From 1d2b39081e2af305b5c329a125a110229fe2a75c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:00:04 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 01/15] Init template support

---
 src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt               | 37 ++++++++-
 .../wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp     | 10 +--
 src/windows/wslc/commands/ContainerCommand.h  |  1 -
 .../wslc/commands/ContainerListCommand.cpp    | 12 ---
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp    | 56 +++++++++++++
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h      | 30 +++++++
 src/windows/wslc/services/ContainerModel.h    |  1 +
 src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp     | 24 ++++++
 src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def  |  3 +
 src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go   | 79 +++++++++++++++++++
 10 files changed, 233 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
 create mode 100644 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
 create mode 100644 src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def
 create mode 100644 src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
index b1552aa9a..08f180c26 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,6 +6,33 @@ list(TRANSFORM WSLC_SUBDIR_PATHS APPEND /*.cpp OUTPUT_VARIABLE SOURCE_PATTERNS)
 file(GLOB_RECURSE HEADERS CONFIGURE_DEPENDS ${HEADER_PATTERNS})
 file(GLOB_RECURSE SOURCES CONFIGURE_DEPENDS ${SOURCE_PATTERNS})
 
+# Build Go template renderer library
+set(GO_TEMPLATE_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/tools/gotemplate)
+set(GO_OUTPUT_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/CMakeFiles/gotemplate)
+
+if(CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM MATCHES "ARM64")
+    set(GO_ARCH arm64)
+    set(GO_LIB_MACHINE ARM64)
+else()
+    set(GO_ARCH amd64)
+    set(GO_LIB_MACHINE X64)
+endif()
+
+set(GO_OUTPUT_DLL ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.dll)
+set(GO_OUTPUT_LIB ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.lib)
+
+add_custom_command(
+    OUTPUT ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB}
+    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E make_directory ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}
+    COMMAND powershell -NoProfile -Command "cd '${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}' ; \$env:GOOS='windows' ; \$env:GOARCH='${GO_ARCH}' ; \$env:CGO_ENABLED='1' ; go build -o '${GO_OUTPUT_DLL}' -buildmode=c-shared render.go"
+    COMMAND lib /def:${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.def /out:${GO_OUTPUT_LIB} /machine:${GO_LIB_MACHINE}
+    DEPENDS ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.go ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/go.mod ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.def
+    COMMENT "Building Go template renderer library"
+    VERBATIM
+)
+
+add_custom_target(gotemplate_lib ALL DEPENDS ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB})
+
 # Object library for WSLC components.
 # Used to build the executable and also unit testing components.
 add_library(wslclib OBJECT ${SOURCES} ${HEADERS})
@@ -14,7 +41,11 @@ target_include_directories(wslclib PUBLIC ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} ${WSLC_SUB
 target_link_libraries(wslclib
                       ${COMMON_LINK_LIBRARIES}
                       yaml-cpp
-                      common)
+                      common
+                      ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB})
+
+# Add dependency on Go library
+add_dependencies(wslclib gotemplate_lib)
 
 target_precompile_headers(wslclib REUSE_FROM common)
 set_target_properties(wslclib PROPERTIES FOLDER windows)
@@ -24,6 +55,10 @@ add_executable(wslc $<TARGET_OBJECTS:wslclib>)
 
 target_link_libraries(wslc wslclib)
 
+add_custom_command(TARGET wslc POST_BUILD
+    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy_if_different ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} $<TARGET_FILE_DIR:wslc>/render.dll
+)
+
 set_target_properties(wslc PROPERTIES FOLDER windows)
 
 # For prettier source tree browsing
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp
index ea47a5f55..0ce864e64 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp
@@ -158,15 +158,13 @@ FormatType GetFormatTypeFromString(const std::wstring& input, const std::wstring
     {
         return FormatType::Json;
     }
-    else if (IsEqual(input, L"table"))
+    
+    if (IsEqual(input, L"table"))
     {
         return FormatType::Table;
     }
-    else
-    {
-        throw ArgumentException(std::format(
-            L"Invalid {} value: {} is not a recognized format type. Supported format types are: json, table.", argName, input));
-    }
+
+    return FormatType::Template;
 }
 
 } // namespace wsl::windows::wslc::validation
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/commands/ContainerCommand.h b/src/windows/wslc/commands/ContainerCommand.h
index 503618a6d..269084147 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/commands/ContainerCommand.h
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/commands/ContainerCommand.h
@@ -119,7 +119,6 @@ struct ContainerListCommand final : public Command
     std::wstring LongDescription() const override;
 
 protected:
-    void ValidateArgumentsInternal(const ArgMap& execArgs) const override;
     void ExecuteInternal(CLIExecutionContext& context) const override;
 };
 
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/commands/ContainerListCommand.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/commands/ContainerListCommand.cpp
index 1fb3a6795..7662694d7 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/commands/ContainerListCommand.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/commands/ContainerListCommand.cpp
@@ -46,18 +46,6 @@ std::wstring ContainerListCommand::LongDescription() const
     return Localization::WSLCCLI_ContainerListLongDesc();
 }
 
-void ContainerListCommand::ValidateArgumentsInternal(const ArgMap& execArgs) const
-{
-    if (execArgs.Contains(ArgType::Format))
-    {
-        auto format = execArgs.Get<ArgType::Format>();
-        if (!IsEqual(format, L"json") && !IsEqual(format, L"table"))
-        {
-            throw CommandException(Localization::WSLCCLI_InvalidFormatError());
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 // clang-format off
 void ContainerListCommand::ExecuteInternal(CLIExecutionContext& context) const
 {
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5cca8229d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+/*++
+
+Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+Module Name:
+
+    GoTemplateRenderer.cpp
+
+Abstract:
+
+    Implementation of the Go template renderer.
+
+--*/
+
+#include "TemplateRenderer.h"
+#include <wil/result_macros.h>
+#include <windows.h>
+#include <string>
+#include <stdexcept>
+
+namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core {
+
+using namespace wsl::shared::string;
+
+// Forward declaration of C functions from Go library
+extern "C" {
+    char* RenderGoTemplate(char* templateStr, char* jsonData);
+    void FreeMemory(char* ptr);
+}
+
+std::wstring TemplateRenderer::Render(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData)
+{
+    // Call the Go template renderer
+    char* result = RenderGoTemplate(const_cast<char*>(templateStr.c_str()), const_cast<char*>(jsonData.c_str()));
+
+    if (result == nullptr)
+    {
+        throw std::runtime_error("error: Go template renderer returned null");
+    }
+
+    // Check if result is an error message (starts with "error:")
+    std::string resultStr(result);
+
+    // Free the memory allocated by Go
+    FreeMemory(result);
+
+    // If it's an error, throw an exception
+    if (resultStr.starts_with("error:"))
+    {
+        throw std::runtime_error(resultStr);
+    }
+
+    return MultiByteToWide(resultStr);
+}
+
+} // namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..175f17043
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*++
+
+Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+Module Name:
+
+    TemplateRenderer.h
+
+Abstract:
+
+    This file contains the interface for rendering Go templates with JSON data.
+
+--*/
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <string>
+#include <memory>
+
+namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core {
+
+struct TemplateRenderer
+{
+    // Renders a Go template with the provided JSON data.
+    // Returns the rendered output as a wide string.
+    // Throws an exception if template rendering fails.
+    static std::wstring Render(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData);
+};
+
+} // namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/services/ContainerModel.h b/src/windows/wslc/services/ContainerModel.h
index c4da81fab..a95c51040 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/services/ContainerModel.h
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/services/ContainerModel.h
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ enum class FormatType
 {
     Table,
     Json,
+    Template,
 };
 
 struct ContainerOptions
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
index 55e19e478..20196fc5d 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ Module Name:
     Implementation of container command related execution logic.
 
