AsyncLlamaStackClient):
         except ModuleNotFoundError as _e:
             cprint(_e.msg, color="red", file=sys.stderr)
             cprint(
-                "Using llama-stack as a library requires installing dependencies depending on the template (providers) you choose.\n",
+                "Using llama-stack as a library requires installing dependencies depending on the distribution (providers) you choose.\n",
                 color="yellow",
                 file=sys.stderr,
             )
-            if self.config_path_or_template_name.endswith(".yaml"):
+            if self.config_path_or_distro_name.endswith(".yaml"):
                 providers: dict[str, list[BuildProvider]] = {}
                 for api, run_providers in self.config.providers.items():
                     for provider in run_providers:
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ class AsyncLlamaStackAsLibraryClient(AsyncLlamaStackClient):
             else:
                 prefix = "!" if in_notebook() else ""
                 cprint(
-                    f"Please run:\n\n{prefix}llama stack build --template {self.config_path_or_template_name} --image-type venv\n\n",
+                    f"Please run:\n\n{prefix}llama stack build --distro {self.config_path_or_distro_name} --image-type venv\n\n",
                     "yellow",
                     file=sys.stderr,
                 )
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ class AsyncLlamaStackAsLibraryClient(AsyncLlamaStackClient):
 
         if not os.environ.get("PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST"):
             console = Console()
-            console.print(f"Using config [blue]{self.config_path_or_template_name}[/blue]:")
+            console.print(f"Using config [blue]{self.config_path_or_distro_name}[/blue]:")
             safe_config = redact_sensitive_fields(self.config.model_dump())
             console.print(yaml.dump(safe_config, indent=2))
 

llama_stack/core/server/server.py

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ from openai import BadRequestError
 from pydantic import BaseModel, ValidationError
 
 from llama_stack.apis.common.responses import PaginatedResponse
-from llama_stack.cli.utils import add_config_template_args, get_config_from_args
+from llama_stack.cli.utils import add_config_distro_args, get_config_from_args
 from llama_stack.core.access_control.access_control import AccessDeniedError
 from llama_stack.core.datatypes import (
     AuthenticationRequiredError,
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ from llama_stack.core.stack import (
     validate_env_pair,
 )
 from llama_stack.core.utils.config import redact_sensitive_fields
-from llama_stack.core.utils.config_resolution import Mode, resolve_config_or_template
+from llama_stack.core.utils.config_resolution import Mode, resolve_config_or_distro
 from llama_stack.core.utils.context import preserve_contexts_async_generator
 from llama_stack.log import get_logger
 from llama_stack.providers.datatypes import Api
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ def main(args: argparse.Namespace | None = None):
     """Start the LlamaStack server."""
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Start the LlamaStack server.")
 
-    add_config_template_args(parser)
+    add_config_distro_args(parser)
     parser.add_argument(
         "--port",
         type=int,
@@ -396,8 +396,8 @@ def main(args: argparse.Namespace | None = None):
     if args is None:
         args = parser.parse_args()
 
-    config_or_template = get_config_from_args(args)
+    config_or_distro = get_config_from_args(args)
-    config_file = resolve_config_or_template(config_or_template, Mode.RUN)
+    config_file = resolve_config_or_distro(config_or_distro, Mode.RUN)
 
     logger_config = None
     with open(config_file) as fp:

llama_stack/core/stack.py

@@ -389,12 +389,12 @@ async def refresh_registry_task(impls: dict[Api, Any]):
         await asyncio.sleep(REGISTRY_REFRESH_INTERVAL_SECONDS)
 
 
-def get_stack_run_config_from_template(template: str) -> StackRunConfig:
+def get_stack_run_config_from_distro(distro: str) -> StackRunConfig:
-    template_path = importlib.resources.files("llama_stack") / f"templates/{template}/run.yaml"
+    distro_path = importlib.resources.files("llama_stack") / f"distributions/{distro}/run.yaml"
 
