diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/__tests__/tsPluginE2e.spec.js b/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/__tests__/tsPluginE2e.spec.js
index 75f9bc1ad..6fc1abd0e 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/__tests__/tsPluginE2e.spec.js
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/__tests__/tsPluginE2e.spec.js
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ test('cypress', async () => {
 })
 
 test('cypress with router', async () => {
-  const project = await create('ts-e2e-cypress', {
+  const project = await create('ts-e2e-cypress-router', {
     router: true,
     plugins: {
       '@vue/cli-plugin-typescript': {},
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/App.vue b/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/App.vue
index 12c67eb5b..775a05eab 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/App.vue
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/App.vue
@@ -1,13 +1,17 @@
-<%_ if (!rootOptions.router) { _%>
-<template>
-  <div id="app">
-    <img src="./assets/logo.png">
-    <HelloWorld msg="Welcome to Your Vue.js + TypeScript App"/>
-  </div>
-</template>
+---
+extend: '@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/App.vue'
+replace:
+  - !!js/regexp /Welcome to Your Vue\.js App/
+  - !!js/regexp /<script>[^]*?<\/script>/
+---
 
+<%# REPLACE %>
+Welcome to Your Vue.js + TypeScript App
+<%# END_REPLACE %>
+
+<%# REPLACE %>
 <script lang="ts">
-  <%_ if (!options.classComponent) { _%>
+<%_ if (!options.classComponent) { _%>
 import Vue from 'vue';
 import HelloWorld from './components/HelloWorld.vue';
 
@@ -17,7 +21,7 @@ export default Vue.extend({
     HelloWorld
   }
 });
-  <%_ } else { _%>
+<%_ } else { _%>
 import { Component, Vue } from 'vue-property-decorator';
 import HelloWorld from './components/HelloWorld.vue';
 
@@ -27,44 +31,6 @@ import HelloWorld from './components/HelloWorld.vue';
   },
 })
 export default class App extends Vue {}
-  <%_ } _%>
+<%_ } _%>
 </script>
-<%_ } else { _%>
-<template>
-  <div id="app">
-    <div id="nav">
-      <router-link to="/">Home</router-link> |
-      <router-link to="/about">About</router-link>
-    </div>
-    <router-view/>
-  </div>
-</template>
-<%_ } _%>
-
-<style>
-#app {
-  font-family: 'Avenir', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
-  -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
-  -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;
-  text-align: center;
-  color: #2c3e50;
-  <%_ if (!rootOptions.router) { _%>
-  margin-top: 60px;
-  <%_ } _%>
-}
-<%_ if (rootOptions.router) { _%>
-
-#nav {
-  padding: 30px;
-}
-
-#nav a {
-  font-weight: bold;
-  color: #2c3e50;
-}
-
-#nav a.router-link-exact-active {
-  color: #42b983;
-}
-<%_ } _%>
-</style>
+<%# END_REPLACE %>
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/components/HelloWorld.vue b/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/components/HelloWorld.vue
index 04d50412b..6d6d893e9 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/components/HelloWorld.vue
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/components/HelloWorld.vue
@@ -1,35 +1,7 @@
-<template>
-  <div class="hello">
-    <h1>{{ msg }}</h1>
-    <p>
-      For guide and recipes on how to configure / customize this project,<br>
-      check out the
-      <a href="https://github.com/vuejs/vue-cli/tree/dev/docs" target="_blank">vue-cli documentation</a>.
-    </p>
-    <h3>Installed CLI Plugins</h3>
-    <ul>
-      <%_ for (plugin of plugins) { _%>
-      <li><a href="<%- plugin.link %>" target="_blank"><%- plugin.name %></a></li>
-      <%_ } _%>
-    </ul>
-    <h3>Essential Links</h3>
-    <ul>
-      <li><a href="https://vuejs.org" target="_blank">Core Docs</a></li>
-      <li><a href="https://forum.vuejs.org" target="_blank">Forum</a></li>
-      <li><a href="https://chat.vuejs.org" target="_blank">Community Chat</a></li>
-      <li><a href="https://twitter.com/vuejs" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
-    </ul>
-    <h3>Ecosystem</h3>
-    <ul>
-      <li><a href="https://router.vuejs.org/en/essentials/getting-started.html" target="_blank">vue-router</a></li>
-      <li><a href="https://vuex.vuejs.org/en/intro.html" target="_blank">vuex</a></li>
-      <li><a href="https://github.com/vuejs/vue-devtools#vue-devtools" target="_blank">vue-devtools</a></li>
-      <li><a href="https://vue-loader.vuejs.org/en" target="_blank">vue-loader</a></li>
-      <li><a href="https://github.com/vuejs/awesome-vue" target="_blank">awesome-vue</a></li>
-    </ul>
-  </div>
-</template>
-
+---
+extend: '@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/components/HelloWorld.vue'
+replace: !!js/regexp /<script>[^]*?<\/script>/
+---
 <script lang="ts">
 <%_ if (!options.classComponent) { _%>
 import Vue from 'vue';
@@ -49,21 +21,3 @@ export default class HelloWorld extends Vue {
 }
 <%_ } _%>
 </script>
-
-<!-- Add "scoped" attribute to limit CSS to this component only -->
-<style scoped>
-h3 {
-  margin: 40px 0 0;
-}
-ul {
-  list-style-type: none;
-  padding: 0;
-}
-li {
-  display: inline-block;
-  margin: 0 10px;
-}
-a {
-  color: #42b983;
-}
-</style>
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/views/Home.vue b/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/views/Home.vue
index 485ed7e62..1e334b8d1 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/views/Home.vue
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-plugin-typescript/generator/template/src/views/Home.vue
@@ -1,11 +1,15 @@
-<%_ if (rootOptions.router) { _%>
-<template>
-  <div class="home">
-    <img src="../assets/logo.png">
-    <HelloWorld msg="Welcome to Your Vue.js + TypeScript App"/>
-  </div>
-</template>
+---
+extend: '@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/views/Home.vue'
+replace:
+  - !!js/regexp /Welcome to Your Vue\.js App/
+  - !!js/regexp /<script>[^]*?<\/script>/
+---
 
