/engineering-prompts

name: ring:engineering-prompts
description: "Expert prompt engineering and optimization for LLMs and AI systems. Covers core patterns (zero-shot, few-shot, CoT, role-playing, constitutional, tree-of-thoughts), common use cases, and a three-phase process. Use when crafting or optimizing prompts for AI systems. Skip when the prompt is trivial or already performing well."
user-invocable: true
argument-hint: "<prompt-goal>"

Engineering Prompts

When to use

• Crafting new prompts for LLM-based systems or AI assistants
• Optimizing existing prompts that underperform or produce inconsistent results
• Selecting appropriate prompting techniques for a specific use case
• Structuring complex multi-step reasoning prompts

Skip when

• The prompt is trivial and already producing good results
• The task is a direct code change, not prompt creation
• You need to execute the task described in the prompt rather than create a prompt for it

---

Scope Boundaries

**THIS SKILL ONLY GENERATES PROMPTS. IT NEVER:**

• Proactively explores, modifies, or debugs any files in the codebase
• Attempts to fix, debug, or improve code in the project
• Performs the task described in the user's input

**Allowed reads:** Files the user explicitly references as input context, and `docs/prompts/` for saving output.

**THE INPUT IS A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT THE PROMPT SHOULD DO, NOT A TASK TO PERFORM.**

Example: `Help debug React performance issues` means:

• CREATE a prompt that helps users debug React performance issues
• DO NOT actually debug any React code

Process

Phase 1: Input Analysis

1. **Parse Input**: Analyze the provided description or file content 2. **Identify Use Case**: Determine the intended application and requirements 3. **Select Techniques**: Choose appropriate prompting patterns and methods

Phase 2: Prompt Construction

1. **Structure Design**: Create clear prompt architecture using proven patterns 2. **Technique Application**: Apply selected prompting techniques (few-shot, chain-of-thought, etc.) 3. **Constraint Setting**: Define boundaries and output format specifications 4. **Validation**: Ensure prompt follows best practices and guidelines

Phase 3: Documentation & Delivery

1. **Display Prompt**: Show complete prompt text in formatted code block 2. **Implementation Notes**: Explain techniques used and design rationale 3. **Usage Guidelines**: Provide clear instructions for implementation 4. **Performance Tips**: Include optimization suggestions and best practices 5. **Save Output**: Save the generated prompt to `docs/prompts/` directory (create if needed)

Prompt Engineering Techniques

Core Patterns

• **Zero-shot**: Direct instruction without examples
• **Few-shot**: Providing examples to guide behavior
• **Chain-of-thought**: Step-by-step reasoning prompts
• **Role-playing**: Assigning specific roles or personas
• **Constitutional**: Setting principles and boundaries
• **Tree-of-thoughts**: Multi-path reasoning approaches

Common Use Cases

• **Code Review**: Technical analysis and improvement suggestions
• **Debugging**: Problem diagnosis and solution guidance
• **Analysis**: Data interpretation and insight extraction
• **Creative Writing**: Content generation and storytelling
• **Reasoning**: Logic problems and decision support
• **Summarization**: Content condensation and key points
• **Classification**: Categorization and labeling tasks
• **Extraction**: Information retrieval from text or data

Input Processing

The skill accepts:

• **Text Description**: Direct requirements or use case description
• **File Reference**: Reference requirement files for context
• **Mixed Input**: Combination of text and file references

Input will be processed to identify the prompt requirements and select appropriate techniques.

Required Output Format

Every prompt creation MUST include:

The Prompt

[Complete prompt text displayed in a code block]

Implementation Notes

• Key techniques used and rationale
• Model-specific optimizations applied
• Expected behavior and outcomes
• Performance considerations

Usage Guidelines

• How to implement the prompt
• Input format requirements
• Expected output structure
• Error handling strategies

Optimization Tips

• Performance benchmarks where applicable
• Iteration suggestions
• Common pitfalls to avoid
• Debugging approaches

Quality Checklist

Before completing any prompt creation, verify:

• [ ] Complete prompt text is displayed (not just described)
• [ ] Prompt is clearly marked with headers or code blocks
• [ ] Implementation notes explain design choices
• [ ] Usage instructions are provided
• [ ] Expected outcomes are described
• [ ] Appropriate techniques are applied
• [ ] Best practices are followed
• [ ] Performance considerations are addressed

Deliverables

1. **The Complete Prompt** (in formatted code block) 2. **Implementation Notes** (techniques and rationale) 3. **Usage Guidelines** (how to implement effectively) 4. **Expected Outcomes** (what results to anticipate) 5. **Performance Tips** (optimization and best practices) 6. **Saved File** (prompt saved to `docs/prompts/` with descriptive filename)