-    with importlib.resources.as_file(template_path) as path:
+    with importlib.resources.as_file(distro_path) as path:
         if not path.exists():
-            raise ValueError(f"Template '{template}' not found at {template_path}")
+            raise ValueError(f"Distribution '{distro}' not found at {distro_path}")
         run_config = yaml.safe_load(path.open())
 
     return StackRunConfig(**replace_env_vars(run_config))

llama_stack/core/ui/README.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 1. Start up Llama Stack API server. More details [here](https://llama-stack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/getting_started/index.html).
 
 ```
-llama stack build --template together --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro together --image-type venv
 
 llama stack run together
 ```

llama_stack/core/utils/config_resolution.py

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ from llama_stack.log import get_logger
 logger = get_logger(name=__name__, category="config_resolution")
 
 
-TEMPLATE_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent.parent / "llama_stack" / "templates"
+DISTRO_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent.parent / "llama_stack" / "distributions"
 
 
 class Mode(StrEnum):
@@ -21,15 +21,15 @@ class Mode(StrEnum):
     BUILD = "build"
 
 
-def resolve_config_or_template(
+def resolve_config_or_distro(
-    config_or_template: str,
+    config_or_distro: str,
     mode: Mode = Mode.RUN,
 ) -> Path:
     """
-    Resolve a config/template argument to a concrete config file path.
+    Resolve a config/distro argument to a concrete config file path.
 
     Args:
-        config_or_template: User input (file path, template name, or built distribution)
+        config_or_distro: User input (file path, distribution name, or built distribution)
         mode: Mode resolving for ("run", "build", "server")
 
     Returns:
@@ -40,86 +40,86 @@ def resolve_config_or_template(
     """
 
     # Strategy 1: Try as file path first
-    config_path = Path(config_or_template)
+    config_path = Path(config_or_distro)
     if config_path.exists() and config_path.is_file():
         logger.info(f"Using file path: {config_path}")
         return config_path.resolve()
 
-    # Strategy 2: Try as template name (if no .yaml extension)
+    # Strategy 2: Try as distribution name (if no .yaml extension)
-    if not config_or_template.endswith(".yaml"):
+    if not config_or_distro.endswith(".yaml"):
-        template_config = _get_template_config_path(config_or_template, mode)
+        distro_config = _get_distro_config_path(config_or_distro, mode)
-        if template_config.exists():
+        if distro_config.exists():
-            logger.info(f"Using template: {template_config}")
+            logger.info(f"Using distribution: {distro_config}")
-            return template_config
+            return distro_config
 
     # Strategy 3: Try as built distribution name
-    distrib_config = DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR / f"llamastack-{config_or_template}" / f"{config_or_template}-{mode}.yaml"
+    distrib_config = DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR / f"llamastack-{config_or_distro}" / f"{config_or_distro}-{mode}.yaml"
     if distrib_config.exists():
         logger.info(f"Using built distribution: {distrib_config}")
         return distrib_config
 
-    distrib_config = DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR / f"{config_or_template}" / f"{config_or_template}-{mode}.yaml"
+    distrib_config = DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR / f"{config_or_distro}" / f"{config_or_distro}-{mode}.yaml"
     if distrib_config.exists():
         logger.info(f"Using built distribution: {distrib_config}")
         return distrib_config
 
     # Strategy 4: Failed - provide helpful error
-    raise ValueError(_format_resolution_error(config_or_template, mode))
+    raise ValueError(_format_resolution_error(config_or_distro, mode))
 
 
-def _get_template_config_path(template_name: str, mode: Mode) -> Path:
+def _get_distro_config_path(distro_name: str, mode: Mode) -> Path:
-    """Get the config file path for a template."""
+    """Get the config file path for a distro."""
-    return TEMPLATE_DIR / template_name / f"{mode}.yaml"
+    return DISTRO_DIR / distro_name / f"{mode}.yaml"
 
 
-def _format_resolution_error(config_or_template: str, mode: Mode) -> str:
+def _format_resolution_error(config_or_distro: str, mode: Mode) -> str:
     """Format a helpful error message for resolution failures."""
     from llama_stack.core.utils.config_dirs import DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR
 
