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Prompt engineering notes

If you weren’t aware, there was a leak of Cursor and some other prompts. I’m not here to evaluate the quality of prompts, but let’s consider it as a state of the art from experienced guys.

generate anime style image where AI fed up of prompt

# First things first

It’s always valuable to check official docs, such as:

While the documentation is extensive, it is preferable to rely on it rather than controversial sources.

Controversial sources
some outdated principles
prompt anatomy

# Real life examples

But for now let’s try to separate two goals:

  1. Build production-ready prompt which will be executed by some software
  2. Using AI in everyday life (for example all images here are AI-generated)

And focus on 2. In my personal workflow, I typically ask something like:

generate anime style image where AI fed up of prompt

No context, no examples, no additional instructions/restrictions. Will it work? Yes. Will it fit into overall stylistic? Probably not.

How to improve it? Following OpenAI best practices:

generate anime style image where AI fed up of prompt

Context:

  • my blog is about …
  • this blog post about …
  • avoid smth
  • do additional

If we are talking about text result, probably you’ll want to add:

provide result in markdown(?) format

example output: …

A few iterations of clarifications, and you’re great.

# AI prompts in production software

Take a look at leaked prompts from the header and imagine how much time and energy was spent into it, having context from the OpenAI cookbook 🤯

# Lifehack

Anthropic, claude.ai author, provides automated tool https://anthropic.com/metaprompt-notebook/ (which requires access to their model and API key) to generate better prompt. And I’m here to argue that it was born outdated.

Alternative: use any AI provider to generate a prompt for prompt by providing raw, unprepared context, for example:

build a prompt to

generate anime style image where AI fed up of prompt

ctrl-C + ctrl-V of raw index.html

The resulted prompt:

Anime style image, depicting an AI as a young, humanoid character with glowing digital patterns on their skin. The AI’s expression is one of extreme exasperation and frustration. They are surrounded by a chaotic whirlwind of HTML code snippets, specifically similar to the provided HTML document. The AI is holding a crumpled piece of paper with the text “Prompt Engineering” scribbled on it. Their eyes are wide and strained, and a single tear is rolling down their cheek. The background should be a blurred, abstract representation of a computer screen with scrolling text. Use vibrant, saturated colors and dynamic lines to convey the AI’s overwhelmed and fed-up state. The style should be reminiscent of modern anime with a touch of cyberpunk aesthetic.

Execute the prompt and see resulted image on header.

# Conclusion

AI has already evolved enough to replace third-party apps/services for prompt building, such as prompt engineers, a profession that emerged during the hype.