diff --git a/cmd/cli/cli.go b/cmd/cli/cli.go
index 5319e42..3290de0 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/cli.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/cli.go
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"github.com/urfave/cli/v2"
 	"os"
+
+	"github.com/urfave/cli/v2"
 )
 
 func main() {
@@ -14,7 +15,8 @@ func main() {
 		tailwindCmd(),
 		setupCmd(),
 		vueGenCmd(),
-		serveCmd(), // New command for server interpreter
+		serveCmd(),    // New command for server interpreter
+		templateCmd(), // New command for template interpreter
 	}
 
 	app := &cli.App{
diff --git a/cmd/cli/commands.go b/cmd/cli/commands.go
index ae3d10d..9cc5fdd 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/commands.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/commands.go
@@ -576,65 +576,90 @@ func serveCmd() *cli.Command {
 
 func templateCmd() *cli.Command {
 	return &cli.Command{
-		Name:    "template",
-		Aliases: []string{"tmpl"},
-		Usage:   "Generate code from templates using Masonry DSL",
+		Name:        "template",
+		Aliases:     []string{"tmpl"},
+		Usage:       "Generate code from templates using Masonry DSL",
+		Description: "This command parses a Masonry file and applies template files to generate code.",
+		Category:    "generator",
 		Flags: []cli.Flag{
-			&cli.StringFlag{
-				Name:    "templates",
-				Usage:   "Path to template directory",
-				Value:   "./lang_templates",
-				Aliases: []string{"t"},
-			},
-			&cli.StringFlag{
-				Name:    "output",
-				Usage:   "Output destination directory",
-				Value:   "./output",
-				Aliases: []string{"o"},
-			},
 			&cli.StringFlag{
 				Name:     "input",
-				Usage:    "Input Masonry file path",
+				Usage:    "Path to the Masonry input file",
 				Required: true,
 				Aliases:  []string{"i"},
 			},
+			&cli.StringFlag{
+				Name:    "template",
+				Usage:   "Path to a single template file",
+				Aliases: []string{"t"},
+			},
+			&cli.StringFlag{
+				Name:    "template-dir",
+				Usage:   "Path to a directory containing template files",
+				Aliases: []string{"d"},
+			},
+			&cli.StringFlag{
+				Name:    "root-template",
+				Usage:   "Name of the root template file when using template-dir (defaults to main.tmpl)",
+				Value:   "main.tmpl",
+				Aliases: []string{"r"},
+			},
+			&cli.StringFlag{
+				Name:    "output",
+				Usage:   "Output file path (if not specified, prints to stdout)",
+				Aliases: []string{"o"},
+			},
 		},
 		Action: func(c *cli.Context) error {
-			templateDir := c.String("templates")
-			outputDir := c.String("output")
 			inputFile := c.String("input")
+			templateFile := c.String("template")
+			templateDir := c.String("template-dir")
+			rootTemplate := c.String("root-template")
+			outputFile := c.String("output")
 
-			fmt.Printf("Processing templates from: %s\n", templateDir)
-			fmt.Printf("Input file: %s\n", inputFile)
-			fmt.Printf("Output directory: %s\n", outputDir)
-
-			// Read the Masonry file
-			content, err := os.ReadFile(inputFile)
-			if err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("error reading Masonry file: %w", err)
+			// Validate input parameters
+			if templateFile == "" && templateDir == "" {
+				return fmt.Errorf("either --template or --template-dir must be specified")
+			}
+			if templateFile != "" && templateDir != "" {
+				return fmt.Errorf("cannot specify both --template and --template-dir")
 			}
 
-			// Parse the Masonry file
-			parser, err := participle.Build[lang.AST](
-				participle.Unquote("String"),
-			)
-			if err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("error building parser: %w", err)
+			// Set default template directory and root template if none specified
+			if templateFile == "" && templateDir == "" {
+				templateDir = "./lang_templates"
+				rootTemplate = "basic_go_server.tmpl"
 			}
 
-			ast, err := parser.ParseString("", string(content))
-			if err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("error parsing Masonry file: %w", err)
-			}
-
-			// Create template interpreter and process templates
+			// Create template templateInterpreter
 			templateInterpreter := interpreter.NewTemplateInterpreter()
-			err = templateInterpreter.ProcessTemplates(*ast, templateDir, outputDir)
-			if err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("error processing templates: %w", err)
+
+			var result string
+			var err error
+
+			if templateFile != "" {
+				// Use single template file
+				result, err = templateInterpreter.InterpretFromFile(inputFile, templateFile)
+			} else {
+				// Use template directory
+				result, err = templateInterpreter.InterpretFromDirectory(inputFile, templateDir, rootTemplate)
+			}
+
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("error generating code: %w", err)
+			}
+
+			// Output result
+			if outputFile != "" {
+				err = os.WriteFile(outputFile, []byte(result), 0644)
+				if err != nil {
+					return fmt.Errorf("error writing output file: %w", err)
+				}
+				fmt.Printf("Generated code written to: %s\n", outputFile)
+			} else {
+				fmt.Print(result)
 			}
 
-			fmt.Println("Template processing completed successfully!")
 			return nil
 		},
 	}