 --*/
+
 #include "Argument.h"
 #include "ArgumentValidation.h"
 #include "CLIExecutionContext.h"
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ Module Name:
 #include "SessionModel.h"
 #include "SessionService.h"
 #include "TableOutput.h"
+#include "TemplateRenderer.h"
 #include <wil/result_macros.h>
 #include <wslc_schema.h>
 
@@ -167,6 +169,28 @@ void ListContainers(CLIExecutionContext& context)
         table.Complete();
         break;
     }
+    case FormatType::Template:
+    {
+        WI_ASSERT(context.Args.Contains(ArgType::Format));
+        auto templateStr = WideToMultiByte(context.Args.Get<ArgType::Format>());
+
+        // Render the template using Go
+        try
+        {
+            for (const auto& container : containers)
+            {
+                auto json = ToJson(container, c_jsonPrettyPrintIndent);
+                auto result = wsl::windows::wslc::core::TemplateRenderer::Render(templateStr, json);
+                PrintMessage(result);
+            }
+        }
+        catch (const std::exception& e)
+        {
+            PrintMessage(MultiByteToWide(std::string("Template rendering error: ") + e.what()));
+            context.ExitCode = 1;
+        }
+        break;
+    }
     default:
         THROW_HR(E_UNEXPECTED);
     }
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..36306eade
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+EXPORTS
+    RenderGoTemplate
+    FreeMemory
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a85048cc4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+// +build cgo
+
+package main
+
+/*
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+// Exported C functions
+char* RenderGoTemplate(char* templateStr, char* jsonData);
+void FreeMemory(char* ptr);
+*/
+import "C"
+
+import (
+       "bytes"
+       "encoding/json"
+       "text/template"
+       "unsafe"
+)
+
+func toJSONString(v interface{}) (string, error) {
+       b, err := json.Marshal(v)
+       if err != nil {
+               return "", err
+       }
+
+       return string(b), nil
+}
+
+// RenderGoTemplate renders a Go template with the provided JSON data.
+// The template string and JSON data are passed as C strings.
+// Returns a C string with the rendered output that must be freed by the caller.
+//
+//export RenderGoTemplate
+func RenderGoTemplate(templateStr *C.char, jsonData *C.char) *C.char {
+       if templateStr == nil || jsonData == nil {
+               return C.CString("error: null pointers provided")
+       }
+
+       // Convert C strings to Go strings
+       goTemplate := C.GoString(templateStr)
+       goJSON := C.GoString(jsonData)
+
+       // Parse the JSON data into a generic interface
+       var data interface{}
+       err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(goJSON), &data)
+       if err != nil {
+               return C.CString("error: failed to parse JSON: " + err.Error())
+       }
+
+   // Parse the template
+       funcMap := template.FuncMap{
+               "json": toJSONString,
+       }
+
+       tmpl, err := template.New("container-list").Funcs(funcMap).Parse(goTemplate)
+       if err != nil {
+               return C.CString("error: failed to parse template: " + err.Error())
+       }
+
+       // Render the template
+       var result bytes.Buffer
+       err = tmpl.Execute(&result, data)
+       if err != nil {
+               return C.CString("error: failed to execute template: " + err.Error())
+       }
+
+       // Return the result as a C string
+       return C.CString(result.String())
+}
+
+//export FreeMemory
+func FreeMemory(ptr *C.char) {
+       C.free(unsafe.Pointer(ptr))
+}
+
+func main() {
+}
\ No newline at end of file

From 6189485fce9126026c2da2b9a02bcf7e66c45bad Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:00:37 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 02/15] Clang format

---
 src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp | 2 +-
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp        | 4 ++--
 2 files changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp
index 0ce864e64..0ed9f3c91 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ FormatType GetFormatTypeFromString(const std::wstring& input, const std::wstring
     {
         return FormatType::Json;
     }
-    
+
     if (IsEqual(input, L"table"))
     {
         return FormatType::Table;
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
index 5cca8229d..3e4956699 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ using namespace wsl::shared::string;
 
 // Forward declaration of C functions from Go library
 extern "C" {
-    char* RenderGoTemplate(char* templateStr, char* jsonData);
-    void FreeMemory(char* ptr);
+char* RenderGoTemplate(char* templateStr, char* jsonData);
+void FreeMemory(char* ptr);
 }
 
 std::wstring TemplateRenderer::Render(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData)

From 90f800f8add46f9292897ce7146930fed0938b64 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:08:56 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 03/15] Addressed comments

---
 src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt | 10 ++++++----
 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
index 08f180c26..125a9f655 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -7,15 +7,17 @@ file(GLOB_RECURSE HEADERS CONFIGURE_DEPENDS ${HEADER_PATTERNS})
 file(GLOB_RECURSE SOURCES CONFIGURE_DEPENDS ${SOURCE_PATTERNS})
 
 # Build Go template renderer library
-set(GO_TEMPLATE_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/tools/gotemplate)
-set(GO_OUTPUT_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/CMakeFiles/gotemplate)
+set(GO_TEMPLATE_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/tools/gotemplate)
+set(GO_OUTPUT_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/CMakeFiles/gotemplate)
 
-if(CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM MATCHES "ARM64")
+if("${CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM}" STREQUAL "arm64" OR "${TARGET_PLATFORM}" STREQUAL "arm64")
     set(GO_ARCH arm64)
     set(GO_LIB_MACHINE ARM64)
-else()
+elseif("${CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM}" MATCHES "x64|amd64" OR "${TARGET_PLATFORM}" MATCHES "x64|amd64")
     set(GO_ARCH amd64)
     set(GO_LIB_MACHINE X64)
+else()
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "Unsupported platform: ${CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM}")
 endif()
 
 set(GO_OUTPUT_DLL ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.dll)

From 1b06ed8aecd629231bb33d11349e64cdfe6f3b8a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:36:47 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 04/15] Code enhancement

---
 src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt             | 25 ++++++++++++---------
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp  |  9 +++-----
 src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go |  4 ----
 3 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
index 125a9f655..c001329cb 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -8,37 +8,42 @@ file(GLOB_RECURSE SOURCES CONFIGURE_DEPENDS ${SOURCE_PATTERNS})
 
 # Build Go template renderer library
 set(GO_TEMPLATE_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/tools/gotemplate)
-set(GO_OUTPUT_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/CMakeFiles/gotemplate)
+set(GO_OUTPUT_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/gotemplate)
 
