diff --git a/astrai/tokenize/chat_template.py b/astrai/tokenize/chat_template.py
index 6f81f7c..56efe91 100644
--- a/astrai/tokenize/chat_template.py
+++ b/astrai/tokenize/chat_template.py
@@ -1,13 +1,10 @@
-from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
 
 from jinja2 import Template
 
-# Message type for chat messages
 type MessageType = Dict[str, Any]
 
 
-@dataclass
 class ChatTemplate:
     """A chat template with Jinja2 rendering support.
 
@@ -15,23 +12,24 @@ class ChatTemplate:
         name: Unique identifier for the template.
         template_str: Jinja2 template string.
         description: Optional description.
-        default_variables: Optional dictionary of default variable values
-            that will be passed to the template if not overridden during rendering.
+        default_variables: Optional dictionary of default variable values.
         special_tokens: Optional dictionary mapping token names to their string values.
-            These tokens are automatically added to the template variables.
     """
 
-    name: str
-    template_str: str
-    description: str = ""
-    default_variables: Dict[str, Any] = None
-    special_tokens: Dict[str, str] = None
-
-    def __post_init__(self):
-        if self.default_variables is None:
-            self.default_variables = {}
-        if self.special_tokens is None:
-            self.special_tokens = {}
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        name: str = "",
+        template_str: str = "",
+        description: str = "",
+        default_variables: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
+        special_tokens: Optional[Dict[str, str]] = None,
+    ):
+        self.name = name
+        self.template_str = template_str
+        self.description = description
+        self.default_variables = default_variables or {}
+        self.special_tokens = special_tokens or {}
+        self._compiled : Template = Template(template_str)
 
     @classmethod
     def from_string(
@@ -43,7 +41,7 @@ class ChatTemplate:
     ) -> "ChatTemplate":
         """Create a ChatTemplate instance directly from a template string."""
         return cls(
-            name="",  # empty name for ad‑hoc templates
+            name="",
             template_str=template_str,
             description=description,
             default_variables=default_variables,
@@ -73,5 +71,4 @@ class ChatTemplate:
         if system_prompt is not None:
             variables["system_prompt"] = system_prompt
 
-        jinja_template = Template(self.template_str)
-        return jinja_template.render(**variables)
+        return self._compiled.render(**variables)