-    template_path = _get_template_config_path(config_or_template, mode)
+    distro_path = _get_distro_config_path(config_or_distro, mode)
-    distrib_path = DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR / f"llamastack-{config_or_template}" / f"{config_or_template}-{mode}.yaml"
+    distrib_path = DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR / f"llamastack-{config_or_distro}" / f"{config_or_distro}-{mode}.yaml"
-    distrib_path2 = DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR / f"{config_or_template}" / f"{config_or_template}-{mode}.yaml"
+    distrib_path2 = DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR / f"{config_or_distro}" / f"{config_or_distro}-{mode}.yaml"
 
-    available_templates = _get_available_templates()
+    available_distros = _get_available_distros()
-    templates_str = ", ".join(available_templates) if available_templates else "none found"
+    distros_str = ", ".join(available_distros) if available_distros else "none found"
 
-    return f"""Could not resolve config or template '{config_or_template}'.
+    return f"""Could not resolve config or distribution '{config_or_distro}'.
 
 Tried the following locations:
-  1. As file path: {Path(config_or_template).resolve()}
+  1. As file path: {Path(config_or_distro).resolve()}
-  2. As template: {template_path}
+  2. As distribution: {distro_path}
   3. As built distribution: ({distrib_path}, {distrib_path2})
 
-Available templates: {templates_str}
+Available distributions: {distros_str}
 
-Did you mean one of these templates?
+Did you mean one of these distributions?
-{_format_template_suggestions(available_templates, config_or_template)}
+{_format_distro_suggestions(available_distros, config_or_distro)}
 """
 
 
-def _get_available_templates() -> list[str]:
+def _get_available_distros() -> list[str]:
-    """Get list of available template names."""
+    """Get list of available distro names."""
-    if not TEMPLATE_DIR.exists() and not DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR.exists():
+    if not DISTRO_DIR.exists() and not DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR.exists():
         return []
 
     return list(
         set(
-            [d.name for d in TEMPLATE_DIR.iterdir() if d.is_dir() and not d.name.startswith(".")]
+            [d.name for d in DISTRO_DIR.iterdir() if d.is_dir() and not d.name.startswith(".")]
             + [d.name for d in DISTRIBS_BASE_DIR.iterdir() if d.is_dir() and not d.name.startswith(".")]
         )
     )
 
 
-def _format_template_suggestions(templates: list[str], user_input: str) -> str:
+def _format_distro_suggestions(distros: list[str], user_input: str) -> str:
-    """Format template suggestions for error messages, showing closest matches first."""
+    """Format distro suggestions for error messages, showing closest matches first."""
-    if not templates:
+    if not distros:
-        return "  (no templates found)"
+        return "  (no distros found)"
 
     import difflib
 
     # Get up to 3 closest matches with similarity threshold of 0.3 (lower = more permissive)
-    close_matches = difflib.get_close_matches(user_input, templates, n=3, cutoff=0.3)
+    close_matches = difflib.get_close_matches(user_input, distros, n=3, cutoff=0.3)
-    display_templates = close_matches if close_matches else templates[:3]
+    display_distros = close_matches if close_matches else distros[:3]
 
-    suggestions = [f"  - {t}" for t in display_templates]
+    suggestions = [f"  - {d}" for d in display_distros]
     return "\n".join(suggestions)

llama_stack/distributions/ci-tests/ci_tests.py

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 # the root directory of this source tree.
 
 
-from llama_stack.templates.template import DistributionTemplate
+from llama_stack.distributions.template import DistributionTemplate
 
 from ..starter.starter import get_distribution_template as get_starter_distribution_template
 

llama_stack/distributions/dell/dell.py

@@ -12,10 +12,10 @@ from llama_stack.core.datatypes import (
     ShieldInput,
     ToolGroupInput,
 )
+from llama_stack.distributions.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettings
 from llama_stack.providers.inline.inference.sentence_transformers import (
     SentenceTransformersInferenceConfig,
 )
-from llama_stack.templates.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettings
 
 
 def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:

