How to keep boilerplate across client projects for freelance developers in 2026

Keep boilerplate for each client project in one place, reuse it safely, and compare tools that help freelance developers do it.

By SupaKeeper · 2026-10-25

SupaKeeper is published by LunarWerx, which makes some of the tools compared here.

To keep boilerplate across client projects, keep one clean copy of each reusable block, mark the parts that change for each client, and use a tool that makes those blocks easy to reach from every project you open.

Option	What to check
Copilot AI Productivity Suite	Check that your editor is VS Code 1.116.0 or newer, which the extension needs. ^[1]
Your editor's own snippet feature	Check whether its blanks can be filled in each time and whether saved blocks can move to another machine.
A shared template repository	Check how changes to a shared block reach projects that already started, and who is allowed to edit it.

What you need before you start

Boilerplate is the repeated code and text that starts most of your projects, such as configuration files, standard error handling, test setup, and standard contract or invoice wording. Before you choose how to keep it, gather the blocks you copy most often and note which of them are the same for every client.

Know which parts change from client to client, such as a client name, a project code, or a rate. Keep those parts clearly separate so a block can be reused without carrying one client's details into another project.

Decide where your work lives. Some freelancers work on one laptop, others switch between several machines, and some share blocks with a collaborator. The answer changes which kind of storage you need.

Check what your client agreements say about reusing code. Some agreements say who owns code written for a project, and that affects whether a block from one client can be used in work for another.

Step by step

Follow these steps with any tool, or with none.

Write down the blocks you reuse. Include the text and code you copy into most new projects.

Remove client names, rates and dates from each block. Replace them with clearly marked blanks so each copy starts clean.

Store each block once, in a single place, and give it a name that describes what it does so you can find it without remembering where it lives.

Group related blocks together, such as all the setup files for one kind of project, so you can add the whole set in one move.

Set a simple rule for where a new project starts. Copy from the stored blocks rather than from the last client's folder.

Fill in the blanks for each client before you commit or send anything, and check that no earlier client's name is left behind.

When you improve a stored block, decide whether older projects should get the change. Recheck your process when your work or your tools change.

Tools that can do it

Copilot AI Productivity Suite is made by the team that publishes this site.

It is a VS Code extension that needs VS Code 1.116.0 or newer, and it is also on Open VSX for Cursor, Windsurf and VSCodium. ^[1] You install it from the VS Code Marketplace under the name LunarWerx.copilot-suite. ^[1]

You can sort snippets, which are saved blocks of text, into folders, including folders inside folders. ^[1] You can also bundle several snippets into a group that you can use all at once. ^[1]

You can mark blanks in a snippet, and each blank, with an optional default value, asks you for a value when you insert the snippet. ^[1]

Inside Copilot Chat, typing a short command that names a snippet puts the exact saved text of that snippet into the conversation. ^[1]

You can select several snippets to move, delete or insert all at once. ^[1]

You can export snippets as JSON, a plain text file format, or make a share link, and a teammate can import them. ^[1]

Signing in with an account, using a one-time code sent by email, syncs your snippets, groups and settings across your machines. ^[1]

If you turn on slash command export, each snippet is also written out as a slash command file for Claude Code and Codex CLI, and those files stay in sync as you edit. ^[1]

A bundled local server, which the tool calls an MCP server, makes your snippets and groups available to Claude Code, Codex CLI and other tools that connect to it on your computer. ^[1]

You can pin up to five favorite snippets to the VS Code status bar, the strip at the bottom of the editor. ^[1]

You can create and edit Copilot toolsets, custom agents, instruction files and prompt files from the sidebar. ^[1]

The Free plan costs $0 and lets you make 20 insertions a week. ^[1] Premium costs $6.99 a month and allows unlimited insertions. ^[1]

While VS Code telemetry is on, the extension sends anonymous usage statistics, but never snippet content. ^[1]

The extension uses a proprietary licence, so the software is proprietary and confidential to LunarWerx. ^[1]

This page does not describe the other options, so the table lists what to check for each one. Compare each option against the job of keeping boilerplate across client projects.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid copying a block into a new project without removing the previous client's names, rates and dates. A leftover detail is easy to miss and can reach a client's project by accident.

Avoid keeping several slightly different copies of the same block. When one copy is improved, the others quietly fall behind.

Avoid storing reusable blocks on only one machine if you work from more than one. Check how the tool you choose keeps blocks in step across machines.

Avoid reusing code that a client agreement says belongs to that client. Check the agreement before moving code between projects.

Avoid vague names such as final2 or new-version. A name that describes the block's job makes it much easier to find months later.

Avoid choosing a tool before you list the blocks you reuse. Compare options against that list instead of against features you may never need.

Frequently asked questions

How do freelance developers keep boilerplate across client projects?

Freelance developers usually keep one clean copy of each reusable block, mark the parts that change for each client, and start every new project from those stored blocks rather than from an old client's folder. The method works with any tool. The tool you choose should make the blocks easy to find, fill in and keep up to date across your projects and machines.

Is Copilot AI Productivity Suite free to use?

The Free plan costs $0 and lets you make 20 insertions a week. ^[1] Premium costs $6.99 a month and allows unlimited insertions. ^[1] Check which plan covers the number of snippets you expect to insert each week before you choose.

Does Copilot AI Productivity Suite work with Claude Code?

The slash command export writes each snippet out as a slash command file for Claude Code and Codex CLI, and those files stay in sync as you edit. ^[1] A bundled local server also makes snippets and groups available to Claude Code and other MCP clients on your computer. ^[1]

Does Copilot AI Productivity Suite send usage data?

While VS Code telemetry is on, the extension sends anonymous usage statistics, but never snippet content. ^[1] If you want to limit what leaves your editor, review that setting in VS Code before you start using the extension.

What should be checked before choosing a tool for client boilerplate?

Check whether the tool keeps blanks you can fill in for each client, whether it can share blocks with a collaborator, and whether it keeps copies in step across the machines you use. Check your editor version and the licence terms as well. Then try the choice on one real project before moving all your blocks into it.

There is a Free plan at $0 that allows 20 Copilot insertions a week. ^[1]

Try Copilot AI Productivity Suite

Sources

Copilot AI Productivity Suite's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)