diff --git a/packages/appkit/src/registry/schemas/template-plugins.schema.json b/packages/appkit/src/registry/schemas/template-plugins.schema.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dc08e245
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/appkit/src/registry/schemas/template-plugins.schema.json
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
+  "$id": "https://databricks.github.io/appkit/schemas/template-plugins.schema.json",
+  "title": "AppKit Template Plugins Manifest",
+  "description": "Aggregated plugin manifest for AppKit templates. Read by Databricks CLI during init to discover available plugins and their resource requirements.",
+  "type": "object",
+  "required": ["version", "plugins"],
+  "properties": {
+    "$schema": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "description": "Reference to the JSON Schema for validation"
+    },
+    "version": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "const": "1.0",
+      "description": "Schema version for the template plugins manifest"
+    },
+    "plugins": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "description": "Map of plugin name to plugin manifest with package source",
+      "additionalProperties": {
+        "$ref": "#/$defs/templatePlugin"
+      }
+    }
+  },
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "$defs": {
+    "templatePlugin": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "required": [
+        "name",
+        "displayName",
+        "description",
+        "package",
+        "resources"
+      ],
+      "description": "Plugin manifest with package source information",
+      "properties": {
+        "name": {
+          "type": "string",
+          "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$",
+          "description": "Plugin identifier. Must be lowercase, start with a letter, and contain only letters, numbers, and hyphens.",
+          "examples": ["analytics", "server", "my-custom-plugin"]
+        },
+        "displayName": {
+          "type": "string",
+          "minLength": 1,
+          "description": "Human-readable display name for UI and CLI",
+          "examples": ["Analytics Plugin", "Server Plugin"]
+        },
+        "description": {
+          "type": "string",
+          "minLength": 1,
+          "description": "Brief description of what the plugin does",
+          "examples": ["SQL query execution against Databricks SQL Warehouses"]
+        },
+        "package": {
+          "type": "string",
+          "minLength": 1,
+          "description": "NPM package name that provides this plugin",
+          "examples": ["@databricks/appkit", "@my-org/custom-plugin"]
+        },
+        "resources": {
+          "type": "object",
+          "required": ["required", "optional"],
+          "description": "Databricks resource requirements for this plugin",
+          "properties": {
+            "required": {
+              "type": "array",
+              "description": "Resources that must be available for the plugin to function",
+              "items": {
+                "$ref": "#/$defs/resourceRequirement"
+              }
+            },
+            "optional": {
+              "type": "array",
+              "description": "Resources that enhance functionality but are not mandatory",
+              "items": {
+                "$ref": "#/$defs/resourceRequirement"
+              }
+            }
+          },
+          "additionalProperties": false
+        }
+      },
+      "additionalProperties": false
+    },
+    "resourceType": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "enum": [
+        "secret",
+        "job",
+        "sql_warehouse",
+        "serving_endpoint",
+        "volume",
+        "vector_search_index",
+        "uc_function",
+        "uc_connection",
+        "database",
+        "genie_space",
+        "experiment",
+        "app"
+      ],
+      "description": "Type of Databricks resource"
+    },
+    "resourcePermission": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "description": "Permission level required for the resource. Valid values depend on resource type.",
+      "examples": ["CAN_USE", "CAN_MANAGE", "READ", "WRITE", "EXECUTE"]
+    },
+    "resourceRequirement": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "required": ["type", "alias", "description", "permission"],
+      "properties": {
+        "type": {
+          "$ref": "#/$defs/resourceType"
+        },
+        "alias": {
+          "type": "string",
+          "pattern": "^[a-z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*$",
+          "description": "Unique alias for this resource within the plugin",
+          "examples": ["warehouse", "secrets", "vectorIndex"]
+        },
+        "description": {
+          "type": "string",
+          "minLength": 1,
+          "description": "Human-readable description of why this resource is needed"
+        },
+        "permission": {
+          "$ref": "#/$defs/resourcePermission"
+        },
+        "env": {
+          "type": "string",
+          "pattern": "^[A-Z][A-Z0-9_]*$",
+          "description": "Environment variable name where the resource ID should be provided",
+          "examples": ["DATABRICKS_WAREHOUSE_ID", "DATABRICKS_SECRET_SCOPE"]
+        }
+      },
+      "additionalProperties": false
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/appkit/tsdown.config.ts b/packages/appkit/tsdown.config.ts
index fb6cafe8..ad8c46be 100644
--- a/packages/appkit/tsdown.config.ts
+++ b/packages/appkit/tsdown.config.ts
@@ -51,6 +51,11 @@ export default defineConfig([
         from: "src/registry/schemas/plugin-manifest.schema.json",
         to: "dist/registry/schemas/plugin-manifest.schema.json",
       },
+      // JSON Schema for template plugins manifest
+      {
+        from: "src/registry/schemas/template-plugins.schema.json",
+        to: "dist/registry/schemas/template-plugins.schema.json",
+      },
     ],
   },
 ]);
diff --git a/packages/shared/bin/appkit.js b/packages/shared/bin/appkit.js
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/cli/commands/plugins-sync.ts b/packages/shared/src/cli/commands/plugins-sync.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7706261a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/shared/src/cli/commands/plugins-sync.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { Command } from "commander";
+
+/**
+ * Resource requirement as defined in plugin manifests
+ */
+interface ResourceRequirement {
+  type: string;
+  alias: string;
+  description: string;
+  permission: string;
+  env?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Plugin manifest structure (from SDK plugin manifest.json files)
+ */
+interface PluginManifest {
+  name: string;
+  displayName: string;
+  description: string;
+  resources: {
+    required: ResourceRequirement[];