-if("${CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM}" STREQUAL "arm64" OR "${TARGET_PLATFORM}" STREQUAL "arm64")
+# Reuse TARGET_PLATFORM already normalized by the root CMakeLists.txt
+if("${TARGET_PLATFORM}" STREQUAL "arm64")
     set(GO_ARCH arm64)
     set(GO_LIB_MACHINE ARM64)
-elseif("${CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM}" MATCHES "x64|amd64" OR "${TARGET_PLATFORM}" MATCHES "x64|amd64")
+else()
     set(GO_ARCH amd64)
     set(GO_LIB_MACHINE X64)
-else()
-    message(FATAL_ERROR "Unsupported platform: ${CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM}")
 endif()
 
 set(GO_OUTPUT_DLL ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.dll)
 set(GO_OUTPUT_LIB ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.lib)
+set(GO_OUTPUT_HEADER ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.h)
+
+# Add GO_OUTPUT_HEADER to HEADERS
+list(APPEND HEADERS ${GO_OUTPUT_HEADER})
 
 add_custom_command(
-    OUTPUT ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB}
+    OUTPUT ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB} ${GO_OUTPUT_HEADER}
     COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E make_directory ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}
-    COMMAND powershell -NoProfile -Command "cd '${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}' ; \$env:GOOS='windows' ; \$env:GOARCH='${GO_ARCH}' ; \$env:CGO_ENABLED='1' ; go build -o '${GO_OUTPUT_DLL}' -buildmode=c-shared render.go"
+    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E env GOOS=windows GOARCH=${GO_ARCH} CGO_ENABLED=1
+            go build -o ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} -buildmode=c-shared render.go
     COMMAND lib /def:${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.def /out:${GO_OUTPUT_LIB} /machine:${GO_LIB_MACHINE}
-    DEPENDS ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.go ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/go.mod ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.def
+    WORKING_DIRECTORY ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}
+    DEPENDS ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.go ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.def
     COMMENT "Building Go template renderer library"
     VERBATIM
 )
 
-add_custom_target(gotemplate_lib ALL DEPENDS ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB})
+add_custom_target(gotemplate_lib ALL DEPENDS ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB} ${GO_OUTPUT_HEADER})
 
 # Object library for WSLC components.
 # Used to build the executable and also unit testing components.
 add_library(wslclib OBJECT ${SOURCES} ${HEADERS})
-target_include_directories(wslclib PUBLIC ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} ${WSLC_SUBDIR_PATHS})
+target_include_directories(wslclib PUBLIC ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} ${WSLC_SUBDIR_PATHS} ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR})
 
 target_link_libraries(wslclib
                       ${COMMON_LINK_LIBRARIES}
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
index 3e4956699..adf6e2abc 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
@@ -18,16 +18,13 @@ Module Name:
 #include <string>
 #include <stdexcept>
 
+// Use the cgo-generated header from the Go template renderer build
+#include "render.h"
+
 namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core {
 
 using namespace wsl::shared::string;
 
-// Forward declaration of C functions from Go library
-extern "C" {
-char* RenderGoTemplate(char* templateStr, char* jsonData);
-void FreeMemory(char* ptr);
-}
-
 std::wstring TemplateRenderer::Render(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData)
 {
     // Call the Go template renderer
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
index a85048cc4..9eb284f49 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
@@ -5,10 +5,6 @@ package main
 /*
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
-
-// Exported C functions
-char* RenderGoTemplate(char* templateStr, char* jsonData);
-void FreeMemory(char* ptr);
 */
 import "C"
 

From e3fdd17d8bfad2ba74abf652072880047d1be867 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:42:47 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 05/15] Code enhancement

---
 src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
index c001329cb..03d7710be 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ file(GLOB_RECURSE SOURCES CONFIGURE_DEPENDS ${SOURCE_PATTERNS})
 
 # Build Go template renderer library
 set(GO_TEMPLATE_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/tools/gotemplate)
-set(GO_OUTPUT_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/gotemplate)
+set(GO_OUTPUT_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/generated/gotemplate")
 
 # Reuse TARGET_PLATFORM already normalized by the root CMakeLists.txt
 if("${TARGET_PLATFORM}" STREQUAL "arm64")

From f331dbb7b2b37f84fe49595ed15c80201a417c2e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:56:15 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 06/15] Include render.go

---
 src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt | 8 ++++++--
 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
index 03d7710be..26cd5d228 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -40,9 +40,13 @@ add_custom_command(
 
 add_custom_target(gotemplate_lib ALL DEPENDS ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB} ${GO_OUTPUT_HEADER})
 
+# Include Go source files for browsing in Solution Explorer
+set(GO_SOURCES ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.go)
+set_source_files_properties(${GO_SOURCES} PROPERTIES HEADER_FILE_ONLY TRUE)
+
 # Object library for WSLC components.
 # Used to build the executable and also unit testing components.
-add_library(wslclib OBJECT ${SOURCES} ${HEADERS})
+add_library(wslclib OBJECT ${SOURCES} ${HEADERS} ${GO_SOURCES})
 target_include_directories(wslclib PUBLIC ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} ${WSLC_SUBDIR_PATHS} ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR})
 
 target_link_libraries(wslclib
@@ -69,4 +73,4 @@ add_custom_command(TARGET wslc POST_BUILD
 set_target_properties(wslc PROPERTIES FOLDER windows)
 
 # For prettier source tree browsing
-source_group(TREE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} FILES ${SOURCES} ${HEADERS})
+source_group(TREE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} FILES ${SOURCES} ${HEADERS} ${GO_SOURCES})

From 99fb1989918f3cad98a795cff541607099f43dea Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:42:56 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 07/15] COde enhancement

---
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp   | 30 ++-----
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h     |  6 +-
 src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp    | 20 ++---
 src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def |  4 +-
 src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go  | 90 ++++++++++----------
 5 files changed, 63 insertions(+), 87 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
index adf6e2abc..e218d4628 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
@@ -13,10 +13,7 @@ Module Name:
 --*/
 
 #include "TemplateRenderer.h"
-#include <wil/result_macros.h>
-#include <windows.h>
 #include <string>
-#include <stdexcept>
 
 // Use the cgo-generated header from the Go template renderer build
 #include "render.h"
@@ -25,29 +22,16 @@ namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core {
 
 using namespace wsl::shared::string;
 
-std::wstring TemplateRenderer::Render(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData)
+bool TemplateRenderer::TryRender(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData, std::wstring& output)
 {
-    // Call the Go template renderer
-    char* result = RenderGoTemplate(const_cast<char*>(templateStr.c_str()), const_cast<char*>(jsonData.c_str()));
+    char* rawOutput = nullptr;
+    auto success = TryRenderGoTemplate(const_cast<char*>(templateStr.c_str()), const_cast<char*>(jsonData.c_str()), &rawOutput);
 
-    if (result == nullptr)
-    {
-        throw std::runtime_error("error: Go template renderer returned null");
-    }
+    std::string result(rawOutput ? rawOutput : "");
+    FreeGoString(rawOutput);
 
-    // Check if result is an error message (starts with "error:")
-    std::string resultStr(result);
-
-    // Free the memory allocated by Go
-    FreeMemory(result);
-
-    // If it's an error, throw an exception
-    if (resultStr.starts_with("error:"))
-    {
-        throw std::runtime_error(resultStr);
-    }
-
-    return MultiByteToWide(resultStr);
+    output = MultiByteToWide(result);
+    return success != 0;
 }
 
 } // namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
index 175f17043..1bbdc65ce 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
@@ -15,16 +15,14 @@ Module Name:
 #pragma once
 
 #include <string>
-#include <memory>
 
 namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core {
 
 struct TemplateRenderer
 {
     // Renders a Go template with the provided JSON data.
-    // Returns the rendered output as a wide string.
-    // Throws an exception if template rendering fails.
-    static std::wstring Render(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData);
+    // Returns true on success with the rendered output, false on failure with an error message.
+    static bool TryRender(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData, std::wstring& output);
 };
 
 } // namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
index 20196fc5d..78f6c090f 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
@@ -174,20 +174,18 @@ void ListContainers(CLIExecutionContext& context)
         WI_ASSERT(context.Args.Contains(ArgType::Format));
         auto templateStr = WideToMultiByte(context.Args.Get<ArgType::Format>());
 
-        // Render the template using Go
-        try
+        for (const auto& container : containers)
         {
-            for (const auto& container : containers)
+            auto json = ToJson(container, c_jsonPrettyPrintIndent);
+            std::wstring result;
+            if (!wsl::windows::wslc::core::TemplateRenderer::TryRender(templateStr, json, result))
             {
-                auto json = ToJson(container, c_jsonPrettyPrintIndent);
-                auto result = wsl::windows::wslc::core::TemplateRenderer::Render(templateStr, json);
-                PrintMessage(result);
+                PrintMessage(L"Template rendering error: " + result);
+                context.ExitCode = 1;
+                break;
             }
-        }
-        catch (const std::exception& e)
-        {
-            PrintMessage(MultiByteToWide(std::string("Template rendering error: ") + e.what()));
-            context.ExitCode = 1;
+
+            PrintMessage(result);
         }
         break;
     }
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def
index 36306eade..a048c8244 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 EXPORTS
-    RenderGoTemplate
-    FreeMemory
\ No newline at end of file
+    TryRenderGoTemplate
+    FreeGoString
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
index 9eb284f49..745c54ef0 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
@@ -4,71 +4,67 @@ package main
 
 /*
 #include <stdlib.h>
-#include <string.h>
 */
 import "C"
 
 import (
-       "bytes"
-       "encoding/json"
-       "text/template"
-       "unsafe"
+    "bytes"
+    "encoding/json"
+    "text/template"
+    "unsafe"
 )
 
 func toJSONString(v interface{}) (string, error) {
-       b, err := json.Marshal(v)
-       if err != nil {
-               return "", err
-       }
+    b, err := json.Marshal(v)
+    if err != nil {
+        return "", err
+    }
 
-       return string(b), nil
+    return string(b), nil
 }
 
-// RenderGoTemplate renders a Go template with the provided JSON data.
-// The template string and JSON data are passed as C strings.
-// Returns a C string with the rendered output that must be freed by the caller.
+// TryRenderGoTemplate renders a Go template with the provided JSON data.
+// Returns 1 on success, 0 on failure. On success, *output contains the rendered result.
+// On failure, *output contains the error message. The caller must free *output with FreeGoString.
 //
-//export RenderGoTemplate
-func RenderGoTemplate(templateStr *C.char, jsonData *C.char) *C.char {
-       if templateStr == nil || jsonData == nil {
-               return C.CString("error: null pointers provided")
-       }
+//export TryRenderGoTemplate
+func TryRenderGoTemplate(templateStr *C.char, jsonData *C.char, output **C.char) C.int {
+    if templateStr == nil || jsonData == nil {
+        *output = C.CString("null pointer provided")
+        return 0
+    }
 
-       // Convert C strings to Go strings
-       goTemplate := C.GoString(templateStr)
-       goJSON := C.GoString(jsonData)
+    var data interface{}
+    if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(C.GoString(jsonData)), &data); err != nil {
+        *output = C.CString("failed to parse JSON: " + err.Error())
+        return 0
+    }
 
-       // Parse the JSON data into a generic interface
-       var data interface{}
-       err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(goJSON), &data)
-       if err != nil {
-               return C.CString("error: failed to parse JSON: " + err.Error())
-       }
+    funcMap := template.FuncMap{
+        "json": toJSONString,
+    }
 
-   // Parse the template
-       funcMap := template.FuncMap{
-               "json": toJSONString,
-       }
+    tmpl, err := template.New("gotemplate").Funcs(funcMap).Parse(C.GoString(templateStr))
+    if err != nil {
+        *output = C.CString("failed to parse template: " + err.Error())
+        return 0
+    }
 
-       tmpl, err := template.New("container-list").Funcs(funcMap).Parse(goTemplate)
-       if err != nil {
-               return C.CString("error: failed to parse template: " + err.Error())
-       }
+    var result bytes.Buffer
+    if err = tmpl.Execute(&result, data); err != nil {
+        *output = C.CString("failed to execute template: " + err.Error())
+        return 0
+    }
 
-       // Render the template
-       var result bytes.Buffer
-       err = tmpl.Execute(&result, data)
-       if err != nil {
-               return C.CString("error: failed to execute template: " + err.Error())
-       }
-
-       // Return the result as a C string
-       return C.CString(result.String())
+    *output = C.CString(result.String())
+    return 1
 }
 
-//export FreeMemory
-func FreeMemory(ptr *C.char) {
-       C.free(unsafe.Pointer(ptr))
+// FreeGoString frees a string allocated by TryRenderGoTemplate.
+//
+//export FreeGoString
+func FreeGoString(ptr *C.char) {
+    C.free(unsafe.Pointer(ptr))
 }
 
 func main() {

From 3304aaa50118ee42f60ccf757543e76fcef4ba78 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:05:27 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 08/15] code enhancement

---
 src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt            | 11 +++--------
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp |  9 +++++++--
 2 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
index 26cd5d228..cdbab4a27 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -21,13 +21,8 @@ endif()
 
 set(GO_OUTPUT_DLL ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.dll)
 set(GO_OUTPUT_LIB ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.lib)
-set(GO_OUTPUT_HEADER ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.h)
-
-# Add GO_OUTPUT_HEADER to HEADERS
-list(APPEND HEADERS ${GO_OUTPUT_HEADER})
-
 add_custom_command(
-    OUTPUT ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB} ${GO_OUTPUT_HEADER}
+    OUTPUT ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB}
     COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E make_directory ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}
     COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E env GOOS=windows GOARCH=${GO_ARCH} CGO_ENABLED=1
             go build -o ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} -buildmode=c-shared render.go
@@ -38,7 +33,7 @@ add_custom_command(
     VERBATIM
 )
 
-add_custom_target(gotemplate_lib ALL DEPENDS ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB} ${GO_OUTPUT_HEADER})
+add_custom_target(gotemplate_lib ALL DEPENDS ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB})
 
 # Include Go source files for browsing in Solution Explorer
 set(GO_SOURCES ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.go)
@@ -47,7 +42,7 @@ set_source_files_properties(${GO_SOURCES} PROPERTIES HEADER_FILE_ONLY TRUE)
 # Object library for WSLC components.
 # Used to build the executable and also unit testing components.
 add_library(wslclib OBJECT ${SOURCES} ${HEADERS} ${GO_SOURCES})
-target_include_directories(wslclib PUBLIC ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} ${WSLC_SUBDIR_PATHS} ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR})
+target_include_directories(wslclib PUBLIC ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} ${WSLC_SUBDIR_PATHS})
 
 target_link_libraries(wslclib
                       ${COMMON_LINK_LIBRARIES}
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
index e218d4628..88ff8d089 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
@@ -15,8 +15,13 @@ Module Name:
 #include "TemplateRenderer.h"
 #include <string>
 
-// Use the cgo-generated header from the Go template renderer build
-#include "render.h"
+// Forward-declare the Go template renderer functions (exported from render.dll).
+// We declare these directly instead of including the cgo-generated render.h
+// to avoid Go boilerplate types that don't compile cleanly with MSVC.
+extern "C" {
+    int TryRenderGoTemplate(char* templateStr, char* jsonData, char** output);
+    void FreeGoString(char* ptr);
+}
 
 namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core {
 

From b254595676d385049bb31be1b20191bbbe309ded Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:05:50 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 09/15] Clang format

