ClickUp Templates: Ready-Made Setups for Everyday Workflows

ClickUp templates let you reuse a setup instead of rebuilding it for every client, campaign or sprint. They are available on every plan, including Free Forever, and ClickUp's own product description lists 1,000+ templates. The useful ones are usually the short setups you save after a real project, not the largest template you can find.

If you are new to the hierarchy, read how to use ClickUp first. Templates sit on top of that structure: Workspace, Spaces, Folders, Lists, and tasks.

What are ClickUp templates?

A template is a saved copy of work you can apply again. ClickUp Help documents templates for these items:

• Spaces
• Folders and Subfolders
• Lists
• Tasks
• Docs
• Views
• Checklists
• Whiteboards

You open them in the Template Center. That library has three tabs: Featured templates, Workspace templates your members saved, and ClickUp templates from the community. You can filter by template type, by complexity (Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced), and by use case or tags.

Templates are available on every plan. Guests are more limited. ClickUp Help says guests can use templates for Docs, tasks, views, checklists and Whiteboards, and that guests cannot use Space templates. Private items inside a template stay limited to people who already have access to the original.

The ClickUp hub links the rest of the setup guides, including pricing and use cases, if you want the wider map before you build a library.

Which ClickUp template type should you use?

Match the template to how often the work repeats and how much structure it needs.

A task template can carry a lot of detail. ClickUp Help lists description, assignees, start and due dates, duration, subtasks, Custom Fields, dependencies, relationships, tags, task types, time estimates, recurring settings and comments among the import options. Formula Fields are not included. If the template would push a task past 1,000 subtasks, applying it fails. Archived tasks are included by default unless you turn that off.

When you apply a Space, Folder or List template, you can import everything or choose items. You can also keep the original dates or remap them so the new project starts on the date you pick.

ClickUp templates for common workflows

These are setups to build and save. They are not names from ClickUp's catalog. Use the Template Center if you want a community starting point, then trim it.

Freelancers. One List template per service is enough. Statuses such as To do, Doing, Client review and Done cover most delivery. Keep files linked from Drive when you are on the free plan's 60MB storage cap. See ClickUp for freelancers.

Agencies. A Folder template per client is the setup that pays off. Put a kickoff List, a project List and a Doc for the brief inside it. Keep statuses identical across clients so dashboards stay readable. Guest access is how clients review work without seeing internal Lists. Details are in ClickUp for agencies.

Marketing. A campaign List with a brief Doc stops every launch from inventing new columns. ClickUp for marketing teams covers calendars and reporting around that template.

Sprints. ClickUp Help says you can set a default List template on a Sprint Folder so each new sprint starts with the same tasks, views and Automations. Keep that template thin: statuses, a Board view, and the fields you estimate with. Points and sprint reporting have plan limits, covered in ClickUp pricing.

Onboarding. An employee or client onboarding List should name an owner for every task. A Doc template holds the account checklist so the tasks stay short.

How do you save and apply a ClickUp template?

ClickUp Help describes the same path for most items:

1. Open the Space, Folder, List, task, Doc, view, checklist or Whiteboard.
2. Open the settings menu (the ellipsis) or right-click the location in the sidebar.
3. Select Templates, then Save as Template.
4. Name it. Add a description and tags if other people will search for it.
5. Choose who can use it: specific people, the Workspace, admins only, or a public link.
6. Choose Import everything, or Customize import items if you want to drop dates, assignees or archived tasks.
7. Save.

To apply one, open Templates from the location where the new work should live, pick the template in the Template Center, and choose Use Template. For a Space, you name the new Space and decide whether to remap dates.

Updating works through Update existing Template. Customizing the imported items overwrites that template, so rename or duplicate first if you still need the old version.

Two limits are easy to miss. You need access to the original item, including a private or deleted source, or the template will not apply. And a task template that includes too many subtasks will fail at the 1,000 subtask limit.

How should you keep templates small?

A template that includes every ClickApp, every view and a year's archived tasks is slower to apply and harder to trust. ClickUp's task import options exist so you can leave assignees, comments and old dates behind.

Practical rules:

• One status set per kind of work. Do not invent a new column for a single client.
• Leave assignees blank unless the same person always does that step.
• Put process detail in a Doc or checklist, not in a 40-subtask task.
• Turn off archived tasks unless you have a reason to copy history.
• Review the template after two uses. Delete steps nobody completes.
• Pair one automation with the template, such as assigning a reviewer when status changes to In review. More patterns are in ClickUp automations.

Space templates are the heaviest option. Use them when a whole team shares the same ClickApps and views. For a new client or a new campaign, a Folder or List is usually the right size.

When should you skip a template?

Skip the template when the work is a one-off, or when you are still learning the hierarchy. A blank List with four statuses teaches more than a 200-task community template.

Also skip ClickUp templates if the job is only a simple board. Trello is easier to learn for basic Kanban, and our comparison of ClickUp vs Trello explains that trade-off. If the work is mostly documents, Notion is the stronger docs tool. ClickUp still fits when the template must create tasks, Docs and a Board in one place.

The ClickUp review covers the learning curve in more detail. Start on the free plan, save one template from real work, and add the next only when a second project repeats the first.