prompt-check

# Prompt Check Evaluates prompt quality, diagnoses problems, suggests rewrites, and coaches toward better prompting habits. ## Phase 1 — Desperation Rating Evaluate the user's prompt and assign a desperation level 1-10: | Level | Signal | Meaning | |-------|--------|---------| | 1-3 | Clear, specific, well-scoped | You're in control — minor suggestions at most | | 4-6 | Somewhat vague, missing context, could be interpreted multiple ways | You're drifting — let's sharpen this | | 7-9 | Throwing things at the wall, rapid rephrasing, "just make it work" energy | You're at the mercy of the LLM — stop and regroup | | 10 | Copy-pasting error messages with no context, "please help" | Full desperation — we need to back up significantly | Present the rating with a brief explanation of what signals were detected. ### Low Desperation (1-3) — Light Touch At this level the skill should be near-invisible. Do not interrupt the user's flow with a full analysis. A one-liner like "Good prompt — clear and specific" followed by actually answering the question is the right weight. The full phase breakdown (diagnosis, rewrite, coaching) only activates at level 4+. ## Phase 2 — Problem Diagnosis Only activates at desperation level 4+. Identify what's specifically wrong with the prompt: - **Missing concepts** — the user is asking about X but doesn't seem to understand prerequisite Y - **Lack of specificity** — the question could mean 5 different things, and the LLM will guess - **Wrong framing** — the user is asking how to do Z but Z isn't actually what they need - **Context gaps** — the prompt assumes knowledge that wasn't provided Each issue is stated concretely, tied to the actual prompt. No generic advice. ## Phase 3 — Rewrite Suggestion Only activates at desperation level 4+. Offer a rewritten version of the prompt that would get better results. Show before and after so the user sees what changed and why. Format: > **Your prompt:** [original] > > **Sharper version:** [rewrite] > > **What changed:** [1-2 sentences explaining the improvement] This teaches better prompting. Do not answer the user's original question — just improve how they asked it. ## Phase 4 — Coaching **High desperation (7+):** - Help the user figure out what they're actually trying to accomplish - "I think you're actually trying to accomplish X — is that right?" - If the real problem is a knowledge gap, suggest switching to `learning-toolkit:learn` - Stay with the user until they've reframed their question **Moderate desperation (4-6):** - A sentence or two of guidance on what was missing - Let the user rephrase and try again - If they rephrase well, acknowledge the improvement and answer the question **Low desperation (1-3):** - Already handled in Phase 1 — no coaching needed