---
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
index 88ff8d089..583b9232a 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@ Module Name:
 // We declare these directly instead of including the cgo-generated render.h
 // to avoid Go boilerplate types that don't compile cleanly with MSVC.
 extern "C" {
-    int TryRenderGoTemplate(char* templateStr, char* jsonData, char** output);
-    void FreeGoString(char* ptr);
+int TryRenderGoTemplate(char* templateStr, char* jsonData, char** output);
+void FreeGoString(char* ptr);
 }
 
 namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core {

From 5dc677e8bd7fdba560d4eff210df2914376373e6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:28:23 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 10/15] optimize

---
 src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
index cdbab4a27..75aaaa5e3 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ add_custom_command(
     OUTPUT ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB}
     COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E make_directory ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}
     COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E env GOOS=windows GOARCH=${GO_ARCH} CGO_ENABLED=1
-            go build -o ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} -buildmode=c-shared render.go
+            go build -o ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} -buildmode=c-shared -trimpath -ldflags=-s\ -w render.go
     COMMAND lib /def:${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.def /out:${GO_OUTPUT_LIB} /machine:${GO_LIB_MACHINE}
     WORKING_DIRECTORY ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}
     DEPENDS ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.go ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.def

From 000d50ddcc4437574d41bcba8424a1d7f3ab30d2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:54:35 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 11/15] Added render

---
 .../wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp     | 14 +------
 .../wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.h       |  3 +-
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp    | 39 +++++++++++++++----
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h      | 16 +++++++-
 src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp     | 11 +-----
 src/windows/wslc/tasks/ImageTasks.cpp         | 14 +++++++
 src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go   | 28 ++++++++-----
 .../windows/wslc/WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests.cpp |  2 -
 8 files changed, 84 insertions(+), 43 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp
index 0ed9f3c91..4505d9a37 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.cpp
@@ -31,10 +31,6 @@ void Argument::Validate(const ArgMap& execArgs) const
 {
     switch (m_argType)
     {
-    case ArgType::Format:
-        validation::ValidateFormatTypeFromString(execArgs.GetAll<ArgType::Format>(), m_name);
-        break;
-
     case ArgType::Signal:
         validation::ValidateWSLCSignalFromString(execArgs.GetAll<ArgType::Signal>(), m_name);
         break;
@@ -144,15 +140,7 @@ WSLCSignal GetWSLCSignalFromString(const std::wstring& input, const std::wstring
     return static_cast<WSLCSignal>(signalValue);
 }
 
-void ValidateFormatTypeFromString(const std::vector<std::wstring>& values, const std::wstring& argName)
-{
-    for (const auto& value : values)
-    {
-        std::ignore = GetFormatTypeFromString(value, argName);
-    }
-}
-
-FormatType GetFormatTypeFromString(const std::wstring& input, const std::wstring& argName)
+FormatType GetFormatTypeFromString(const std::wstring& input)
 {
     if (IsEqual(input, L"json"))
     {
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.h b/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.h
index 23208699c..08f1dfb59 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.h
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentValidation.h
@@ -57,8 +57,7 @@ T GetIntegerFromString(const std::wstring& value, const std::wstring& argName =
 void ValidateWSLCSignalFromString(const std::vector<std::wstring>& values, const std::wstring& argName);
 WSLCSignal GetWSLCSignalFromString(const std::wstring& input, const std::wstring& argName = {});
 
-void ValidateFormatTypeFromString(const std::vector<std::wstring>& values, const std::wstring& argName);
-FormatType GetFormatTypeFromString(const std::wstring& input, const std::wstring& argName = {});
+FormatType GetFormatTypeFromString(const std::wstring& input);
 
 void ValidateVolumeMount(const std::vector<std::wstring>& values);
 
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
index 583b9232a..0f1316af2 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
@@ -27,16 +27,41 @@ namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core {
 
 using namespace wsl::shared::string;
 
-bool TemplateRenderer::TryRender(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData, std::wstring& output)
+TemplateRenderer::RenderResult TemplateRenderer::TryRender(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData, std::wstring& output)
 {
-    char* rawOutput = nullptr;
-    auto success = TryRenderGoTemplate(const_cast<char*>(templateStr.c_str()), const_cast<char*>(jsonData.c_str()), &rawOutput);
+    try
+    {
+        char* rawOutput = nullptr;
+        auto success = TryRenderGoTemplate(const_cast<char*>(templateStr.c_str()), const_cast<char*>(jsonData.c_str()), &rawOutput);
 
-    std::string result(rawOutput ? rawOutput : "");
-    FreeGoString(rawOutput);
+        std::string result(rawOutput ? rawOutput : "");
+        FreeGoString(rawOutput);
 
-    output = MultiByteToWide(result);
-    return success != 0;
+        output = MultiByteToWide(result);
+        return static_cast<RenderResult>(success);
+    }
+    catch (const std::exception& ex)
+    {
+        output = MultiByteToWide(ex.what());
+        return RenderResult::Fail_Unknown;
+    }
+}
+
+void TemplateRenderer::Render(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData, std::wstring& output)
+{
+    switch (TryRender(templateStr, jsonData, output))
+    {
+    case RenderResult::Success:
+        return;
+    case RenderResult::Fail_NullPointer:
+    case RenderResult::Fail_ParseJSON:
+    case RenderResult::Fail_ParseTemplate:
+    case RenderResult::Fail_ExecuteTemplate:
+        THROW_HR_WITH_USER_ERROR(E_INVALIDARG, output);
+    case RenderResult::Fail_Unknown:
+    default:
+        THROW_HR(E_UNEXPECTED);
+    }
 }
 
 } // namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
index 1bbdc65ce..de3fabc01 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
@@ -20,9 +20,23 @@ namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core {
 
 struct TemplateRenderer
 {
+    enum class RenderResult
+    {
+        Success = 0,
+        Fail_NullPointer = 1,
+        Fail_ParseJSON = 2,
+        Fail_ParseTemplate = 3,
+        Fail_ExecuteTemplate = 4,
+
+        // Catch-all for any unknown errors
+        Fail_Unknown = -1,
+    };
+
     // Renders a Go template with the provided JSON data.
     // Returns true on success with the rendered output, false on failure with an error message.
-    static bool TryRender(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData, std::wstring& output);
+    static RenderResult TryRender(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData, std::wstring& output);
+
+    static void Render(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData, std::wstring& output);
 };
 
 } // namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
index 78f6c090f..7ef35eac5 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ using namespace wsl::windows::common::wslutil;
 using namespace wsl::windows::wslc::execution;
 using namespace wsl::windows::wslc::models;
 using namespace wsl::windows::wslc::services;
+using namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core;
 
 namespace wsl::windows::wslc::task {
 void AttachContainer::operator()(CLIExecutionContext& context) const
@@ -171,20 +172,12 @@ void ListContainers(CLIExecutionContext& context)
     }
     case FormatType::Template:
     {
-        WI_ASSERT(context.Args.Contains(ArgType::Format));
         auto templateStr = WideToMultiByte(context.Args.Get<ArgType::Format>());
-
         for (const auto& container : containers)
         {
             auto json = ToJson(container, c_jsonPrettyPrintIndent);
             std::wstring result;
-            if (!wsl::windows::wslc::core::TemplateRenderer::TryRender(templateStr, json, result))
-            {
-                PrintMessage(L"Template rendering error: " + result);
-                context.ExitCode = 1;
-                break;
-            }
-
+            TemplateRenderer::Render(templateStr, json, result);
             PrintMessage(result);
         }
         break;
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ImageTasks.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ImageTasks.cpp
index 461e00589..50df2949b 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ImageTasks.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ImageTasks.cpp
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ Module Name:
 #include "PullImageCallback.h"
 #include "TableOutput.h"
 #include "Task.h"
+#include "TemplateRenderer.h"
 #include <format>
 
 using namespace wsl::shared;
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ using namespace wsl::windows::common::string;
 using namespace wsl::windows::common::wslutil;
 using namespace wsl::windows::wslc::execution;
 using namespace wsl::windows::wslc::services;
+using namespace wsl::windows::wslc::core;
 
 namespace wsl::windows::wslc::task {
 void BuildImage(CLIExecutionContext& context)
@@ -124,6 +126,18 @@ void ListImages(CLIExecutionContext& context)
         table.Complete();
         break;
     }
+    case FormatType::Template:
+    {
+        auto templateStr = WideToMultiByte(context.Args.Get<ArgType::Format>());
+        for (const auto& image : images)
+        {
+            auto json = ToJson(image, c_jsonPrettyPrintIndent);
+            std::wstring result;
+            TemplateRenderer::Render(templateStr, json, result);
+            PrintMessage(result);
+        }
+        break;
+    }
     default:
         THROW_HR(E_UNEXPECTED);
     }
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
index 745c54ef0..9695e9736 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
@@ -23,6 +23,16 @@ func toJSONString(v interface{}) (string, error) {
     return string(b), nil
 }
 
+// Return codes
+// Those errors should be in sync with the ones defined in TemplateRenderer
+const (
+    Success = 0
+    Fail_NullPointer = 1
+    Fail_ParseJSON = 2
+    Fail_ParseTemplate = 3
+    Fail_ExecuteTemplate = 4
+)
+
 // TryRenderGoTemplate renders a Go template with the provided JSON data.
 // Returns 1 on success, 0 on failure. On success, *output contains the rendered result.
 // On failure, *output contains the error message. The caller must free *output with FreeGoString.
@@ -30,14 +40,14 @@ func toJSONString(v interface{}) (string, error) {
 //export TryRenderGoTemplate
 func TryRenderGoTemplate(templateStr *C.char, jsonData *C.char, output **C.char) C.int {
     if templateStr == nil || jsonData == nil {
-        *output = C.CString("null pointer provided")
-        return 0
+        *output = C.CString("")
+        return Fail_NullPointer
     }
 
     var data interface{}
     if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(C.GoString(jsonData)), &data); err != nil {
-        *output = C.CString("failed to parse JSON: " + err.Error())
-        return 0
+        *output = C.CString(err.Error())
+        return Fail_ParseJSON
     }
 
     funcMap := template.FuncMap{
@@ -46,18 +56,18 @@ func TryRenderGoTemplate(templateStr *C.char, jsonData *C.char, output **C.char)
 
     tmpl, err := template.New("gotemplate").Funcs(funcMap).Parse(C.GoString(templateStr))
     if err != nil {
-        *output = C.CString("failed to parse template: " + err.Error())
-        return 0
+        *output = C.CString(err.Error())
+        return Fail_ParseTemplate
     }
 
     var result bytes.Buffer
     if err = tmpl.Execute(&result, data); err != nil {
-        *output = C.CString("failed to execute template: " + err.Error())
-        return 0
+        *output = C.CString(err.Error())
+        return Fail_ExecuteTemplate
     }
 
     *output = C.CString(result.String())
-    return 1
+    return Success
 }
 
 // FreeGoString frees a string allocated by TryRenderGoTemplate.
diff --git a/test/windows/wslc/WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests.cpp b/test/windows/wslc/WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests.cpp
index 26508f868..263e04a4e 100644
--- a/test/windows/wslc/WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests.cpp
+++ b/test/windows/wslc/WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests.cpp
@@ -137,8 +137,6 @@ class WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests
         format = validation::GetFormatTypeFromString(L"table");
         VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(format, FormatType::Table);
         VERIFY_THROWS(validation::GetFormatTypeFromString(L"xml"), ArgumentException);
-        VERIFY_NO_THROW(validation::ValidateFormatTypeFromString({L"json", L"table"}, L"formatArg"));
-        VERIFY_THROWS(validation::ValidateFormatTypeFromString({L"JSON", L"TABLE", L"csv"}, L"formatArg"), ArgumentException);
     }
 
     // Test: Verify EnumVariantMap behavior with ArgTypes.

From 86821709fd617f32610c34f0702766249a71dd90 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:48:05 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 12/15] Addressed comments

---
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp    |  5 +-
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h      |  5 +-
 src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp     |  2 +-
 src/windows/wslc/tasks/ImageTasks.cpp         |  2 +-
 src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def  |  2 +
 src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go   | 81 +++++++++----------
 .../windows/wslc/WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests.cpp |  5 +-
 7 files changed, 52 insertions(+), 50 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
index 0f1316af2..ab311742f 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Module Name:
 // We declare these directly instead of including the cgo-generated render.h
 // to avoid Go boilerplate types that don't compile cleanly with MSVC.
 extern "C" {
-int TryRenderGoTemplate(char* templateStr, char* jsonData, char** output);
+int TryRenderGoTemplate(const char* templateStr, const char* jsonData, char** output);
 void FreeGoString(char* ptr);
 }
 
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ TemplateRenderer::RenderResult TemplateRenderer::TryRender(const std::string& te
     try
     {
         char* rawOutput = nullptr;
-        auto success = TryRenderGoTemplate(const_cast<char*>(templateStr.c_str()), const_cast<char*>(jsonData.c_str()), &rawOutput);
+        auto success = TryRenderGoTemplate(templateStr.c_str(), jsonData.c_str(), &rawOutput);
 
         std::string result(rawOutput ? rawOutput : "");
         FreeGoString(rawOutput);
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ void TemplateRenderer::Render(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string&
     case RenderResult::Success:
         return;
     case RenderResult::Fail_NullPointer:
+        THROW_HR(E_POINTER);
     case RenderResult::Fail_ParseJSON:
     case RenderResult::Fail_ParseTemplate:
     case RenderResult::Fail_ExecuteTemplate:
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
index de3fabc01..3bc57fb14 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.h
@@ -28,14 +28,11 @@ struct TemplateRenderer
         Fail_ParseTemplate = 3,
         Fail_ExecuteTemplate = 4,
 
-        // Catch-all for any unknown errors
+        // All other failures
         Fail_Unknown = -1,
     };
 
-    // Renders a Go template with the provided JSON data.
-    // Returns true on success with the rendered output, false on failure with an error message.
     static RenderResult TryRender(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData, std::wstring& output);
-
     static void Render(const std::string& templateStr, const std::string& jsonData, std::wstring& output);
 };
 
