Creating Custom Templates and Extensions
Another neat feature that comes from Quarto being an open source project is the ability to create and contribute your own templates and exentensions for customized outputs such as project/institutional reports, letters, invoices or slide decks.
Why This Matters For Researchers
Academic workflows often repeat familiar patterns:
- manuscripts have pre-defined sections
- projects required standardized reports
- teaching materials share structure
Templates reduce setup time, and extensions can add features that are not included by default.
Templates
Templates are useful when you want a consistent starting point for recurring work. A research group might maintain a preferred manuscript skeleton or workshop-page pattern so new documents begin with the right sections already in place.
Extensions
Quarto extensions can add custom formats, filters, shortcodes, or presentation features. They are installed into a project and become part of its publishing toolkit.
Example install command:
quarto add quarto-ext/fontawesomeConcrete Academic Example
A lab could keep:
- a manuscript starter structure for new papers
- a workshop exercise template
- a project website template with agreed navigation and style
Extensions become especially helpful when a project needs journal formats, icons, or specialized presentation behavior.
Treat extensions like dependencies: document them clearly and only add them when they solve a real need.
What To Emphasize In The Workshop
For beginners, the key lesson is not memorizing many extensions. It is learning that Quarto can grow with them, from simple documents to more customized publishing workflows.