diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index bd1b26cc4f05..d82850c71066 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -382,3 +382,4 @@ snapshots-diff/
 .dotnet
 temp
 .packages
+/src/Templates/.tempTemplateOutput
diff --git a/src/Templates/README.md b/src/Templates/README.md
index 1685972e7261..c2b72b94a49e 100644
--- a/src/Templates/README.md
+++ b/src/Templates/README.md
@@ -1,22 +1,39 @@
 
 # MAUI Templates
 
-## Building / Testing
+For easy building and testing you can use the `build.ps1` script. This script is only for manual use and not part of any pipeline.
 
-Add the local artifacts to the NuGet.config:
+> [!NOTE]
+> On macOS you find encounter and error like: `error NU5119: Warning As Error: File '/file/path/.DS_Store' was not added to the package. Files and folders starting with '.' or ending with '.nupkg' are excluded by default. To include this file, use -NoDefaultExcludes from the commandline` when this happens, run a `git clean -xfd` on the repository to remove all `.DS_Store` files from the filesystem.
 
-```xml
-<add key="LocalMauiTemplates" value="./artifacts" />
-```
+## Functionality
 
-```dotnetcli
-# uninstall, build, and install the templates
-dotnet new uninstall Microsoft.Maui.Templates.net8
-dotnet pack Microsoft.Maui.sln
-dotnet new install artifacts\packages\Release\Shipping\Microsoft.Maui.Templates.*.nupkg
+The script:
+* Deletes the `.tempTemplateOutput` folder which is used for the temporary files used by this script
+* Builds the `src\Templates\src\Microsoft.Maui.Templates.csproj` project
+* Packs the `src\Templates\src\Microsoft.Maui.Templates.csproj` project into a .nupkg file and outputs it to the `.tempTemplateOutput` directory, this directly is excluded from git
+* Uninstalls any previous manual installations of .NET MAUI templates
+* Empties the `~\templateengine` folder
+* Finds and installs the resulting .nupkg artifact in the `.tempTemplateOutput` directory
+* Creates a new .NET MAUI project based on the latest changes in the template
+* Opens the new .NET MAUI project in Visual Studio (or on Mac in Visual Studio Code)
 
-# then just in the maui folder, so you get a NuGet.config
-mkdir myproject
-cd myproject
-dotnet new maui
-```
+## Parameters
+
+The script defines a coupe of parameters you can use. All have default values, so you only have to set them whenever you want to deviate from the default behavior.
+
+The parameters are as follows:
+
+* `projectType`: Specifies the type of .NET project to create (default is `maui`).
+* `templateVersion`: Specifies the version number to use for the template pack build (default is `13.3.7`, needs to be a valid major, minor, patch version number, for example 1.2.3).
+* `templatesProjectPath`: Specifies the path to the template project to build (default is `src\Microsoft.Maui.Templates.csproj`).
+* `startVsAfterBuild`: Specifies whether to start Visual Studio (Code) after creating the new project with the latest template changes (default is `true`).
+
+### Example usage with parameters
+
+Find sample usages of the different parameters below, of course these can be mixed and matched as needed.
+
+* Instead of a default .NET MAUI app, use the Blazor Hybrid template: `.\build.ps1 -projectType maui-blazor`
+* Set a custom version number for the template: `.\build.ps1 -templateVersion 1.2.3`
+* Build another template project: `.\build.ps1 -templatesProjectPath src\Microsoft.Maui.Templates-new.csproj`
+* Don't start VS after creating the new project using the latest template changes: `.\build.ps1 -startVsAfterBuild $false`
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/Templates/build.ps1 b/src/Templates/build.ps1
index bffd564cf5d3..e56ef9186fd3 100644
--- a/src/Templates/build.ps1
+++ b/src/Templates/build.ps1
@@ -1,25 +1,68 @@
-$PACKAGEVERSION = "6.0.101-preview.10.9991"
+param (
+    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false, HelpMessage="Specify the type of .NET project to create (e.g., maui, maui-blazor, mauilib, etc.).")]
+    [string]$projectType = "maui", # Default to maui if no project type is specified
+    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false, HelpMessage="Specify the version number to use for the template pack build (should have x.y.z format)")]
+    [string]$templateVersion = "13.3.7",
+    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false, HelpMessage="Specify the path to the template project to build")]
+    [string]$templatesProjectPath = "src\Microsoft.Maui.Templates.csproj",
+    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false, HelpMessage="Specify whether to start Visual Studio (Code) after creating the new project with the latest template changes")]
+    [bool]$startVsAfterBuild = $true
+)
 
-& dotnet new -u "Microsoft.Maui.Templates"
-# & dotnet new -u "../../artifacts/Microsoft.Maui.Templates.$PACKAGEVERSION.nupkg"
+# Source the utils script for some common functionalities
+. .\eng\utils.ps1
 
