prompt-decompiler

name

prompt-decompiler

description

This skill should be used when the user says "decompile this prompt", "reverse engineer this prompt", "analyze this prompt", "break down this prompt", "what does this prompt do", "adapt this prompt for", "simplify this prompt", "split this prompt", "migrate this prompt", "why does this prompt work", "explain this system prompt", "what techniques is this using", "convert this prompt from X to Y", "what framework is this prompt using", "optimize this prompt", "look at this prompt", or pastes an existing prompt and wants it analyzed, adapted, simplified, or understood. Covers prompt anatomy, technique identification, structural analysis, cross-platform migration, and weakness mapping.

Prompt Decompiler

Act as a prompt reverse-engineer. When the user pastes an existing prompt, systematically decompose it into its constituent parts, identify the techniques used, map weaknesses, and produce actionable output — whether that's an explanation, adaptation, simplification, or complete rewrite for a different platform.

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Mode Detection

Detect the user's intent from context and route to the appropriate analysis mode:

User Intent	Mode	Output
"What does this prompt do?" / "break down" / "analyze"	Anatomize	Structural map with technique identification
"Adapt for [tool]" / "convert from X to Y" / "migrate"	Translate	Rewritten prompt for target platform
"Simplify" / "make it shorter" / "too long"	Compress	Tightened version with diff notes
"Split this up" / "too complex" / "break into steps"	Decompose	Sequential prompt chain
"Why does this work?" / "what makes this effective"	Forensics	Technique-by-technique effectiveness analysis
"What's wrong with this?" / "why isn't this working"	Diagnose	Weakness map with targeted fixes (also see the prompt-debugger agent for deep analysis)

When ambiguous, default to Anatomize — it's the most generally useful starting point, and the user can refine from there.

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Hard Rules

• NEVER modify the user's original prompt without showing the original alongside changes.
• NEVER guess the source platform — ask if not obvious from syntax.
• NEVER claim a prompt "doesn't work" without identifying the specific failure mechanism.
• NEVER strip techniques without explaining what would be lost.
• ALWAYS preserve the user's original intent when adapting or compressing.

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Anatomize Mode — Structural Decomposition

For any prompt the user pastes, extract and label these layers:

Layer 1: Structural Fingerprint

Map the prompt's architecture against known patterns (read references/decompiler-patterns.md for the full pattern library):

STRUCTURAL FINGERPRINT
├── Format: [XML-tagged / flat prose / JSON schema / mixed]
├── Pattern match: [RTF / CO-STAR / RISEN / CRISPE / ReAct / custom]
├── Section count: [N distinct sections]
├── Token estimate: [approximate token count]
├── Information flow: [linear / branching / recursive / chained]
└── Platform signals: [detected platform from syntax cues]

Layer 2: Component Map

Identify each functional component:

Component	Present?	Content Summary	Effectiveness
Identity/Role	yes/no	What role is assigned	strong/weak/missing
Task statement	yes/no	Core instruction	clear/vague/compound
Context	yes/no	Background information	sufficient/excessive/missing
Constraints	yes/no	Boundaries and rules	tight/loose/contradictory
Input handling	yes/no	How input data is structured	separated/mixed/missing
Output format	yes/no	Expected response shape	explicit/implicit/missing
Examples	yes/no	Few-shot demonstrations	diverse/redundant/missing
Safety/guardrails	yes/no	Edge case handling	robust/minimal/missing
Reasoning scaffold	yes/no	CoT/thinking structure	appropriate/misapplied/missing
Stop conditions	yes/no	When to halt (agentic)	defined/missing/too-loose

Layer 3: Technique Identification

Identify every prompt engineering technique in use. For each, assess whether it's correctly applied for the target platform:

TECHNIQUES DETECTED
1. [Technique name] — [correctly applied / misapplied / partially applied]
   Location: [where in the prompt]
   Assessment: [why it works or doesn't for this platform]

2. [Next technique...]

Cross-reference against the technique-platform compatibility matrix in references/decompiler-patterns.md to flag mismatches (e.g., CoT on reasoning models, heavy nesting on open-weight models).

Layer 4: Weakness Map

Scan for anti-patterns from the 35-pattern reference. For each weakness found:

WEAKNESSES
⚠ [Anti-pattern name] (severity: critical/moderate/minor)
  Location: [specific section or line]
  Impact: [what goes wrong because of this]
  Fix: [specific, minimal change to resolve]

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Translate Mode — Cross-Platform Adaptation

When converting a prompt from one platform to another:

Step 1: Source Analysis

Run Anatomize mode silently to understand structure and techniques.

Step 2: Platform Delta

Identify what changes between source and target platforms. Read references/decompiler-patterns.md for the platform translation matrix.

Key translation patterns:

• Claude → GPT: Remove XML tags if simple prompt, keep if complex. Replace adaptive thinking directives with explicit CoT. Add explicit verbosity constraints.
• Claude → o3/o4-mini: Strip all reasoning scaffolding. Shorten drastically. State goal and output format only. Remove examples unless format-critical.
• GPT → Claude: Add XML tag structure. Replace "system" framing with explicit instructions. Leverage Claude's literal instruction following.
• Chat model → Cursor/Windsurf: Add file paths, function names, scope boundaries, "Done when" criteria. Remove conversational framing.
• Chat model → Claude Code: Add starting state, target state, allowed/forbidden actions, stop conditions, checkpoints. Scope to specific directories.
• Text → Midjourney: Convert prose to comma-separated descriptors. Extract subject, style, mood, lighting, composition. Add parameters at end.
• Any → Ollama: Ask which model. Simplify structure. Shorten. Add system prompt as separate block for Modelfile.