+    optional: ResourceRequirement[];
+  };
+  config?: { schema: unknown };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Plugin entry in the template manifest (includes package source)
+ */
+interface TemplatePlugin extends Omit<PluginManifest, "config"> {
+  package: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Template plugins manifest structure
+ */
+interface TemplatePluginsManifest {
+  $schema: string;
+  version: string;
+  plugins: Record<string, TemplatePlugin>;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Known packages that may contain AppKit plugins.
+ * The sync command will scan these packages for plugin manifests.
+ */
+const KNOWN_PLUGIN_PACKAGES = [
+  "@databricks/appkit",
+  // Community packages can be added here or discovered dynamically in the future
+];
+
+/**
+ * Discover plugin manifests from a package's dist folder.
+ * Looks for manifest.json files in dist/plugins/{plugin-name}/ directories.
+ *
+ * @param packagePath - Path to the package in node_modules
+ * @returns Array of plugin manifests found in the package
+ */
+function discoverPluginManifests(packagePath: string): PluginManifest[] {
+  const pluginsDir = path.join(packagePath, "dist", "plugins");
+  const manifests: PluginManifest[] = [];
+
+  if (!fs.existsSync(pluginsDir)) {
+    return manifests;
+  }
+
+  const entries = fs.readdirSync(pluginsDir, { withFileTypes: true });
+  for (const entry of entries) {
+    if (entry.isDirectory()) {
+      const manifestPath = path.join(pluginsDir, entry.name, "manifest.json");
+      if (fs.existsSync(manifestPath)) {
+        try {
+          const content = fs.readFileSync(manifestPath, "utf-8");
+          const manifest = JSON.parse(content) as PluginManifest;
+          manifests.push(manifest);
+        } catch (error) {
+          console.warn(
+            `Warning: Failed to parse manifest at ${manifestPath}:`,
+            error instanceof Error ? error.message : error,
+          );
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return manifests;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Scan node_modules for packages with plugin manifests.
+ * Iterates through known plugin packages and discovers their manifests.
+ *
+ * @param cwd - Current working directory to search from
+ * @returns Map of plugin name to template plugin entry
+ */
+function scanForPlugins(cwd: string): TemplatePluginsManifest["plugins"] {
+  const plugins: TemplatePluginsManifest["plugins"] = {};
+
+  for (const packageName of KNOWN_PLUGIN_PACKAGES) {
+    const packagePath = path.join(cwd, "node_modules", packageName);
+    if (!fs.existsSync(packagePath)) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const manifests = discoverPluginManifests(packagePath);
+    for (const manifest of manifests) {
+      // Convert to template plugin format (exclude config schema)
+      plugins[manifest.name] = {
+        name: manifest.name,
+        displayName: manifest.displayName,
+        description: manifest.description,
+        package: packageName,
+        resources: manifest.resources,
+      };
+    }
+  }
+
+  return plugins;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Run the plugins sync command.
+ * Scans for plugin manifests and generates/updates appkit.plugins.json.
+ */
+function runPluginsSync(options: { write?: boolean; output?: string }) {
+  const cwd = process.cwd();
+  const outputPath = options.output || path.join(cwd, "appkit.plugins.json");
+
+  console.log("Scanning for AppKit plugins...\n");
+
+  const plugins = scanForPlugins(cwd);
+  const pluginCount = Object.keys(plugins).length;
+
+  if (pluginCount === 0) {
+    console.log("No plugins found in node_modules.");
+    console.log("\nMake sure you have plugin packages installed:");
+    for (const pkg of KNOWN_PLUGIN_PACKAGES) {
+      console.log(`  - ${pkg}`);
+    }
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  console.log(`Found ${pluginCount} plugin(s):`);
+  for (const [name, manifest] of Object.entries(plugins)) {
+    const resourceCount =
+      manifest.resources.required.length + manifest.resources.optional.length;
+    const resourceInfo =
+      resourceCount > 0 ? ` [${resourceCount} resource(s)]` : "";
+    console.log(
+      `  ✓ ${manifest.displayName} (${name}) from ${manifest.package}${resourceInfo}`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  const templateManifest: TemplatePluginsManifest = {
+    $schema:
+      "https://databricks.github.io/appkit/schemas/template-plugins.schema.json",
+    version: "1.0",
+    plugins,
+  };
+
+  if (options.write) {
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      outputPath,
+      JSON.stringify(templateManifest, null, 2) + "\n",
+    );
+    console.log(`\n✓ Wrote ${outputPath}`);
+  } else {
+    console.log("\nTo write the manifest, run:");
+    console.log("  npx appkit plugins sync --write\n");
+    console.log("Preview:");
+    console.log("─".repeat(60));
+    console.log(JSON.stringify(templateManifest, null, 2));
+    console.log("─".repeat(60));
+  }
+}
+
+export const pluginsSyncCommand = new Command("sync")
+  .description(
+    "Sync plugin manifests from installed packages into appkit.plugins.json",
+  )
+  .option("-w, --write", "Write the manifest file")
+  .option(
+    "-o, --output <path>",
+    "Output file path (default: ./appkit.plugins.json)",
+  )
+  .action(runPluginsSync);
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/cli/commands/plugins.ts b/packages/shared/src/cli/commands/plugins.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ff1de368
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/shared/src/cli/commands/plugins.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+import { Command } from "commander";
+import { pluginsSyncCommand } from "./plugins-sync.js";
+
+/**
+ * Parent command for plugin management operations.
+ * Subcommands:
+ *   - sync: Aggregate plugin manifests into appkit.plugins.json
+ *
+ * Future subcommands may include:
+ *   - add: Add a plugin to an existing project
+ *   - remove: Remove a plugin from a project
+ *   - list: List available plugins
+ */
+export const pluginsCommand = new Command("plugins")
+  .description("Plugin management commands")
+  .addCommand(pluginsSyncCommand);
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/cli/index.ts b/packages/shared/src/cli/index.ts
index 3b3c0293..23a19a53 100644
--- a/packages/shared/src/cli/index.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/src/cli/index.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { Command } from "commander";
 import { docsCommand } from "./commands/docs.js";
 import { generateTypesCommand } from "./commands/generate-types.js";
 import { lintCommand } from "./commands/lint.js";
+import { pluginsCommand } from "./commands/plugins.js";
 import { setupCommand } from "./commands/setup.js";
 
