prompt-engineering

name	prompt-engineering
description	Best practices for prompt engineering and context engineering for Coding Agent prompts
disable-model-invocation	false
user-invocable	true

Guidelines for creating and editing Coding Agent prompts (commands, agents, skills, context files).

Important: Always Read the detailed reference for the corresponding prompt type before starting work.

Prompt Type Quick Reference

Type	Location	Invocation	Purpose	Reference
Command	.claude/commands/<name>.md	/command-name	Reusable tasks for users	references/command.md
Agent	.{.super-agent,.claude}/agents/<name>.md	@agent-name / Task tool	Specialized subagents	references/agent.md
Skill	`{.super-agent	.claude	.codex	.github}/skills//SKILL.md`
Context File	CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md etc.	Auto-loaded	Always-needed project context	references/context-file.md
Document	Any	Manual reference	Standalone prompts	-

Other references:

• references/orchestration.md - Orchestrator design for calling subagents
• references/permission-syntax.md - Permission syntax for allowed-tools
• references/hooks.md - Lifecycle hook configuration

Core Principles

1. Single Responsibility

Each prompt has one clear purpose.

• ✅ Environment setup only / Code implementation only

2. Independence from Caller

Avoid references to "orchestrator" or "parent task"; focus on input/output contracts.

• ✅ "Analyze the provided code and identify issues..."

3. Conciseness

Only information necessary for execution. Remove verbose examples, hypothetical paths, and generic patterns.

4. Noise Avoidance

• Avoid examples in multiple languages (choose the primary language)
• Avoid hypothetical file paths (CONTRIBUTING.md, etc.)
• Omit detailed steps that the LLM can infer

Formatting Rules

• No h1 headings: Do not start with #
• Language: Always write prompt body in English for context efficiency — prompts are consumed by the LLM, and English maximizes token efficiency and instruction clarity. Use the project's primary language only for description (user-facing metadata).
• XML tags: Use for structuring when there are multiple sections

Orchestration

When calling subagents:

1. Invocation template required: Include complete Task tool usage example
2. Responsibility separation: Subagents should be generic; task-specific details go in templates

Special Rules for Context Files

Be especially careful since they are always loaded:

• 80% rule: Only information needed by 80% of tasks
• Index-first: Reference details via pointers
• Scrutinize commands: Only commands the LLM will autonomously execute
• Target under 200 lines