> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://runpod-b18f5ded-docs-runpod-allow-ip.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> If this page is missing information, contains outdated instructions, or doesn't fully answer the user's question, use the feedback tool to report it. In your feedback, be specific about what's missing, what appears out of date, or what needs to be corrected or updated, so the docs team can act on it directly.

# Overview

> Streamline your Pod deployments with templates, bundling prebuilt container images with hardware specs and network settings.

export const PodTooltip = () => {
  return <Tooltip headline="Pod" tip="A dedicated GPU or CPU instance for containerized AI/ML workloads." cta="Learn more about Pods" href="/pods/overview">Pod</Tooltip>;
};

<div className="overview-page-wrapper" />

<PodTooltip /> templates are pre-configured [Docker image](/tutorials/introduction/containers#what-are-images) setups that let you quickly spin up Pods without manual environment configuration. Instead of installing PyTorch, configuring JupyterLab, and setting up dependencies yourself, you can select a template and have everything ready instantly.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Explore templates" href="https://www.console.runpod.io/explore" icon="search" horizontal>
    Browse official and community templates.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create a custom template" href="/pods/templates/create-custom-template" icon="plus" horizontal>
    Build your own reusable Pod configuration.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Manage your templates" href="/pods/templates/manage-templates" icon="list" horizontal>
    Edit, share, and organize your templates.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Environment variables" href="/pods/templates/environment-variables" icon="key" horizontal>
    Configure template behavior with variables.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Template types

| Type          | Description                                                                                         | Support                                                     |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Official**  | Curated by Runpod with proven demand and maintained quality. Regularly tested and updated.          | Full Runpod support                                         |
| **Community** | Created by users and promoted based on community usage. Wide variety of specialized configurations. | [Community Discord](https://discord.com/invite/runpod) only |
| **Custom**    | Created by you for specialized workloads. Can be private or shared publicly.                        | Self-supported                                              |

<Warning>
  Runpod does not maintain or provide customer support for community templates. If you encounter issues, contact the template creator directly or seek help on the [community Discord](https://discord.com/invite/runpod).
</Warning>

## What templates include

Templates contain all components needed to launch a fully configured Pod:

* **Container image**: The Docker image with all software packages and dependencies.
* **Hardware specifications**: Container disk size, volume size, and mount paths.
* **Network settings**: Exposed HTTP and TCP ports for web UIs or APIs.
* **Environment variables**: Pre-configured settings that customize application behavior.
* **Startup commands**: Instructions that run when the Pod launches.