diff --git a/core/cli/install.el b/core/cli/install.el
index bb21dacc1..12e3e60d3 100644
--- a/core/cli/install.el
+++ b/core/cli/install.el
@@ -46,20 +46,16 @@ DOOMDIR environment variable. e.g.
                   (print! (success "Done!")))))
             '(("init.el" .
                (lambda ()
-                 (insert-file-contents (doom-path doom-emacs-dir "init.example.el"))))
+                 (insert-file-contents
+                  (doom-path doom-emacs-dir "init.example.el"))))
               ("config.el" .
                (lambda ()
-                 (insert! ";;; %sconfig.el -*- lexical-binding: t; -*-\n\n"
-                          ";; Place your private configuration here\n"
-                          ((relpath doom-private-dir)))))
+                 (insert-file-contents
+                  (doom-path doom-core-dir "templates/config.el"))))
               ("packages.el" .
                (lambda ()
-                 (insert! ";; -*- no-byte-compile: t; -*-\n;;; %spackages.el\n\n"
-                          ";;; Examples:\n"
-                          ";; (package! some-package)\n"
-                          ";; (package! another-package :recipe (:host github :repo \"username/repo\"))\n"
-                          ";; (package! builtin-package :disable t)\n"
-                          ((relpath doom-private-dir))))))))
+                 (insert-file-contents
+                  (doom-path doom-core-dir "templates/packages.el")))))))
 
     ;; In case no init.el was present the first time `doom-initialize-modules' was
     ;; called in core.el (e.g. on first install)
diff --git a/core/templates/config.el b/core/templates/config.el
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cd548901a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/templates/config.el
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+;;; $DOOMDIR/config.el -*- lexical-binding: t; -*-
+
+;; Place your private configuration here! Remember, you do not need to run 'doom
+;; refresh' after modifying this file!
+
+
+;; These are used for a number of things, particularly for GPG configuration,
+;; some email clients, file templates and snippets.
+(setq user-full-name "John Doe"
+      user-mail-address "john@doe.com")
+
+;; Doom exposes five (optional) variables for controlling fonts in Doom. Here
+;; are the three important ones:
+;;
+;; + `doom-font'
+;; + `doom-variable-pitch-font'
+;; + `doom-big-font' -- used for `doom-big-font-mode'
+;;
+;; They all accept either a font-spec, font string ("Input Mono-12"), or xlfd
+;; font string. You generally only need these two:
+;; test
+(setq doom-font (font-spec "monospace" :size 14)
+      doom-variable-pitch-font (font-spec "sans"))
+
+;; There are two ways to load a theme. Both assume the theme is installed and
+;; available. You can either set `doom-theme' or manually load a theme with the
+;; `load-theme' function. These are the defaults.
+(setq doom-theme 'doom-one)
+
+;; If you intend to use org, it is recommended you change this!
+(setq org-directory "~/org/")
+
+;; If you want to change the style of line numbers, change this to `relative' or
+;; `nil' to disable it:
+(setq display-line-numbers-type t)
+
+
+;; Here are some additional functions/macros that could help you configure Doom:
+;;
+;; - `load!' for loading external *.el files relative to this one
+;; - `use-package' for configuring packages
+;; - `after!' for running code after a package has loaded
+;; - `add-load-path!' for adding directories to the `load-path', where Emacs
+;;   looks when you load packages with `require' or `use-package'.
+;; - `map!' for binding new keys
+;;
+;; To get information about any of these functions/macros, move the cursor over
+;; the highlighted symbol at press 'K' (non-evil users must press 'C-c g k').
+;; This will open documentation for it, including demos of how they are used.
+;;
+;; You can also try 'gd' (or 'C-c g d') to jump to their definition and see how
+;; they are implemented.
diff --git a/core/templates/packages.el b/core/templates/packages.el
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2d69479cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/templates/packages.el
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+;; -*- no-byte-compile: t; -*-
+;;; $DOOMDIR/packages.el
+
+;; This is where you install packages, by declaring them with the `package!'
+;; macro, then running 'doom refresh' on the command line. You'll need to
+;; restart Emacs for your changes to take effect! Or at least, run M-x
+;; `doom/reload'.
+;;
+;; WARNING: Don't disable core packages listed in ~/.emacs.d/core/packages.el.
+;; Doom requires these, and disabling them may have terrible side effects.
+;;
+;; Here are a couple examples:
+
+;; To install SOME-PACKAGE from MELPA, ELPA or emacsmirror:
+;(package! some-package)
+
+;; To install a package directly from a particular repo, you'll need to specify
+;; a `:recipe'. You'll find documentation on what `:recipe' accepts here:
+;; https://github.com/raxod502/straight.el#the-recipe-format
+;(package! another-package
+;  :recipe (:host github :repo "username/repo"))
+
+;; If the package you are trying to install does not contain a PACKAGENAME.el
+;; file, or is located in a subdirectory of the repo, you'll need to specify
+;; `:files' in the `:recipe':
+;(package! this-package
+;  :recipe (:host github :repo "username/repo"
+;           :files ("some-file.el" "src/lisp/*.el")))
+
+;; If you'd like to disable a package included with Doom, for whatever reason,
+;; you can do so here with the `:disable' property:
+;(package! builtin-package :disable t)
+
+;; You can override the recipe of a built in package without having to specify
+;; all the properties for `:recipe'. These will inherit the rest of its recipe
+;; from Doom or MELPA/ELPA/Emacsmirror:
+;(package! builtin-package :recipe (:nonrecursive t))
+;(package! builtin-package-2 :recipe (:repo "myfork/package"))
+
+;; Specify a `:branch' to install a package from a particular branch or tag.
+;; This is required for some packages whose default branch isn't 'master' (which
+;; our package manager can't deal with; see raxod502/straight.el#279)
+;(package! builtin-package :recipe (:branch "develop"))