diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Defaults.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Defaults.scala
index 9c729be03..e7a601c30 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Defaults.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Defaults.scala
@@ -362,6 +362,8 @@ object Defaults extends BuildCommon {
       fork :== false,
       initialize :== {},
       templateResolverInfos :== Nil,
+      templateDescriptions :== TemplateCommandUtil.defaultTemplateDescriptions,
+      templateRunLocal := templateRunLocalInputTask(runLocalTemplate).evaluated,
       forcegc :== sys.props
         .get("sbt.task.forcegc")
         .map(java.lang.Boolean.parseBoolean)
@@ -2645,6 +2647,19 @@ object Defaults extends BuildCommon {
       if (useCoursier.value) CoursierDependencyResolution(csrConfiguration.value)
       else IvyDependencyResolution(ivyConfiguration.value)
     }
+
+  def templateRunLocalInputTask(
+      runLocal: (Seq[String], Logger) => Unit
+  ): Initialize[InputTask[Unit]] =
+    Def.inputTask {
+      import Def._
+      val s = streams.value
+      val args = spaceDelimited().parsed
+      runLocal(args, s.log)
+    }
+
+  def runLocalTemplate(arguments: Seq[String], log: Logger): Unit =
+    TemplateCommandUtil.defaultRunLocalTemplate(arguments.toList, log)
 }
 
 object Classpaths {
diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala
index cc52bf816..0fb3c3bdc 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala
@@ -572,6 +572,8 @@ object Keys {
   val sbtBinaryVersion = settingKey[String]("Defines the binary compatibility version substring.").withRank(BPlusSetting)
   val skip = taskKey[Boolean]("For tasks that support it (currently only 'compile', 'update', 'publish' and 'publishLocal'), setting skip to true will force the task to not to do its work.  The exact semantics may vary depending on the task.").withRank(BSetting)
   val templateResolverInfos = settingKey[Seq[TemplateResolverInfo]]("Template resolvers used for 'new'.").withRank(BSetting)
+  val templateDescriptions = settingKey[Seq[(String, String)]]("List of templates with description used for 'new' / 'init'.")
+  val templateRunLocal = inputKey[Unit]("Runs a local template.").withRank(DTask)
   val interactionService = taskKey[InteractionService]("Service used to ask for user input through the current user interface(s).").withRank(CTask)
   val insideCI = SettingKey[Boolean]("insideCI", "Determines if the sbt is running in a Continuous Integration environment", AMinusSetting)
 
diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/TemplateCommandUtil.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/TemplateCommandUtil.scala
index 755550460..ca0d0ec48 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/TemplateCommandUtil.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/TemplateCommandUtil.scala
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ private[sbt] object TemplateCommandUtil {
     val extracted = (Project extract s0)
     val (s1, ivyConf) = extracted.runTask(Keys.ivyConfiguration, s0)
     val scalaModuleInfo = extracted.get(Keys.updateSbtClassifiers / Keys.scalaModuleInfo)
+    val templateDescriptions = extracted.get(Keys.templateDescriptions)
     val args0 = inputArg.toList ++
       (s0.remainingCommands match {
         case exec :: Nil if exec.commandLine == "shell" => Nil
@@ -53,10 +54,10 @@ private[sbt] object TemplateCommandUtil {
       run(infos, args0, s0.configuration, ivyConf, globalBase, scalaModuleInfo, log)
       terminate
     } else {
-      fortifyArgs() match {
+      fortifyArgs(templateDescriptions.toList) match {
         case Nil => terminate
         case arg :: Nil if arg.endsWith(".local") =>
-          localRun(arg :: Nil, log)
+          extracted.runInputTask(Keys.templateRunLocal, " " + arg, s0)
           reload
         case args =>
           run(infos, args, s0.configuration, ivyConf, globalBase, scalaModuleInfo, log)
@@ -167,7 +168,7 @@ private[sbt] object TemplateCommandUtil {
   private lazy val term: ITerminal = ITerminal.get
   private lazy val isAnsiSupported = term.isAnsiSupported
   private lazy val nonMoveLetters = ('a' to 'z').toList diff List('h', 'j', 'k', 'l', 'q')
-  private lazy val templates = List(
+  private[sbt] lazy val defaultTemplateDescriptions = List(
     ScalaToolkitSlug -> "Scala Toolkit (beta) by Scala Center and VirtusLab",
     TypelevelToolkitSlug -> "Toolkit to start building Typelevel apps",
     SbtCrossPlatformSlug -> "A cross-JVM/JS/Native project",
@@ -180,10 +181,11 @@ private[sbt] object TemplateCommandUtil {
     "spotify/scio.g8" -> "A Scio project",
     "disneystreaming/smithy4s.g8" -> "A Smithy4s project",
   )
-  private def fortifyArgs(): List[String] =
+  private def fortifyArgs(templates: List[(String, String)]): List[String] =
     if (System.console eq null) Nil
     else
       ITerminal.withStreams(true, false) {
+        assert(templates.size <= 20, "template list cannot have more than 20 items")
         val mappingList = templates.zipWithIndex.map {
           case (v, idx) => toLetter(idx) -> v
         }
@@ -262,7 +264,9 @@ private[sbt] object TemplateCommandUtil {
     else ans0
   }
 
-  private def localRun(
+  // This is used by Defaults.runLocalTemplate, which implements
+  // templateRunLocal input task.
+  private[sbt] def defaultRunLocalTemplate(
       arguments: List[String],
       log: Logger
   ): Unit =
diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgress.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgress.scala
index 6d9e6b963..7c22f87c4 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgress.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/TaskProgress.scala
@@ -150,7 +150,9 @@ private[sbt] class TaskProgress(
       "console",
       "consoleProject",
       "consoleQuick",
-      "state"
+      "state",
+      "streams",
+      "streams-manager",
     )
   private[this] val hiddenTasks = Set(
     "compileEarly",