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
index 7ef35eac5..d38f7ad9e 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ void ListContainers(CLIExecutionContext& context)
         auto templateStr = WideToMultiByte(context.Args.Get<ArgType::Format>());
         for (const auto& container : containers)
         {
-            auto json = ToJson(container, c_jsonPrettyPrintIndent);
+            auto json = ToJson(container);
             std::wstring result;
             TemplateRenderer::Render(templateStr, json, result);
             PrintMessage(result);
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ImageTasks.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ImageTasks.cpp
index 50df2949b..6cd0b3173 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ImageTasks.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tasks/ImageTasks.cpp
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ void ListImages(CLIExecutionContext& context)
         auto templateStr = WideToMultiByte(context.Args.Get<ArgType::Format>());
         for (const auto& image : images)
         {
-            auto json = ToJson(image, c_jsonPrettyPrintIndent);
+            auto json = ToJson(image);
             std::wstring result;
             TemplateRenderer::Render(templateStr, json, result);
             PrintMessage(result);
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def
index a048c8244..73d74a123 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.def
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+LIBRARY render
+
 EXPORTS
     TryRenderGoTemplate
     FreeGoString
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
index 9695e9736..c0d8cc7df 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/tools/gotemplate/render.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// +build cgo
+//go:build cgo
 
 package main
 
@@ -8,29 +8,29 @@ package main
 import "C"
 
 import (
-    "bytes"
-    "encoding/json"
-    "text/template"
-    "unsafe"
+	"bytes"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"text/template"
+	"unsafe"
 )
 
 func toJSONString(v interface{}) (string, error) {
-    b, err := json.Marshal(v)
-    if err != nil {
-        return "", err
-    }
+	b, err := json.Marshal(v)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
 
-    return string(b), nil
+	return string(b), nil
 }
 
 // Return codes
 // Those errors should be in sync with the ones defined in TemplateRenderer
 const (
-    Success = 0
-    Fail_NullPointer = 1
-    Fail_ParseJSON = 2
-    Fail_ParseTemplate = 3
-    Fail_ExecuteTemplate = 4
+	Success              = 0
+	Fail_NullPointer     = 1
+	Fail_ParseJSON       = 2
+	Fail_ParseTemplate   = 3
+	Fail_ExecuteTemplate = 4
 )
 
 // TryRenderGoTemplate renders a Go template with the provided JSON data.
@@ -39,43 +39,42 @@ const (
 //
 //export TryRenderGoTemplate
 func TryRenderGoTemplate(templateStr *C.char, jsonData *C.char, output **C.char) C.int {
-    if templateStr == nil || jsonData == nil {
-        *output = C.CString("")
-        return Fail_NullPointer
-    }
+	if templateStr == nil || jsonData == nil || output == nil {
+		return Fail_NullPointer
+	}
 
-    var data interface{}
-    if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(C.GoString(jsonData)), &data); err != nil {
-        *output = C.CString(err.Error())
-        return Fail_ParseJSON
-    }
+	var data interface{}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(C.GoString(jsonData)), &data); err != nil {
+		*output = C.CString(err.Error())
+		return Fail_ParseJSON
+	}
 
-    funcMap := template.FuncMap{
-        "json": toJSONString,
-    }
+	funcMap := template.FuncMap{
+		"json": toJSONString,
+	}
 
-    tmpl, err := template.New("gotemplate").Funcs(funcMap).Parse(C.GoString(templateStr))
-    if err != nil {
-        *output = C.CString(err.Error())
-        return Fail_ParseTemplate
-    }
+	tmpl, err := template.New("gotemplate").Funcs(funcMap).Parse(C.GoString(templateStr))
+	if err != nil {
+		*output = C.CString(err.Error())
+		return Fail_ParseTemplate
+	}
 
-    var result bytes.Buffer
-    if err = tmpl.Execute(&result, data); err != nil {
-        *output = C.CString(err.Error())
-        return Fail_ExecuteTemplate
-    }
+	var result bytes.Buffer
+	if err = tmpl.Execute(&result, data); err != nil {
+		*output = C.CString(err.Error())
+		return Fail_ExecuteTemplate
+	}
 
-    *output = C.CString(result.String())
-    return Success
+	*output = C.CString(result.String())
+	return Success
 }
 
 // FreeGoString frees a string allocated by TryRenderGoTemplate.
 //
 //export FreeGoString
 func FreeGoString(ptr *C.char) {
-    C.free(unsafe.Pointer(ptr))
+	C.free(unsafe.Pointer(ptr))
 }
 
 func main() {
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/test/windows/wslc/WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests.cpp b/test/windows/wslc/WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests.cpp
index 263e04a4e..b48e2e257 100644
--- a/test/windows/wslc/WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests.cpp
+++ b/test/windows/wslc/WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests.cpp
@@ -136,7 +136,10 @@ class WSLCCLIArgumentUnitTests
         VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(format, FormatType::Json);
         format = validation::GetFormatTypeFromString(L"table");
         VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(format, FormatType::Table);
-        VERIFY_THROWS(validation::GetFormatTypeFromString(L"xml"), ArgumentException);
+        format = validation::GetFormatTypeFromString(L"{{json .}}");
+        VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(format, FormatType::Template);
+        format = validation::GetFormatTypeFromString(L"template");
+        VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(format, FormatType::Template);
     }
 
     // Test: Verify EnumVariantMap behavior with ArgTypes.

From 45e804a57de2b5b23e21f61188a647332df55e55 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:21:37 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 13/15] Addressed comments

---
 src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt | 24 ++++++++++++++++++++++--
 1 file changed, 22 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
index 75aaaa5e3..cd5c3bfe0 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -10,13 +10,33 @@ file(GLOB_RECURSE SOURCES CONFIGURE_DEPENDS ${SOURCE_PATTERNS})
 set(GO_TEMPLATE_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/tools/gotemplate)
 set(GO_OUTPUT_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/generated/gotemplate")
 
+find_program(GO_EXECUTABLE go REQUIRED)
+
 # Reuse TARGET_PLATFORM already normalized by the root CMakeLists.txt
 if("${TARGET_PLATFORM}" STREQUAL "arm64")
     set(GO_ARCH arm64)
     set(GO_LIB_MACHINE ARM64)
+    find_program(GO_CLANG_EXECUTABLE
+        NAMES clang
+        HINTS
+            "$ENV{VCToolsInstallDir}/Llvm/x64/bin"
+            "$ENV{VCINSTALLDIR}/Tools/Llvm/x64/bin"
+            "$ENV{ProgramFiles}/LLVM/bin"
+            "$ENV{ProgramFiles(x86)}/LLVM/bin")
+
+    if(NOT GO_CLANG_EXECUTABLE)
+        message(FATAL_ERROR "clang is required for arm64 cgo builds. Install the Windows Clang toolchain or add clang to PATH.")
+    endif()
+
+    set(GO_CGO_ENV
+        "CC=${GO_CLANG_EXECUTABLE}"
+        "CGO_CFLAGS=--target=aarch64-pc-windows-msvc"
+        "CGO_CXXFLAGS=--target=aarch64-pc-windows-msvc"
+        "CGO_LDFLAGS=--target=aarch64-pc-windows-msvc")
 else()
     set(GO_ARCH amd64)
     set(GO_LIB_MACHINE X64)
+    set(GO_CGO_ENV)
 endif()
 
 set(GO_OUTPUT_DLL ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.dll)
@@ -24,8 +44,8 @@ set(GO_OUTPUT_LIB ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}/render.lib)
 add_custom_command(
     OUTPUT ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} ${GO_OUTPUT_LIB}
     COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E make_directory ${GO_OUTPUT_DIR}
-    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E env GOOS=windows GOARCH=${GO_ARCH} CGO_ENABLED=1
-            go build -o ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} -buildmode=c-shared -trimpath -ldflags=-s\ -w render.go
+    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E env GOOS=windows GOARCH=${GO_ARCH} CGO_ENABLED=1 ${GO_CGO_ENV}
+            ${GO_EXECUTABLE} build -o ${GO_OUTPUT_DLL} -buildmode=c-shared -trimpath -ldflags=-s\ -w render.go
     COMMAND lib /def:${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.def /out:${GO_OUTPUT_LIB} /machine:${GO_LIB_MACHINE}
     WORKING_DIRECTORY ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}
     DEPENDS ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.go ${GO_TEMPLATE_DIR}/render.def

