VICIdial Carrier Template ID and Conf File Templates

On the add-carrier form, right next to Registration String, sits a field called Template ID. Most tutorials tell you to leave it blank, and for a single trunk that is the right call. But once you run several carriers or several phones that share the same baseline settings, Template ID is how you stop copying the same lines into every record.

A conf file template is a named block of settings that phones and carriers can point at instead of carrying their own full account entry. Set the parameters once in the template, then have every trunk that needs them reference it by Template ID.

What a template holds

A template has its own short identifier between 2 and 15 characters with no spaces, a descriptive name, and a Template Contents box. The contents are the shared lines, for example allow=gsm to permit the GSM Codec across every entry that uses the template. Any Carrier or phone set to use that template inherits those lines in its generated conf.

The whole point is consistency. If you want the same disallow and allow rules, the same dtmfmode, the same context across ten trunks, you write them once in the template. Change the template later and every record that references it updates when the Conf file regenerates.

Template versus account entry

flowchart TD
  A[Carrier record] --> B{Template ID set?}
  B -->|Yes| C[Conf pulls shared template]
  B -->|No| D[Conf uses Account Entry field]
  C --> E[Per-record credentials added]
  D --> F[All settings inline on record]
  E --> G[Conf file generated]
  F --> G

The Account Entry field and the Template ID field are two ways to feed the same generated conf. If you select a template, the Account Entry is not the source of the shared settings. If you leave Template ID blank, the Account Entry carries everything inline. Use one approach per record and be consistent so you always know where a setting lives.

When templates are worth it

For one carrier, skip it. The Account Entry is simpler to read and audit. Templates pay off when you maintain a fleet of SIP trunk records or many phones that should march in step. They also reduce the chance of a typo drifting one trunk away from the rest, since the shared lines exist in exactly one place.

For how Template ID fits with the rest of the carrier setup, see our carrier integration guide. The companion post on the carrier Account Entry covers the inline alternative in detail.

Wrap-up

Use Template ID to share baseline trunk settings across many records, keep credentials off the template, and leave it blank when one carrier is all you run. On VICIfast we build the conf for you and your box is ready in under 40 seconds, so you can test a template against a real trunk right away. See our pricing to launch one.