diff --git a/source/src/commands/add-template.cpp b/source/src/commands/add-template.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5b09992
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/src/commands/add-template.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,200 @@
+#include "command_registry.hpp"
+#include "config.hpp"
+#include "templates.hpp"
+#include "utils/directories.hpp"
+#include "utils/output.hpp"
+#include "utils/utils.hpp"
+
+#include <iostream>
+#include <fstream>
+#include <filesystem>
+
+#define JSON_INLINE_ALL
+#include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
+
+namespace dropshell {
+
+int add_template_handler(const CommandContext& ctx);
+
+static std::vector<std::string> add_template_name_list = {"add-template"};
+
+struct AddTemplateCommandRegister {
+    AddTemplateCommandRegister() {
+        CommandRegistry::instance().register_command({
+            add_template_name_list,
+            add_template_handler,
+            nullptr,
+            false, // hidden
+            true,  // requires_config
+            false, // requires_install
+            0,     // min_args
+            1,     // max_args (optional path, defaults to cwd)
+            "add-template [PATH]",
+            "Register the current directory (or PATH) as a template source.",
+            R"(
+Adds a directory to template_paths.json as a template source.
+
+  add-template          Register current directory (or its git repo root)
+  add-template PATH     Register the given directory (or its git repo root)
+
+The command will:
+  1. Walk up to the git repo root (if inside a git repo)
+  2. Verify dropshell templates exist in the tree
+  3. Auto-detect the git remote URL
+  4. Check the path (or a parent) isn't already registered
+  5. Add the entry to template_paths.json
+  6. Create dropshell-templates.list if it doesn't already exist
+            )"
+        });
+    }
+} add_template_command_register;
+
+// Find the git repo root containing dir_path, or return empty if not in a git repo.
+static std::filesystem::path find_git_root(const std::filesystem::path& dir_path) {
+    std::string cmd = "git -C " + quote(dir_path.string()) + " rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null";
+    FILE* pipe = popen(cmd.c_str(), "r");
+    if (!pipe) return {};
+    std::string result;
+    char buffer[512];
+    while (fgets(buffer, sizeof(buffer), pipe))
+        result += buffer;
+    int ret = pclose(pipe);
+    if (ret != 0) return {};
+    // Trim
+    while (!result.empty() && (result.back() == '\n' || result.back() == '\r'))
+        result.pop_back();
+    if (result.empty()) return {};
+    return std::filesystem::canonical(result);
+}
+
+// Extract the LOCAL_PATH from a template_paths.json entry string
+static std::string entry_local_path(const std::string& entry) {
+    size_t colon = entry.find(':');
+    return (colon != std::string::npos) ? entry.substr(0, colon) : entry;
+}
+
+// Check if candidate is equal to or a child of parent
+static bool is_same_or_child(const std::string& candidate, const std::string& parent) {
+    if (candidate == parent) return true;
+    // Check if candidate starts with parent + "/"
+    return candidate.size() > parent.size() &&
+           candidate.compare(0, parent.size(), parent) == 0 &&
+           candidate[parent.size()] == '/';
+}
+
+int add_template_handler(const CommandContext& ctx) {
+    // 1. Determine the starting directory
+    std::filesystem::path start_path;
+    if (ctx.args.empty())
+        start_path = std::filesystem::current_path();
+    else
+        start_path = std::filesystem::path(ctx.args[0]);
+
+    if (start_path.is_relative())
+        start_path = std::filesystem::current_path() / start_path;
+
+    std::error_code ec;
+    start_path = std::filesystem::canonical(start_path, ec);
+    if (ec || !std::filesystem::is_directory(start_path)) {
+        error << "Not a valid directory: " << start_path << std::endl;
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    // 2. Walk up to git repo root if we're inside a git repo
+    std::filesystem::path dir_path = start_path;
+    std::filesystem::path git_root = find_git_root(start_path);
+    if (!git_root.empty()) {
+        if (git_root != start_path)
+            info << "Using git repo root: " << git_root.string() << std::endl;
+        dir_path = git_root;
+    }
+    std::string local_path = dir_path.string();
+
+    // 3. Check for templates before doing anything else
+    auto templates = gTemplateManager().discover_templates(local_path);
+    if (templates.empty()) {
+        error << "No dropshell templates found in " << local_path << std::endl;
+        info << "  (looked for directories containing " << filenames::template_info_env << ")" << std::endl;
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    // 4. Find the template_paths.json file location
+    auto server_def_paths = gConfig().get_local_server_definition_paths();
+    if (server_def_paths.empty()) {