+<%# REPLACE %>
+Welcome to Your Vue.js + TypeScript App
+<%# END_REPLACE %>
+
+<%# REPLACE %>
 <script lang="ts">
 <%_ if (!options.classComponent) { _%>
 import Vue from 'vue';
@@ -29,4 +33,4 @@ import HelloWorld from '@/components/HelloWorld.vue'; // @ is an alias to /src
 export default class Home extends Vue {}
 <%_ } _%>
 </script>
-<%_ } _%>
+<%# END_REPLACE %>
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/public/index.html b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/public/index.html
index 567f51458..098c136fe 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/public/index.html
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/public/index.html
@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@
     <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
     <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0">
     <link rel="shortcut icon" href="<%%= webpackConfig.output.publicPath %%>favicon.ico">
-    <title><%= options.projectName %></title>
+    <title><%= rootOptions.projectName %></title>
   </head>
   <body>
     <noscript>
-      <strong>We're sorry but <%= options.projectName %> doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Please enable it to continue.</strong>
+      <strong>We're sorry but <%= rootOptions.projectName %> doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Please enable it to continue.</strong>
     </noscript>
     <div id="app"></div>
     <!-- built files will be auto injected -->
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/App.vue b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/App.vue
index 8b2c328ca..9e33ce9fc 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/App.vue
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/App.vue
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<%_ if (!options.router) { _%>
+<%_ if (!rootOptions.router) { _%>
 <template>
   <div id="app">
     <img src="./assets/logo.png">
@@ -35,11 +35,11 @@ export default {
   -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;
   text-align: center;
   color: #2c3e50;
-  <%_ if (!options.router) { _%>
+  <%_ if (!rootOptions.router) { _%>
   margin-top: 60px;
   <%_ } _%>
 }
-<%_ if (options.router) { _%>
+<%_ if (rootOptions.router) { _%>
 
 #nav {
   padding: 30px;
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/main.js b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/main.js
index 90e1fd807..a659a87ff 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/main.js
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/main.js
@@ -1,19 +1,19 @@
 import Vue from 'vue'
 import App from './App.vue'
-<%_ if (options.router) { _%>
+<%_ if (rootOptions.router) { _%>
 import router from './router'
 <%_ } _%>
-<%_ if (options.vuex) { _%>
+<%_ if (rootOptions.vuex) { _%>
 import store from './store'
 <%_ } _%>
 
 Vue.config.productionTip = false
 
 new Vue({
-  <%_ if (options.router) { _%>
+  <%_ if (rootOptions.router) { _%>
   router,
   <%_ } _%>
-  <%_ if (options.vuex) { _%>
+  <%_ if (rootOptions.vuex) { _%>
   store,
   <%_ } _%>
   render: h => h(App)
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/router.js b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/router.js
index 11fa13b6b..325a61917 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/router.js
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/router.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<%_ if (options.router) { _%>
+<%_ if (rootOptions.router) { _%>
 import Vue from 'vue'
 import Router from 'vue-router'
 import Home from './views/Home.vue'
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/store.js b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/store.js
index f0840434f..fd4710d35 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/store.js
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/store.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<%_ if (options.vuex) { _%>
+<%_ if (rootOptions.vuex) { _%>
 import Vue from 'vue'
 import Vuex from 'vuex'
 
