Prompt Engineering

Every prompt is an interface contract — clarity of intent determines quality of output. Apply when crafting skills, agents, output styles, system prompts, or any AI instructions.

What's Wrong With Your Prompt?

• Wrong format — add explicit format + example. See Output Format
• Missing information — be more specific about what to include. See Be Specific
• Hallucination — add context, request citations. See Provide Context
• Ignores instructions — place critical rules at top and end, use XML tags. See Persistent Context
• Complex reasoning fails — use extended thinking or CoT. See Reasoning
• Inconsistent results — add 3-5 examples. See Examples
• Too verbose — specify word/sentence limits. See Be Specific
• Security concerns — validate input, filter output. See [${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/security.md]

References