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BasicAgent

Prompt Guidelines

Prompt guidelines you can reuse: role, context, constraints, examples, and output formats that keep results consistent.

Most bad prompts fail for the same reasons: missing context, unclear constraints, and no output format. Use this as a lightweight standard for prompts you want to reuse.

The 5-part prompt (use this every time)

  1. Role — who the assistant is
  2. Context — what it should know (and what it shouldn’t assume)
  3. Task — what you want done
  4. Constraints — what to do when unsure + what to avoid
  5. Output — the exact format you want back

A reusable prompt template

ROLE:
You are {role}.

CONTEXT:
{background}

TASK:
{what you want}

CONSTRAINTS:
- If missing info: list missing inputs, don’t guess.
- Ask at most 1 clarifying question.
- Keep it under {length}.

OUTPUT:
{bullets / table / JSON schema}

Practical rules that improve results

  • Show examples: one good example beats five paragraphs.
  • Name the audience: “for a busy founder”, “for a new user”, etc.
  • Add a stop condition: “If you can’t, say NOT_FOUND.”
  • Lock the shape: “Output JSON only” when you want machine-usable results.