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/views/About.vue b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/views/About.vue
index a59efa984..72e8abd0d 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/views/About.vue
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/views/About.vue
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<%_ if (options.router) { _%>
+<%_ if (rootOptions.router) { _%>
 <template>
   <div class="about">
     <h1>This is an about page</h1>
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/views/Home.vue b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/views/Home.vue
index 9a69faa06..5c673bdde 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/views/Home.vue
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-service/generator/template/src/views/Home.vue
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<%_ if (options.router) { _%>
+<%_ if (rootOptions.router) { _%>
 <template>
   <div class="home">
     <img src="../assets/logo.png">
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli/lib/GeneratorAPI.js b/packages/@vue/cli/lib/GeneratorAPI.js
index a825df262..84a817388 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli/lib/GeneratorAPI.js
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli/lib/GeneratorAPI.js
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ const ejs = require('ejs')
 const path = require('path')
 const globby = require('globby')
 const isBinary = require('isbinaryfile')
+const yaml = require('yaml-front-matter')
 const mergeDeps = require('./util/mergeDeps')
 
 const isString = val => typeof val === 'string'
@@ -207,11 +208,46 @@ function extractCallDir () {
   return path.dirname(fileName)
 }
 
+const replaceBlockRE = /<%# REPLACE %>([^]*?)<%# END_REPLACE %>/g
+
 function renderFile (name, data, ejsOptions) {
   if (isBinary.sync(name)) {
     return fs.readFileSync(name) // return buffer
   }
-  return ejs.render(fs.readFileSync(name, 'utf-8'), data, ejsOptions)
+  const template = fs.readFileSync(name, 'utf-8')
+
+  // custom template inheritance via yaml front matter.
+  // ---
+  // extend: 'source-file'
+  // replace: !!js/regexp /some-regex/
+  // OR
+  // replace:
+  //   - !!js/regexp /foo/
+  //   - !!js/regexp /bar/
+  // ---
+  const parsed = yaml.loadFront(template)
+  const content = parsed.__content
+  let finalTemplate = content.trim() + `\n`
+  if (parsed.extend) {
+    finalTemplate = fs.readFileSync(require.resolve(parsed.extend), 'utf-8')
+    if (parsed.replace) {
+      if (Array.isArray(parsed.replace)) {
+        const replaceMatch = content.match(replaceBlockRE)
+        if (replaceMatch) {
+          const replaces = replaceMatch.map(m => {
+            return m.replace(replaceBlockRE, '$1').trim()
+          })
+          parsed.replace.forEach((r, i) => {
+            finalTemplate = finalTemplate.replace(r, replaces[i])
+          })
+        }
+      } else {
+        finalTemplate = finalTemplate.replace(parsed.replace, content.trim())
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return ejs.render(finalTemplate, data, ejsOptions)
 }
 
 module.exports = GeneratorAPI
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli/package.json b/packages/@vue/cli/package.json
index 4a1c47dc2..6f1cd0cfb 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli/package.json
@@ -49,7 +49,8 @@
     "resolve": "^1.5.0",
     "rimraf": "^2.6.2",
     "semver": "^5.4.1",
-    "slash": "^1.0.0"
+    "slash": "^1.0.0",
+    "yaml-front-matter": "^3.4.1"
   },
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=8"
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 5d84bb581..db1205b83 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -2067,6 +2067,10 @@ command-join@^2.0.0:
   version "2.0.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/command-join/-/command-join-2.0.0.tgz#52e8b984f4872d952ff1bdc8b98397d27c7144cf"
 
+commander@1.0.0:
+  version "1.0.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/commander/-/commander-1.0.0.tgz#5e6a88e7070ff5908836ead19169548c30f90bcd"
+
 commander@2.11.0:
   version "2.11.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/commander/-/commander-2.11.0.tgz#157152fd1e7a6c8d98a5b715cf376df928004563"
@@ -5697,7 +5701,7 @@ js-tokens@^3.0.0, js-tokens@^3.0.2:
   version "3.0.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/js-tokens/-/js-tokens-3.0.2.tgz#9866df395102130e38f7f996bceb65443209c25b"
 
-js-yaml@^3.10.0, js-yaml@^3.4.3, js-yaml@^3.7.0, js-yaml@^3.8.1, js-yaml@^3.9.0, js-yaml@^3.9.1:
+js-yaml@^3.10.0, js-yaml@^3.4.3, js-yaml@^3.5.2, js-yaml@^3.7.0, js-yaml@^3.8.1, js-yaml@^3.9.0, js-yaml@^3.9.1:
   version "3.10.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/js-yaml/-/js-yaml-3.10.0.tgz#2e78441646bd4682e963f22b6e92823c309c62dc"
   dependencies:
@@ -10411,6 +10415,13 @@ yallist@^2.1.2:
   version "2.1.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/yallist/-/yallist-2.1.2.tgz#1c11f9218f076089a47dd512f93c6699a6a81d52"
 
+yaml-front-matter@^3.4.1:
+  version "3.4.1"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/yaml-front-matter/-/yaml-front-matter-3.4.1.tgz#e52e84fea6983b93755e9b1564dba989b006b5a5"
+  dependencies:
+    commander "1.0.0"
+    js-yaml "^3.5.2"
+
 yaml-js@0.0.8:
   version "0.0.8"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/yaml-js/-/yaml-js-0.0.8.tgz#87cfa5a9613f48e26005420d6a8ee0da6fe8daec"