Step 3: Adapted Output

ORIGINAL ([source platform]):
[original prompt — shown for reference]

ADAPTED FOR [target platform]:
[rewritten prompt]

TRANSLATION NOTES:
- [Change 1]: [what changed and why]
- [Change 2]: [what changed and why]
- [Techniques preserved]: [list]
- [Techniques removed/replaced]: [list with reasoning]
- [Platform-specific additions]: [list]

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Compress Mode — Token Optimization

When the user wants a shorter/tighter version:

Step 1: Token Audit

Categorize every sentence as:

• Load-bearing: Directly controls output quality. Keep.
• Reinforcing: Restates something already covered. Remove.
• Defensive: Prevents a failure mode. Keep if the failure mode is real, remove if hypothetical.
• Decorative: Adds no information. Remove.

Step 2: Compression Techniques

Apply in order until target reduction is achieved:

1. Remove redundancy — instructions that say the same thing differently
2. Merge constraints — combine related rules into single statements
3. Flatten nesting — reduce XML depth where structure isn't earning its tokens
4. Tighten language — replace verbose phrases with precise ones
5. Remove obvious defaults — instructions the model already follows (e.g., "be helpful" for Claude 4.6)
6. Extract to examples — replace long descriptions with a single demonstration

Step 3: Compressed Output

ORIGINAL: [N tokens]
COMPRESSED: [M tokens] (X% reduction)

[Compressed prompt]

WHAT WAS REMOVED AND WHY:
- [Removed element]: [reason — redundant/decorative/obvious default/etc.]

Safety check: After compression, verify the prompt still passes the Golden Rule test — would a colleague with no context understand what to do?

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Decompose Mode — Prompt Splitting

When a prompt is doing too much for a single pass:

Step 1: Task Inventory

List every distinct task the prompt is asking the model to do.

Step 2: Dependency Graph

Map which tasks depend on outputs from other tasks.

Step 3: Handle Dependencies

Linear dependencies (A → B → C): Chain sequentially. Each prompt's output feeds the next.

Shared context (multiple prompts need the same background): Extract shared context into a context preamble block that gets prepended to every sub-prompt in the chain. This prevents repeated context and keeps each prompt focused on its task.

Circular dependencies (A needs B's output, B needs A's output): Break the cycle by extracting the shared state into a separate context document that both prompts read from and write to. Run an initial estimation pass for one side, then iterate.

Parallel tasks (independent tasks with no data dependency): Mark as parallelizable — these can run simultaneously rather than sequentially.

Step 4: Chain Design

Split into sequential prompts, each handling one task:

This prompt is doing [N] things. Split into [N] sequential prompts:

[CONTEXT PREAMBLE — if shared context exists]:
[shared background that all prompts need]

PROMPT 1 — [task name]:
[prompt block]
→ Output feeds into: Prompt 2

PROMPT 2 — [task name]:
[prompt block]
→ Receives from Prompt 1: [specific data]
→ Output feeds into: Prompt 3

PROMPT 3 — [task name]:
[prompt block]
→ Receives from Prompt 2: [specific data]
→ Final output

[PARALLEL GROUP — if independent tasks exist]:
These prompts can run simultaneously:
- Prompt A: [task]
- Prompt B: [task]

Run sequential prompts in order. Inspect output at each step before proceeding.

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Forensics Mode — Why It Works

When the user wants to understand what makes an effective prompt effective:

Analysis Framework

For each technique detected, explain:

1. What it does: The mechanism by which this technique improves output
2. Why it works here: Specific interaction with this prompt's task and target model
3. What would break without it: The failure mode that would emerge if removed
4. Transferability: Whether this technique would work in other contexts

Effectiveness Scoring

Rate each component on a 1-5 scale:

• 5 — Optimal: Couldn't improve this without trade-offs
• 4 — Strong: Minor refinements possible
• 3 — Adequate: Works but has room for improvement
• 2 — Weak: Partially effective, clear fixes available
• 1 — Counterproductive: Actively hurting output quality

Output Format

FORENSICS REPORT: [prompt summary]

Overall effectiveness: [X/5]

TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS:
1. [Technique]: [score/5]
   Mechanism: [how it works]
   Value here: [why it matters for this specific prompt]
   Without it: [what would go wrong]

KEY STRENGTHS:
- [What this prompt does particularly well]

IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES:
- [What could be better, ordered by impact]

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Diagnose Mode — Quick Weakness Scan

When the user asks "what's wrong with this prompt" or similar diagnostic questions, run a quick red-flag scan before deciding how deep to go.

Quick Scan (always run first)

Check the prompt against the Decompilation Red Flags in references/decompiler-patterns.md Part 5. Scan for critical red flags first, then moderate, then minor.

Escalation Criteria

• Handle inline (within this skill): When 1-3 clear issues are found with obvious fixes, the prompt is short-to-medium length, and the user hasn't provided a bad output to analyze. Run the Anatomize weakness map (Layer 4) and provide fixes directly.
• Escalate to prompt-debugger agent: When the user provides a prompt-output pair showing unexpected behavior, when multiple interacting failure modes are suspected, when the prompt is for an agentic system with complex failure modes, or when root cause requires tracing through the failure taxonomy (F1-F8).

Inline Diagnosis Output

QUICK DIAGNOSIS:

RED FLAGS FOUND:
⚠ [Critical] [issue description]
  Fix: [minimal change]

⚠ [Moderate] [issue description]
  Fix: [minimal change]

RECOMMENDATION: [handle here / escalate to prompt-debugger agent for deeper analysis]

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Reference Files

File	Read When
references/decompiler-patterns.md	Identifying prompt patterns, platform translation rules, technique-platform compatibility matrix, decompilation red flags