llama_stack/distributions/dell/doc_template.md

@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ docker run \
   --pull always \
   -p $LLAMA_STACK_PORT:$LLAMA_STACK_PORT \
   -v $HOME/.llama:/root/.llama \
-  -v ./llama_stack/templates/tgi/run-with-safety.yaml:/root/my-run.yaml \
+  -v ./llama_stack/distributions/tgi/run-with-safety.yaml:/root/my-run.yaml \
   llamastack/distribution-{{ name }} \
   --config /root/my-run.yaml \
   --port $LLAMA_STACK_PORT \
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ docker run \
 Make sure you have done `pip install llama-stack` and have the Llama Stack CLI available.
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template {{ name }} --image-type conda
+llama stack build --distro {{ name }} --image-type conda
 llama stack run {{ name }}
   --port $LLAMA_STACK_PORT \
   --env INFERENCE_MODEL=$INFERENCE_MODEL \

llama_stack/distributions/meta-reference-gpu/doc_template.md

@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ docker run \
 Make sure you have done `uv pip install llama-stack` and have the Llama Stack CLI available.
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template {{ name }} --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro {{ name }} --image-type venv
 llama stack run distributions/{{ name }}/run.yaml \
   --port 8321 \
   --env INFERENCE_MODEL=meta-llama/Llama-3.2-3B-Instruct

llama_stack/distributions/meta-reference-gpu/meta_reference.py

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from llama_stack.core.datatypes import (
     ShieldInput,
     ToolGroupInput,
 )
+from llama_stack.distributions.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettings
 from llama_stack.providers.inline.inference.meta_reference import (
     MetaReferenceInferenceConfig,
 )
@@ -21,7 +22,6 @@ from llama_stack.providers.inline.inference.sentence_transformers import (
     SentenceTransformersInferenceConfig,
 )
 from llama_stack.providers.inline.vector_io.faiss.config import FaissVectorIOConfig
-from llama_stack.templates.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettings
 
 
 def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:

