Templates Overview
Templates in Soku are reusable visual layouts that generate dynamic content — images, text overlays, and branded graphics — from a set of input parameters. You design a template once, and then use it repeatedly with different data to produce consistent, on-brand content at scale.
Templates power two key capabilities in Soku:
- Content repurposing — Automatically transform content from one platform into a different format for another platform using templates in your automation workflows.
- OG image generation — Render dynamic Open Graph images via the API for use on websites, blogs, and link previews.
Where to Find Templates
Templates are managed at /templates in your Soku dashboard. The templates page includes:
- Template catalog — A browsable gallery of all your templates, displayed as visual cards showing a preview of each template.
- Filters — Filter templates by type (image or text), by creator, or by search term.
- Create button — Click New Template to open the template editor and build a new template from scratch.
What a Template Contains
Every template is made up of the following:
| Component | Description |
|---|
| Canvas | A fixed-size artboard that defines the output dimensions (e.g., 1080x1080 for an Instagram square, 1200x630 for an OG image) |
| Elements | The visual building blocks placed on the canvas — text layers, images, and shapes |
| Dynamic parameters | Placeholder fields in text and image elements that accept input data at render time |
| Template slug | A unique identifier used to reference the template in the API and in automation configurations (e.g., tweetImage, branded-quote-card) |
Template Use Cases
Automated Content Repurposing
When Soku detects new content on a source platform, a template can automatically generate new content for a destination platform. For example:
- A TikTok video is detected. The template takes the video’s title and thumbnail and renders a branded image card for Instagram.
- An Instagram Reel is detected. The template extracts the caption and renders a formatted text image for X (Twitter).
Templates used for repurposing are referenced by Repurpose Links and Automation Workflows.
OG Image Generation
Templates can be rendered on demand through the Soku API to produce dynamic Open Graph images. This is useful for:
- Blog posts that need a unique social preview image for each article.
- Landing pages with personalized OG images based on URL parameters.
- Automated social cards for newsletters or product pages.
See OG Image Templates for API details and usage examples.
Manual Post Creation
You can also apply templates when creating posts manually in Soku. Select a template, fill in the dynamic fields, and the generated image is attached to your post.
See Using Templates in Posts for a step-by-step guide.
Template Elements
Templates are composed of elements that you place and arrange on the canvas. Each element type has its own set of properties.
| Element Type | Description |
|---|
| Text | A text layer with configurable font, size, color, alignment, and position. Text elements can contain dynamic parameters that are replaced at render time. |
| Image | An image layer that displays a static image (uploaded during template creation) or a dynamic image (provided at render time, such as a thumbnail or avatar). |
| Rectangle | A shape element used for backgrounds, dividers, cards, and overlays. Supports fill color, border, border radius, and opacity. |
Dynamic Parameters
Dynamic parameters are the key to making templates reusable. Instead of hardcoding text or images into a template, you define placeholders that accept different values each time the template is rendered.
For example, a template with a title parameter and an authorName parameter could produce:
- Render 1: title = “5 Tips for Better Lighting”, authorName = “Jane Smith”
- Render 2: title = “How I Grew to 100K Followers”, authorName = “Alex Chen”
Same template, different output each time.
Dynamic parameters are passed as a config object when the template is rendered — either through the API, through a repurpose link, or when creating a post.
Template parameters are flexible. You can define as many or as few as your design requires. Common parameters include title, author, content, backgroundImage, and avatarUrl.
Getting Started
| I want to… | Go here |
|---|
| Create a new template | Creating Templates |
| Use a template when creating a post | Using Templates in Posts |
| Generate OG images via the API | OG Image Templates |
| Use templates in automated repurposing | Content Repurposing |
| Set up automation workflows with templates | Automation Workflows |
Related Pages