-if (Test-Path "../../artifacts/Microsoft.Maui.Templates.*.nupkg") {
-  Remove-Item -Force "../../artifacts/Microsoft.Maui.Templates.*.nupkg"
-}
+# Clean up previous artifacts
+Remove-Item -Path .\.tempTemplateOutput -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+
+# Build the Microsoft.Maui.Templates.csproj project
+dotnet build -t:Rebuild $templatesProjectPath -p:PackageVersion=$templateVersion
 
-& dotnet build -t:Rebuild src/Microsoft.Maui.Templates.csproj -p:PackageVersion="$PACKAGEVERSION"
-& dotnet pack src/Microsoft.Maui.Templates.csproj -p:PackageVersion="$PACKAGEVERSION"
-& dotnet new -u Microsoft.Maui.Templates
+# Pack the Microsoft.Maui.Templates.csproj project
+dotnet pack $templatesProjectPath -p:PackageVersion=$templateVersion -o .tempTemplateOutput
 
-if (Test-Path ~/.templateengine/) {
-    Remove-Item -Path ~/.templateengine/ -Recurse -Force
+# Find the resulting nupkg artifact
+$nupkgPath = Get-ChildItem -Path .tempTemplateOutput -Filter *.nupkg -Recurse | Select-Object -First 1
+
+if ($nupkgPath -eq $null) {
+    Write-Error "No templates nupkg file found. Ensure the build was successful."
+    exit 1
 }
 
-& dotnet new -i "../../artifacts/Microsoft.Maui.Templates.$PACKAGEVERSION.nupkg"
+# Uninstall previous (manual) install of .NET MAUI templates
+Uninstall-MauiTemplates
+
+# Clean users templates folder
+Empty-UserHomeTemplateEngineFolder
 
-if (Test-Path ./TestMaui/) {
-  Remove-Item -Force -Recurse ./TestMaui/
+# Install the template pack
+dotnet new install $nupkgPath.FullName
+
+# Create a new dotnet project using the specified project type
+dotnet new $projectType -o ./.tempTemplateOutput/NewProject --force
+
+if ($startVsAfterBuild -eq $false) {
+    exit 0
 }
 
-& dotnet new maui -n TestMaui
-# & code ./TestMaui/
\ No newline at end of file
+# Start Visual Studio with the newly created project
+$projectFilePath = Resolve-Path "./.tempTemplateOutput/NewProject/NewProject.csproj"
+$projectFolderPath = Split-Path -Path $projectFilePath
+
+if ([System.Runtime.InteropServices.RuntimeInformation]::IsOSPlatform([System.Runtime.InteropServices.OSPlatform]::Windows)) {
+    Start-Process "devenv.exe" -ArgumentList $projectFilePath
+} elseif ([System.Runtime.InteropServices.RuntimeInformation]::IsOSPlatform([System.Runtime.InteropServices.OSPlatform]::OSX)) {
+    # Check if VS Code Insiders is installed
+    $vscodeInsidersPath = "/Applications/Visual Studio Code - Insiders.app"
+    $vscodeStablePath = "/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app"
+    
+    if (Test-Path $vscodeInsidersPath) {
+        Start-Process "code-insiders" -ArgumentList $projectFolderPath
+    } elseif (Test-Path $vscodeStablePath) {
+        Start-Process "code" -ArgumentList $projectFolderPath
+    } else {
+        Write-Error "Neither Visual Studio Code Insiders nor Visual Studio Code stable is installed. Cannot open VS Code, however a new project is created at $projectFolderPath."
+    }
+} else {
+    Write-Error "Unsupported operating system."
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/Templates/eng/utils.ps1 b/src/Templates/eng/utils.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..40b65f42c38a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Templates/eng/utils.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+function Get-MauiDotNetVersion {
+    param (
+        [string]$propsFilePath = "..\..\Directory.Build.props"
+    )
+
+    # Load the XML content
+    [xml]$xmlContent = Get-Content -Path $propsFilePath
+
+    # Read the values of _MauiDotNetVersionMajor and _MauiDotNetVersionMinor nodes
+    $versionMajor = $xmlContent.Project.PropertyGroup._MauiDotNetVersionMajor.InnerText
+    # $versionMinor = $xmlContent.Project.PropertyGroup._MauiDotNetVersionMinor.InnerText
+
+    # Concatenate the values with "net" prefix
+    $version = "net$versionMajor"
+
+    # Return the concatenated version
+    return $version
+}
+
+function Uninstall-MauiTemplates {
+    $currentMauiVersion = Get-MauiDotNetVersion
+    dotnet new uninstall Microsoft.Maui.Templates.$currentMauiVersion
+}
+
+function Empty-UserHomeTemplateEngineFolder {
+    if (Test-Path ~/.templateengine/) {
+        Remove-Item -Path ~/.templateengine/ -Recurse -Force
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file