prompt

name	prompt
description	Use when a request aimed at an AI is vague, rushed, or under-specified and the user wants it sharpened — "improve my prompt", "fix this prompt", "how should I ask for this" — or before firing an expensive task off a thin prompt. About prompts for an AI, not about optimizing code.

MasterMind — Prompt

The single biggest lever on AI output quality is the prompt. Most weak results aren't a model failure — they're an under-specified request. This skill rewrites a user's rough ask into a prompt an AI will execute well: clear intent, only the context that matters, structured, and token-efficient. Grounded in Anthropic's prompt-engineering guidance (~/.mastermind/engineering/core/agent-loop.md, product-sense.md).

First: get the real intent

If the goal is ambiguous, ask one or two sharp questions before rewriting — the rewrite carries only requirements the user actually implied. You sharpen their intent; it stays theirs.

The rewrite checklist (apply what fits — keep it lean)

1. Lead with the task. State the goal in the first line, plainly. Treat the AI like a sharp new hire: say exactly what "done" looks like.
2. Give load-bearing context only — the why, the audience, the stack/constraints, what already exists. Cut backstory that doesn't change the output.
3. Be explicit and concrete. Replace vague adjectives ("nice", "modern", "clean") with specifics (what, for whom, which constraints, which examples to match).
4. Structure it. Separate the parts — context / task / requirements / output format — with headings or XML-ish tags (<context>…</context>) so the model can parse roles of text.
5. Show an example, not just a description. Add one short example of the desired output (or a reference to match) when words alone are ambiguous — few-shot beats adjectives.
6. Set the role when it sharpens tone/expertise ("You are a senior accessibility engineer…").
7. Pin the output contract — format, length, what to include/exclude, and any must-nots.
8. Ask for reasoning on hard/analytical tasks ("think step by step before answering").

Token efficiency (efficient ≠ lossy)

Cut politeness padding, redundancy, and repeated context; compress prose to bullets; keep every detail that changes the output and no more. Fewer tokens and a sharper signal — not a shorter prompt that drops requirements.

Output

Return, in this order:

1. The optimized prompt — ready to paste, in a copyable block.
2. What changed & why — 2–4 bullets (e.g. "added output format; cut 3 lines of backstory; made 'fast' concrete = <2.5s LCP").
3. Open questions — anything still genuinely ambiguous the user should decide.

Flag any change of scope out loud. If the request implies a product/business decision, surface it rather than guessing (product-sense.md).