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
@@ -24,5 +25,6 @@ cmd.addCommand(setupCommand);
 cmd.addCommand(generateTypesCommand);
 cmd.addCommand(lintCommand);
 cmd.addCommand(docsCommand);
+cmd.addCommand(pluginsCommand);
 
 cmd.parse();
diff --git a/template/appkit.plugins.json b/template/appkit.plugins.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..23216b4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/template/appkit.plugins.json
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://databricks.github.io/appkit/schemas/template-plugins.schema.json",
+  "version": "1.0",
+  "plugins": {
+    "server": {
+      "name": "server",
+      "displayName": "Server Plugin",
+      "description": "HTTP server with Express, static file serving, and Vite dev mode support",
+      "package": "@databricks/appkit",
+      "resources": {
+        "required": [],
+        "optional": []
+      }
+    },
+    "analytics": {
+      "name": "analytics",
+      "displayName": "Analytics Plugin",
+      "description": "SQL query execution against Databricks SQL Warehouses",
+      "package": "@databricks/appkit",
+      "resources": {
+        "required": [
+          {
+            "type": "sql_warehouse",
+            "alias": "warehouse",
+            "description": "SQL Warehouse for executing analytics queries",
+            "permission": "CAN_USE",
+            "env": "DATABRICKS_WAREHOUSE_ID"
+          }
+        ],
+        "optional": []
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/template/databricks.yml.tmpl b/template/databricks.yml.tmpl
index cdfa3fe0..74ff0455 100644
--- a/template/databricks.yml.tmpl
+++ b/template/databricks.yml.tmpl
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 bundle:
   name: {{.project_name}}
-{{if .bundle_variables}}
+{{if .variables}}
 