llama_stack/distributions/nvidia/doc_template.md

@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ If you've set up your local development environment, you can also build the imag
 
 ```bash
 INFERENCE_MODEL=meta-llama/Llama-3.1-8b-Instruct
-llama stack build --template nvidia --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro nvidia --image-type venv
 llama stack run ./run.yaml \
   --port 8321 \
   --env NVIDIA_API_KEY=$NVIDIA_API_KEY \

llama_stack/distributions/nvidia/nvidia.py

@@ -7,12 +7,12 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from llama_stack.core.datatypes import BuildProvider, ModelInput, Provider, ShieldInput, ToolGroupInput
+from llama_stack.distributions.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettings, get_model_registry
 from llama_stack.providers.remote.datasetio.nvidia import NvidiaDatasetIOConfig
 from llama_stack.providers.remote.eval.nvidia import NVIDIAEvalConfig
 from llama_stack.providers.remote.inference.nvidia import NVIDIAConfig
 from llama_stack.providers.remote.inference.nvidia.models import MODEL_ENTRIES
 from llama_stack.providers.remote.safety.nvidia import NVIDIASafetyConfig
-from llama_stack.templates.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettings, get_model_registry
 
 
 def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:

llama_stack/distributions/open-benchmark/open_benchmark.py

@@ -16,6 +16,11 @@ from llama_stack.core.datatypes import (
     ShieldInput,
     ToolGroupInput,
 )
+from llama_stack.distributions.template import (
+    DistributionTemplate,
+    RunConfigSettings,
+    get_model_registry,
+)
 from llama_stack.providers.inline.vector_io.sqlite_vec.config import (
     SQLiteVectorIOConfig,
 )
@@ -29,11 +34,6 @@ from llama_stack.providers.remote.vector_io.pgvector.config import (
     PGVectorVectorIOConfig,
 )
 from llama_stack.providers.utils.inference.model_registry import ProviderModelEntry
-from llama_stack.templates.template import (
-    DistributionTemplate,
-    RunConfigSettings,
-    get_model_registry,
-)
 
 
 def get_inference_providers() -> tuple[list[Provider], dict[str, list[ProviderModelEntry]]]:

llama_stack/distributions/postgres-demo/postgres_demo.py

@@ -13,15 +13,15 @@ from llama_stack.core.datatypes import (
     ShieldInput,
     ToolGroupInput,
 )
+from llama_stack.distributions.template import (
+    DistributionTemplate,
+    RunConfigSettings,
+)
 from llama_stack.providers.inline.inference.sentence_transformers import SentenceTransformersInferenceConfig
 from llama_stack.providers.remote.inference.vllm import VLLMInferenceAdapterConfig
 from llama_stack.providers.remote.vector_io.chroma.config import ChromaVectorIOConfig
 from llama_stack.providers.utils.kvstore.config import PostgresKVStoreConfig
 from llama_stack.providers.utils.sqlstore.sqlstore import PostgresSqlStoreConfig
-from llama_stack.templates.template import (
-    DistributionTemplate,
-    RunConfigSettings,
-)
 
 
 def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:

llama_stack/distributions/starter/starter.py

@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ from llama_stack.core.datatypes import (
     ToolGroupInput,
 )
 from llama_stack.core.utils.dynamic import instantiate_class_type
+from llama_stack.distributions.template import (
+    DistributionTemplate,
+    RunConfigSettings,
+)
 from llama_stack.providers.datatypes import RemoteProviderSpec
 from llama_stack.providers.inline.files.localfs.config import LocalfsFilesImplConfig
 from llama_stack.providers.inline.inference.sentence_transformers import (
@@ -33,10 +37,6 @@ from llama_stack.providers.remote.vector_io.pgvector.config import (
     PGVectorVectorIOConfig,
 )
 from llama_stack.providers.utils.sqlstore.sqlstore import PostgresSqlStoreConfig
-from llama_stack.templates.template import (
-    DistributionTemplate,
-    RunConfigSettings,
-)
 
 
 def _get_config_for_provider(provider_spec: ProviderSpec) -> dict[str, Any]:

llama_stack/distributions/watsonx/watsonx.py

@@ -8,12 +8,12 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 from llama_stack.apis.models import ModelType
 from llama_stack.core.datatypes import BuildProvider, ModelInput, Provider, ToolGroupInput
+from llama_stack.distributions.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettings, get_model_registry
 from llama_stack.providers.inline.inference.sentence_transformers import (
     SentenceTransformersInferenceConfig,
 )
 from llama_stack.providers.remote.inference.watsonx import WatsonXConfig
 from llama_stack.providers.remote.inference.watsonx.models import MODEL_ENTRIES
-from llama_stack.templates.template import DistributionTemplate, RunConfigSettings, get_model_registry
 
 
 def get_distribution_template() -> DistributionTemplate:

llama_stack/providers/remote/datasetio/nvidia/README.md

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ This provider enables dataset management using NVIDIA's NeMo Customizer service.
 Build the NVIDIA environment:
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template nvidia --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro nvidia --image-type venv
 ```
 
 ### Basic Usage using the LlamaStack Python Client

llama_stack/providers/remote/inference/nvidia/NVIDIA.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ This provider enables running inference using NVIDIA NIM.
 Build the NVIDIA environment:
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template nvidia --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro nvidia --image-type venv
 ```
 
 ### Basic Usage using the LlamaStack Python Client

llama_stack/providers/remote/post_training/nvidia/README.md

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ This provider enables fine-tuning of LLMs using NVIDIA's NeMo Customizer service
 Build the NVIDIA environment:
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template nvidia --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro nvidia --image-type venv
 ```
 
 ### Basic Usage using the LlamaStack Python Client

llama_stack/providers/remote/safety/nvidia/README.md

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ This provider enables safety checks and guardrails for LLM interactions using NV
 Build the NVIDIA environment:
 
 ```bash
-llama stack build --template nvidia --image-type venv
+llama stack build --distro nvidia --image-type venv
 ```
 
 ### Basic Usage using the LlamaStack Python Client

pyproject.toml

@@ -327,10 +327,10 @@ exclude = [
     "^llama_stack/strong_typing/inspection\\.py$",
     "^llama_stack/strong_typing/schema\\.py$",
     "^llama_stack/strong_typing/serializer\\.py$",
-    "^llama_stack/templates/groq/groq\\.py$",
+    "^llama_stack/distributions/groq/groq\\.py$",
-    "^llama_stack/templates/llama_api/llama_api\\.py$",
+    "^llama_stack/distributions/llama_api/llama_api\\.py$",
-    "^llama_stack/templates/sambanova/sambanova\\.py$",
+    "^llama_stack/distributions/sambanova/sambanova\\.py$",
-    "^llama_stack/templates/template\\.py$",
+    "^llama_stack/distributions/template\\.py$",
 ]
 
