engineering-prompts

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LEVEL 1: QUICKSTART ⚡

Foundation First (Always Apply):

1. Clarity: Explicit instructions + success criteria
2. Context & Motivation: Explain WHY, not just WHAT
3. Positive Framing: Say what TO do, not what NOT to do

Then Assess:

4. Simple task? → Stop here. Foundation is enough.
5. Complex task? → Add advanced techniques sparingly
6. Test & Iterate: Measure effectiveness, refine based on results

Key insight: The best prompt achieves goals with minimum necessary structure.

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LEVEL 2: DIAGNOSTICS 🔧

Output Problems → Solutions:

| Problem | Solution | |---------|----------| | Too generic | Add specificity + examples | | Off-topic | Add context explaining goals | | Wrong format | Examples or structured outputs | | Unreliable on complex tasks | Prompt chaining | | Unnecessary preambles | "Start directly with..." or structured outputs | | Hallucinations | "If unsure, acknowledge uncertainty" | | Shallow reasoning | Raise effort |

Process Problems → Fixes:

| Mistake | Fix | |---------|-----| | Over-engineering | Start minimal, add only what helps | | Negative framing | Say what TO do instead | | No motivation | Explain the WHY | | No iteration | Test, measure, refine |

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LEVEL 3: THE 12 TECHNIQUES 🛠️

Foundation (Always Apply)

| Technique | What It Does | Cost | |-----------|--------------|------| | 1. Clarity | Explicit instructions, success criteria | Minimal | | 2. Context & Motivation | Explain WHY you want something | Minimal | | 3. Positive Framing | Say what TO do, not what NOT to do | Minimal | | 4. XML Structure | Separate sections in complex prompts | ~50-100 tokens |

Note: XML is less essential with Claude 4.x - use when genuinely needed.

Advanced (Apply When Needed)

| Technique | When to Use | Cost | |-----------|-------------|------| | 5. Effort / Thinking | Hard analysis, math, debugging | Higher effort = more tokens | | 6. Prompt Chaining | Multi-step, complex tasks | Multiple calls | | 7. Multishot Examples | Pattern learning, format | 200-1K each | | 8. System Role | Domain expertise needed | Minimal | | 9. Structured Outputs | Strict format requirements | Minimal | | 10. Long Context | 20K+ token inputs | Better accuracy | | 11. Context Budget | Repeated use, conversations | 90% savings | | 12. Tool Docs | Function calling, agents | 100-500/tool |

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LEVEL 4: DESIGN CHECKLIST 📋

Before Writing:

• [ ] Core task clear?
• [ ] Output format defined?
• [ ] Constraints known? (latency/cost/accuracy)
• [ ] One-off or repeated use?

Complexity Assessment:

• Simple (extraction, Q&A) → Foundation only
• Medium (analysis, code gen) → + higher effort, examples
• Complex (research, novel problems) → + Chaining, role

Cost Optimization:

• Cache system prompts + reference docs (90% savings)
• Batch non-urgent work (50% savings)
• Lower effort for simple tasks

Deliverable:

• Prompt + techniques used + rationale + token estimate

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LEVEL 5: ADVANCED TOPICS 🚀

Tool Integration

When to use MCP tools during prompt engineering:

Need latest practices?
└─ WebSearch → Parallel Search

Need library docs?
└─ mcp__plugin_essentials_mcp (context7)

Context Management

Prompt Caching:

• Cache: System prompts, reference docs, examples
• Savings: 90% on cached content
• Write: 25% of standard cost
• Read: 10% of standard cost

Long Context Tips:

• Place documents BEFORE queries
• Use XML tags: <document>, <source>
• Ground responses in quotes
• 30% better performance with proper structure

Token Optimization

Reducing Token Usage:

• Concise, clear instructions (no fluff)
• Reuse examples across calls (cache them)
• Structured output reduces back-and-forth
• Tool use instead of long context when possible

Cost-Specific Anti-Patterns

❌ Ignoring caching - Not leveraging repeated content (90% savings lost) ❌ Over-requesting effort - High effort for simple tasks (tokens wasted) ❌ Redundant examples - 5 examples when 2 suffice ❌ No batching - Real-time calls for non-urgent work (50% savings lost)

See LEVEL 2: Diagnostics for general fixes.

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LEVEL 6: REFERENCES 📚

Deep Dive Documentation

Detailed Technique Catalog:

• reference/technique-catalog.md - Each technique explained with examples, token costs, combination strategies

Real-World Examples:

• reference/examples.md - Before/after pairs for coding, analysis, extraction, agent tasks

Research Papers:

• reference/research.md - Latest Anthropic research, benchmarks, best practices evolution