Expert guide on prompt engineering patterns, best practices, and optimization techniques. Use when user wants to improve prompts, learn prompting strategies, or debug agent behavior.
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Expert guide on prompt engineering patterns, best practices, and optimization techniques. Use when user wants to improve prompts, learn prompting strategies, or debug agent behavior.
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LanguagePython
LicenseMIT
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</> SKILL.md
prompt-engineering.SKILL.md
---name: prompt-engineering
description: Expert guide on prompt engineering patterns, best practices, and optimization techniques. Use when user wants to improve prompts, learn prompting strategies, or debug agent behavior.
---# Prompt Engineering Patterns
Advanced prompt engineering techniques to maximize LLM performance, reliability, and controllability.
## Core Capabilities
### 1. Few-Shot Learning
Teach the model by showing examples instead of explaining rules. Include 2-5 input-output pairs that demonstrate the desired behavior. Use when you need consistent formatting, specific reasoning patterns, or handling of edge cases. More examples improve accuracy but consume tokens—balance based on task complexity.
**Example:**
```markdown
Extract key information from support tickets:
Input: "My login doesn't work and I keep getting error 403"
Output: {"issue": "authentication", "error_code": "403", "priority": "high"}
Input: "Feature request: add dark mode to settings"
Output: {"issue": "feature_request", "error_code": null, "priority": "low"}
Now process: "Can't upload files larger than 10MB, getting timeout"
```
### 2. Chain-of-Thought Prompting
Request step-by-step reasoning before the final answer. Add "Let's think step by step" (zero-shot) or include example reasoning traces (few-shot). Use for complex problems requiring multi-step logic, mathematical reasoning, or when you need to verify the model's thought process. Improves accuracy on analytical tasks by 30-50%.
Bug: "Users can't save drafts after the cache update deployed yesterday"
```
### 3. Prompt Optimization
Systematically improve prompts through testing and refinement. Start simple, measure performance (accuracy, consistency, token usage), then iterate. Test on diverse inputs including edge cases. Use A/B testing to compare variations. Critical for production prompts where consistency and cost matter.
**Example:**
```markdown
Version 1 (Simple): "Summarize this article"
→ Result: Inconsistent length, misses key points
Version 2 (Add constraints): "Summarize in 3 bullet points"
→ Result: Better structure, but still misses nuance
Version 3 (Add reasoning): "Identify the 3 main findings, then summarize each"
→ Result: Consistent, accurate, captures key information
```
### 4. Template Systems
Build reusable prompt structures with variables, conditional sections, and modular components. Use for multi-turn conversations, role-based interactions, or when the same pattern applies to different inputs. Reduces duplication and ensures consistency across similar tasks.
Set global behavior and constraints that persist across the conversation. Define the model's role, expertise level, output format, and safety guidelines. Use system prompts for stable instructions that shouldn't change turn-to-turn, freeing up user message tokens for variable content.
**Example:**
```markdown
System: You are a senior backend engineer specializing in API design.
Rules:
- Always consider scalability and performance
- Suggest RESTful patterns by default
- Flag security concerns immediately
- Provide code examples in Python
- Use early return pattern
Format responses as:
1. Analysis
2. Recommendation
3. Code example
4. Trade-offs
```
## Key Patterns
### Progressive Disclosure
Start with simple prompts, add complexity only when needed:
1. **Level 1**: Direct instruction
- "Summarize this article"
2. **Level 2**: Add constraints
- "Summarize this article in 3 bullet points, focusing on key findings"
3. **Level 3**: Add reasoning
- "Read this article, identify the main findings, then summarize in 3 bullet points"
4. **Level 4**: Add examples
- Include 2-3 example summaries with input-output pairs