 [[tool.mypy.overrides]]

scripts/distro_codegen.py

@@ -34,39 +34,39 @@ class ChangedPathTracker:
         return self._changed_paths
 
 
-def find_template_dirs(templates_dir: Path) -> Iterable[Path]:
+def find_distro_dirs(distro_dir: Path) -> Iterable[Path]:
-    """Find immediate subdirectories in the templates folder."""
+    """Find immediate subdirectories in the distributions folder."""
-    if not templates_dir.exists():
+    if not distro_dir.exists():
-        raise FileNotFoundError(f"Templates directory not found: {templates_dir}")
+        raise FileNotFoundError(f"Distributions directory not found: {distro_dir}")
 
-    return sorted(d for d in templates_dir.iterdir() if d.is_dir() and d.name != "__pycache__")
+    return sorted(d for d in distro_dir.iterdir() if d.is_dir() and d.name != "__pycache__")
 
 
-def process_template(template_dir: Path, progress, change_tracker: ChangedPathTracker) -> None:
+def process_distro(distro_dir: Path, progress, change_tracker: ChangedPathTracker) -> None:
-    """Process a single template directory."""
+    """Process a single distribution directory."""
-    progress.print(f"Processing {template_dir.name}")
+    progress.print(f"Processing {distro_dir.name}")
 
     try:
         # Import the module directly
-        module_name = f"llama_stack.templates.{template_dir.name}"
+        module_name = f"llama_stack.distributions.{distro_dir.name}"
         module = importlib.import_module(module_name)
 
         # Get and save the distribution template
         if template_func := getattr(module, "get_distribution_template", None):
-            template = template_func()
+            distro = template_func()
 
-            yaml_output_dir = REPO_ROOT / "llama_stack" / "templates" / template.name
+            yaml_output_dir = REPO_ROOT / "llama_stack" / "distributions" / distro.name
-            doc_output_dir = REPO_ROOT / "docs/source/distributions" / f"{template.distro_type}_distro"
+            doc_output_dir = REPO_ROOT / "docs/source/distributions" / f"{distro.distro_type}_distro"
             change_tracker.add_paths(yaml_output_dir, doc_output_dir)
-            template.save_distribution(
+            distro.save_distribution(
                 yaml_output_dir=yaml_output_dir,
                 doc_output_dir=doc_output_dir,
             )
         else:
-            progress.print(f"[yellow]Warning: {template_dir.name} has no get_distribution_template function")
+            progress.print(f"[yellow]Warning: {distro_dir.name} has no get_distribution_template function")
 
     except Exception as e:
-        progress.print(f"[red]Error processing {template_dir.name}: {str(e)}")
+        progress.print(f"[red]Error processing {distro_dir.name}: {str(e)}")
         raise e
 
 
@@ -85,38 +85,38 @@ def check_for_changes(change_tracker: ChangedPathTracker) -> bool:
     return has_changes
 
 
-def pre_import_templates(template_dirs: list[Path]) -> None:
+def pre_import_distros(distro_dirs: list[Path]) -> None:
-    # Pre-import all template modules to avoid deadlocks.
+    # Pre-import all distro modules to avoid deadlocks.
-    for template_dir in template_dirs:
+    for distro_dir in distro_dirs:
-        module_name = f"llama_stack.templates.{template_dir.name}"
+        module_name = f"llama_stack.distributions.{distro_dir.name}"
         importlib.import_module(module_name)
 
 
 def main():
-    templates_dir = REPO_ROOT / "llama_stack" / "templates"
+    distros_dir = REPO_ROOT / "llama_stack" / "distributions"
     change_tracker = ChangedPathTracker()
 
     with Progress(
         SpinnerColumn(),
         TextColumn("[progress.description]{task.description}"),
     ) as progress:
-        template_dirs = list(find_template_dirs(templates_dir))
+        distro_dirs = list(find_distro_dirs(distros_dir))
-        task = progress.add_task("Processing distribution templates...", total=len(template_dirs))
+        task = progress.add_task("Processing distribution templates...", total=len(distro_dirs))
 