From 78872a93e2634a470128b9fff1044b88e90422a4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:34:26 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 14/15] Added tests

---
 src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt               |  2 +-
 src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp    |  2 +-
 .../wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EContainerListTests.cpp    | 21 +++++++++++++------
 .../wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EImageListTests.cpp        | 16 ++++++++------
 4 files changed, 27 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
index cd5c3bfe0..b60cf215b 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ if("${TARGET_PLATFORM}" STREQUAL "arm64")
             "$ENV{VCToolsInstallDir}/Llvm/x64/bin"
             "$ENV{VCINSTALLDIR}/Tools/Llvm/x64/bin"
             "$ENV{ProgramFiles}/LLVM/bin"
-            "$ENV{ProgramFiles(x86)}/LLVM/bin")
+            "$ENV{ProgramFiles\(x86\)}/LLVM/bin")
 
     if(NOT GO_CLANG_EXECUTABLE)
         message(FATAL_ERROR "clang is required for arm64 cgo builds. Install the Windows Clang toolchain or add clang to PATH.")
diff --git a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
index ab311742f..5f7839487 100644
--- a/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/wslc/core/TemplateRenderer.cpp
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
 
 Module Name:
 
-    GoTemplateRenderer.cpp
+    TemplateRenderer.cpp
 
 Abstract:
 
diff --git a/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EContainerListTests.cpp b/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EContainerListTests.cpp
index 94d4f7679..59bb4acd9 100644
--- a/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EContainerListTests.cpp
+++ b/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EContainerListTests.cpp
@@ -154,12 +154,6 @@ class WSLCE2EContainerListTests
         VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(containerId, outputLine);
     }
 
-    WSLC_TEST_METHOD(WSLCE2E_Container_List_InvalidFormatOption)
-    {
-        const auto result = RunWslc(L"container list --format invalid");
-        result.Verify({.Stderr = L"Invalid format value: invalid is not a recognized format type. Supported format types are: json, table.\r\n", .ExitCode = 1});
-    }
-
     WSLC_TEST_METHOD(WSLCE2E_Container_List_JsonFormat)
     {
         VerifyContainerIsNotListed(WslcContainerName);
@@ -203,6 +197,21 @@ class WSLCE2EContainerListTests
         VERIFY_IS_TRUE(std::find(containerIds.begin(), containerIds.end(), containerId2) != containerIds.end());
     }
 
+    WSLC_TEST_METHOD(WSLCE2E_Container_List_TemplateFormat)
+    {
+        // Create a container
+        RunWslcAndVerify(std::format(L"container create --name {} {}", WslcContainerName, DebianImage.NameAndTag()), {.Stderr = L"", .ExitCode = 0});
+        RunWslcAndVerify(std::format(L"container create --name {} {}", WslcContainerName2, DebianImage.NameAndTag()), {.Stderr = L"", .ExitCode = 0});
+
+        // List containers with json format
+        auto result = RunWslc(L"container list --all --format \"Name = {{.Name}}\"");
+        result.Verify({.Stderr = L"", .ExitCode = 0});
+        auto output = result.GetStdoutLines();
+        VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(2U, output.size());
+        VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(std::format(L"Name = {}", WslcContainerName), output[0]);
+        VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(std::format(L"Name = {}", WslcContainerName2), output[1]);
+    }
+
 private:
     const std::wstring WslcContainerName = L"wslc-test-container";
     const std::wstring WslcContainerName2 = L"wslc-test-container-2";
diff --git a/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EImageListTests.cpp b/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EImageListTests.cpp
index 86df7ad53..216b1d2a4 100644
--- a/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EImageListTests.cpp
+++ b/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EImageListTests.cpp
@@ -79,12 +79,6 @@ class WSLCE2EImageListTests
         VERIFY_IS_TRUE(imageFound);
     }
 
-    WSLC_TEST_METHOD(WSLCE2E_Image_List_InvalidFormatOption)
-    {
-        const auto result = RunWslc(L"image list --format invalid");
-        result.Verify({.Stderr = L"Invalid format value: invalid is not a recognized format type. Supported format types are: json, table.\r\n", .ExitCode = 1});
-    }
-
     WSLC_TEST_METHOD(WSLCE2E_Image_List_JsonFormat)
     {
         const auto result = RunWslc(L"image list --format json");
@@ -128,6 +122,16 @@ class WSLCE2EImageListTests
         VERIFY_IS_TRUE(foundHeader, L"Expected table header with REPOSITORY, TAG, IMAGE ID, CREATED, SIZE columns");
     }
 
+    WSLC_TEST_METHOD(WSLCE2E_Image_List_TemplateFormat)
+    {
+        auto result = RunWslc(L"image list --format \"{{.Repository}}:{{.Tag}}\"");
+        result.Verify({.Stderr = L"", .ExitCode = 0});
+        auto output = result.GetStdoutLines();
+        VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(2U, output.size());
+        VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(DebianImage.NameAndTag(), output[0]);
+        VERIFY_ARE_EQUAL(AlpineImage.NameAndTag(), output[1]);
+    }
+
 private:
     const TestImage& DebianImage = DebianTestImage();
     const TestImage& AlpineImage = AlpineTestImage();

From b46d6561927a6c90ea244fdd40f53221d617a609 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: AmirMS <104940545+AmelBawa-msft@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:34:50 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 15/15] Clang format

---
 test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EContainerListTests.cpp | 6 ++++--
 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EContainerListTests.cpp b/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EContainerListTests.cpp
index 59bb4acd9..44ac3a901 100644
--- a/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EContainerListTests.cpp
+++ b/test/windows/wslc/e2e/WSLCE2EContainerListTests.cpp
@@ -200,8 +200,10 @@ class WSLCE2EContainerListTests
     WSLC_TEST_METHOD(WSLCE2E_Container_List_TemplateFormat)
     {
         // Create a container
-        RunWslcAndVerify(std::format(L"container create --name {} {}", WslcContainerName, DebianImage.NameAndTag()), {.Stderr = L"", .ExitCode = 0});
-        RunWslcAndVerify(std::format(L"container create --name {} {}", WslcContainerName2, DebianImage.NameAndTag()), {.Stderr = L"", .ExitCode = 0});
+        RunWslcAndVerify(
+            std::format(L"container create --name {} {}", WslcContainerName, DebianImage.NameAndTag()), {.Stderr = L"", .ExitCode = 0});
+        RunWslcAndVerify(
+            std::format(L"container create --name {} {}", WslcContainerName2, DebianImage.NameAndTag()), {.Stderr = L"", .ExitCode = 0});
 
         // List containers with json format
         auto result = RunWslc(L"container list --all --format \"Name = {{.Name}}\"");