diff --git a/packages/create-gen-app/src/scaffolder/template-scaffolder.ts b/packages/create-gen-app/src/scaffolder/template-scaffolder.ts
index 4ce353e..376c491 100644
--- a/packages/create-gen-app/src/scaffolder/template-scaffolder.ts
+++ b/packages/create-gen-app/src/scaffolder/template-scaffolder.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ import {
   ScaffoldResult,
   BoilerplatesConfig,
   BoilerplateConfig,
+  InspectOptions,
+  InspectResult,
 } from './types';
 
 /**
@@ -80,6 +82,36 @@ export class TemplateScaffolder {
     return this.scaffoldFromRemote(resolvedTemplate, branch, options);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Inspect a template without scaffolding.
+   * Clones/caches the template and reads its .boilerplate.json configuration
+   * without copying any files to an output directory.
+   *
+   * This is useful for metadata-driven workflows where you need to know
+   * the template's type or other configuration before deciding how to handle it.
+   *
+   * @param options - Inspect options
+   * @returns Inspect result with template metadata
+   */
+  inspect(options: InspectOptions): InspectResult {
+    const template = options.template ?? this.config.defaultRepo;
+    if (!template) {
+      throw new Error(
+        'No template specified and no defaultRepo configured. ' +
+        'Either pass template in options or set defaultRepo in config.'
+      );
+    }
+
+    const branch = options.branch ?? this.config.defaultBranch;
+    const resolvedTemplate = this.resolveTemplatePath(template);
+
+    if (this.isLocalPath(resolvedTemplate) && fs.existsSync(resolvedTemplate)) {
+      return this.inspectLocal(resolvedTemplate, options.fromPath);
+    }
+
+    return this.inspectRemote(resolvedTemplate, branch, options.fromPath);
+  }
+
   /**
    * Read the .boilerplates.json configuration from a template repository root.
    */
@@ -133,6 +165,75 @@ export class TemplateScaffolder {
     return this.templatizer;
   }
 
+  private inspectLocal(
+    templateDir: string,
+    fromPath?: string
+  ): InspectResult {
+    const { fromPath: resolvedFromPath, resolvedTemplatePath } = this.resolveFromPath(
+      templateDir,
+      fromPath
+    );
+
+    const config = this.readBoilerplateConfig(resolvedTemplatePath);
+
+    return {
+      templateDir,
+      resolvedFromPath,
+      resolvedTemplatePath,
+      cacheUsed: false,
+      cacheExpired: false,
+      config,
+    };
+  }
+
+  private inspectRemote(
+    templateUrl: string,
+    branch: string | undefined,
+    fromPath?: string
+  ): InspectResult {
+    const normalizedUrl = this.gitCloner.normalizeUrl(templateUrl);
+    const cacheKey = this.cacheManager.createKey(normalizedUrl, branch);
+
+    const expiredMetadata = this.cacheManager.checkExpiration(cacheKey);
+    if (expiredMetadata) {
+      this.cacheManager.clear(cacheKey);
+    }
+
+    let templateDir: string;
+    let cacheUsed = false;
+
+    const cachedPath = this.cacheManager.get(cacheKey);
+    if (cachedPath && !expiredMetadata) {
+      templateDir = cachedPath;
+      cacheUsed = true;
+    } else {
+      const tempDest = path.join(this.cacheManager.getReposDir(), cacheKey);
+      this.gitCloner.clone(normalizedUrl, tempDest, {
+        branch,
+        depth: 1,
+        singleBranch: true,
+      });
+      this.cacheManager.set(cacheKey, tempDest);
+      templateDir = tempDest;
+    }
+
+    const { fromPath: resolvedFromPath, resolvedTemplatePath } = this.resolveFromPath(
+      templateDir,
+      fromPath
+    );
+
+    const config = this.readBoilerplateConfig(resolvedTemplatePath);
+
+    return {
+      templateDir,
+      resolvedFromPath,
+      resolvedTemplatePath,
+      cacheUsed,
+      cacheExpired: Boolean(expiredMetadata),
+      config,
+    };
+  }
+
   private async scaffoldFromLocal(
     templateDir: string,
     options: ScaffoldOptions
diff --git a/packages/create-gen-app/src/scaffolder/types.ts b/packages/create-gen-app/src/scaffolder/types.ts
index 9be0118..fa77f7a 100644
--- a/packages/create-gen-app/src/scaffolder/types.ts
+++ b/packages/create-gen-app/src/scaffolder/types.ts
@@ -145,3 +145,62 @@ export interface BoilerplateConfig {
    */
   questions?: Question[];
 }
+
+/**
+ * Options for inspecting a template without scaffolding.
+ * Used to read template metadata before deciding how to handle it.
+ */
+export interface InspectOptions {
+  /**
+   * Template repository URL, local path, or org/repo shorthand.
+   * If not provided, uses the defaultRepo from config.
+   */
+  template?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * Branch to clone (for remote repositories)
+   */
+  branch?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * Subdirectory within the template repository to inspect.
+   * Can be a direct path or a variant name that gets resolved via .boilerplates.json
+   */
+  fromPath?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Result of inspecting a template.
+ * Contains metadata about the template without copying any files.
+ */
+export interface InspectResult {
+  /**
+   * Path to the cached/cloned template directory
+   */
+  templateDir: string;
+
+  /**
+   * The resolved fromPath after .boilerplates.json resolution
+   */
+  resolvedFromPath?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * Full path to the resolved template directory
+   */
+  resolvedTemplatePath: string;
+
+  /**
+   * Whether a cached template was used
+   */
+  cacheUsed: boolean;
+
+  /**
+   * Whether the cache was expired and refreshed
+   */
+  cacheExpired: boolean;
+
+  /**
+   * The .boilerplate.json configuration from the template, if present
+   */
+  config: BoilerplateConfig | null;
+}