-        pre_import_templates(template_dirs)
+        pre_import_distros(distro_dirs)
 
         # Create a partial function with the progress bar
-        process_func = partial(process_template, progress=progress, change_tracker=change_tracker)
+        process_func = partial(process_distro, progress=progress, change_tracker=change_tracker)
 
-        # Process templates in parallel
+        # Process distributions in parallel
         with concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor() as executor:
             # Submit all tasks and wait for completion
-            list(executor.map(process_func, template_dirs))
+            list(executor.map(process_func, distro_dirs))
-            progress.update(task, advance=len(template_dirs))
+            progress.update(task, advance=len(distro_dirs))
 
     if check_for_changes(change_tracker):
         print(
-            "Distribution template changes detected. Please commit the changes.",
+            "Distribution changes detected. Please commit the changes.",
             file=sys.stderr,
         )
         sys.exit(1)

scripts/run_client_sdk_tests.py

@@ -1,66 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python
-# Copyright (c) Meta Platforms, Inc. and affiliates.
-# All rights reserved.
-#
-# This source code is licensed under the terms described in the LICENSE file in
-# the root directory of this source tree.
-
-import argparse
-import os
-from pathlib import Path
-
-import pytest
-
-"""
-Script for running api on AsyncLlamaStackAsLibraryClient with templates
-
-Assuming directory structure:
-- llama-stack
-    - scripts
-    - tests
-        - api
-
-Example command:
-
-cd llama-stack
-EXPORT TOGETHER_API_KEY=<..>
-EXPORT FIREWORKS_API_KEY=<..>
-./scripts/run_client_sdk_tests.py --templates together fireworks --report
-"""
-
-REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent
-CLIENT_SDK_TESTS_RELATIVE_PATH = "tests/api/"
-
-
-def main(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser):
-    args = parser.parse_args()
-    templates_dir = REPO_ROOT / "llama_stack" / "templates"
-    user_specified_templates = [templates_dir / t for t in args.templates] if args.templates else []
-    for d in templates_dir.iterdir():
-        if d.is_dir() and d.name != "__pycache__":
-            template_configs = list(d.rglob("run.yaml"))
-            if len(template_configs) == 0:
-                continue
-            config = template_configs[0]
-            if user_specified_templates:
-                if not any(config.parent == t for t in user_specified_templates):
-                    continue
-            os.environ["LLAMA_STACK_CONFIG"] = str(config)
-            pytest_args = "--report" if args.report else ""
-            pytest.main(
-                [
-                    pytest_args,
-                    "-s",
-                    "-v",
-                    str(REPO_ROOT / CLIENT_SDK_TESTS_RELATIVE_PATH),
-                ]
-            )
-
-
-if __name__ == "__main__":
-    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
-        prog="llama_test",
-    )
-    parser.add_argument("--templates", nargs="+")
-    parser.add_argument("--report", action="store_true")
-    main(parser)

tests/integration/fixtures/common.py

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def is_port_available(port: int, host: str = "localhost") -> bool:
 
 def start_llama_stack_server(config_name: str) -> subprocess.Popen:
     """Start a llama stack server with the given config."""
-    cmd = f"uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --template {config_name} --image-type venv --run"
+    cmd = f"uv run --with llama-stack llama stack build --distro {config_name} --image-type venv --run"
     devnull = open(os.devnull, "w")
     process = subprocess.Popen(
         shlex.split(cmd),

tests/unit/distribution/test_build_path.py

@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ from llama_stack.core.utils.image_types import LlamaStackImageType
 def test_container_build_passes_path(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     called_with = {}
 
-    def spy_build_image(build_config, image_name, template_or_config, run_config=None):
+    def spy_build_image(build_config, image_name, distro_or_config, run_config=None):
-        called_with["path"] = template_or_config
+        called_with["path"] = distro_or_config
         called_with["run_config"] = run_config
         return 0