+        error << "No server definition paths configured" << std::endl;
+        return 1;
+    }
+    std::filesystem::path json_path = std::filesystem::path(server_def_paths[0]) / filenames::template_paths_json;
+
+    // 5. Load existing template_paths.json (or start fresh)
+    nlohmann::json j = nlohmann::json::array();
+    if (std::filesystem::exists(json_path)) {
+        std::ifstream f(json_path);
+        if (f.is_open()) {
+            try {
+                j = nlohmann::json::parse(f);
+            } catch (...) {
+                error << "Failed to parse " << json_path << std::endl;
+                return 1;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // 6. Check if this path or a parent is already registered
+    for (const auto& entry : j) {
+        if (!entry.is_string()) continue;
+        std::string existing = entry_local_path(entry.get<std::string>());
+        if (is_same_or_child(local_path, existing)) {
+            info << "Already covered by existing entry: " << existing << std::endl;
+            return 0;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // 7. Auto-detect git remote URL
+    std::string git_url;
+    if (!git_root.empty()) {
+        std::string cmd = "git -C " + quote(local_path) + " remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null";
+        FILE* pipe = popen(cmd.c_str(), "r");
+        if (pipe) {
+            char buffer[512];
+            while (fgets(buffer, sizeof(buffer), pipe))
+                git_url += buffer;
+            pclose(pipe);
+            while (!git_url.empty() && (git_url.back() == '\n' || git_url.back() == '\r'))
+                git_url.pop_back();
+        }
+    }
+
+    // 8. Build entry and add
+    std::string new_entry = local_path;
+    if (!git_url.empty())
+        new_entry += ":" + git_url;
+    j.push_back(new_entry);
+
+    // 9. Write template_paths.json
+    std::filesystem::create_directories(json_path.parent_path());
+    std::ofstream out(json_path);
+    if (!out.is_open()) {
+        error << "Failed to write " << json_path << std::endl;
+        return 1;
+    }
+    out << j.dump(4) << std::endl;
+    out.close();
+
+    info << "Added to " << json_path << ":" << std::endl;
+    info << "  " << new_entry << std::endl;
+
+    // 10. Create dropshell-templates.list if it doesn't exist
+    std::filesystem::path list_file = dir_path / filenames::dropshell_templates_list;
+    if (!std::filesystem::exists(list_file)) {
+        gTemplateManager().write_list_file(local_path, templates);
+    } else {
+        info << "Using existing " << list_file << std::endl;
+    }
+
+    info << "Found " << templates.size() << " template(s)" << std::endl;
+
+    return 0;
+}
+
+} // namespace dropshell
diff --git a/source/src/commands/help.cpp b/source/src/commands/help.cpp
index 084378e..a4c4389 100644
--- a/source/src/commands/help.cpp
+++ b/source/src/commands/help.cpp
@@ -158,6 +158,7 @@ int help_handler(const CommandContext& ctx) {
         show_command("create-template");
         info << std::endl;
         show_command("validate-template");
+        show_command("add-template");
         info << std::endl;
         show_command("pull");
     }
diff --git a/source/src/templates.cpp b/source/src/templates.cpp
index 7b978c1..84f6d0c 100644
--- a/source/src/templates.cpp
+++ b/source/src/templates.cpp
@@ -169,7 +169,8 @@
             }
 
             // Check if this directory contains template_info.env
-            if (std::filesystem::exists(it->path() / filenames::template_info_env)) {
+            std::error_code ec;
+            if (std::filesystem::exists(it->path() / filenames::template_info_env, ec) && !ec) {
                 // Get relative path from root
                 std::string rel = std::filesystem::relative(it->path(), root).string();
                 result.push_back(rel);
diff --git a/source/src/templates.hpp b/source/src/templates.hpp
index 9556307..b9e474f 100644
--- a/source/src/templates.hpp
+++ b/source/src/templates.hpp
@@ -70,13 +70,15 @@ class template_manager {
         bool pull_all();
         bool pull_for_template(const std::string& template_name);
 
+        // Template discovery and list file management
+        std::vector<std::string> discover_templates(const std::string& local_path) const;
+        void write_list_file(const std::string& local_path, const std::vector<std::string>& template_dirs) const;
+
     private:
         static bool required_file(std::string path, std::string template_name);
         void resolve_templates();
         void resolve_source(size_t source_index);
         std::vector<std::string> parse_list_file(const std::string& local_path) const;
-        std::vector<std::string> discover_templates(const std::string& local_path) const;
-        void write_list_file(const std::string& local_path, const std::vector<std::string>& template_dirs) const;
         bool git_pull_source(const TemplateSource& source);
         bool git_clone_source(const TemplateSource& source);