 variables:
-{{.bundle_variables}}
+{{.variables}}
 {{- end}}
 
 resources:
@@ -16,16 +16,15 @@ resources:
       # Uncomment to enable on behalf of user API scopes. Available scopes: sql, dashboards.genie, files.files
       # user_api_scopes:
       #   - sql
-{{if .bundle_resources}}
+{{if .resources}}
 
       # The resources which this app has access to.
       resources:
-{{.bundle_resources}}
+{{.resources}}
 {{- end}}
 
 targets:
   default:
-    # mode: production
     default: true
     workspace:
       host: {{workspace_host}}
diff --git a/template/features/analytics/app_env.yml b/template/features/analytics/app_env.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 9228a9dd..00000000
--- a/template/features/analytics/app_env.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-  - name: DATABRICKS_WAREHOUSE_ID
-    valueFrom: warehouse
diff --git a/template/features/analytics/bundle_resources.yml b/template/features/analytics/bundle_resources.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index b3a631c0..00000000
--- a/template/features/analytics/bundle_resources.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-        - name: 'warehouse'
-          sql_warehouse:
-            id: ${var.warehouse_id}
-            permission: 'CAN_USE'
diff --git a/template/features/analytics/bundle_variables.yml b/template/features/analytics/bundle_variables.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index ac4fbf15..00000000
--- a/template/features/analytics/bundle_variables.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-  warehouse_id:
-    description: The ID of the warehouse to use
diff --git a/template/features/analytics/dotenv.yml b/template/features/analytics/dotenv.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 7d17f13c..00000000
--- a/template/features/analytics/dotenv.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-DATABRICKS_WAREHOUSE_ID={{.sql_warehouse_id}}
diff --git a/template/features/analytics/dotenv_example.yml b/template/features/analytics/dotenv_example.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 1ae1aa74..00000000
--- a/template/features/analytics/dotenv_example.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-DATABRICKS_WAREHOUSE_ID=
diff --git a/template/features/analytics/target_variables.yml b/template/features/analytics/target_variables.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 0de7b63b..00000000
--- a/template/features/analytics/target_variables.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-      warehouse_id: {{.sql_warehouse_id}}
diff --git a/template/server/server.ts b/template/server/server.ts
index da041927..b36fb1fb 100644
--- a/template/server/server.ts
+++ b/template/server/server.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
-import { createApp, server, {{.plugin_import}} } from '@databricks/appkit';
+import { createApp, server, {{.plugin_imports}} } from '@databricks/appkit';
 
 createApp({
   plugins: [
     server(),
-    {{.plugin_usage}},
-  ],
+{{.plugin_usages}}  ],
 }).catch(console.error);