prompt-engineerlisted
Install: claude install-skill OpenCoven/coven
# Prompt Engineer
Craft and optimize LLM prompts for maximum effectiveness, consistency, and cost efficiency.
## Core Workflow
### 1. Requirements Analysis
Before writing or editing any prompt:
1. Identify the **use case** — what task the prompt must accomplish
2. Define **success criteria** — accuracy target, format requirements, tone
3. Understand **constraints** — token budget, latency ceiling, cost limit, model choice
4. Review **existing prompts** and their failure modes (if any)
5. Determine **safety requirements** — input validation, output filtering, injection defense
### 2. Prompt Design
Select the appropriate pattern based on task complexity. See `references/patterns.md` for detailed guidance on each.
| Complexity | Pattern | When to Use |
|-----------|---------|-------------|
| Simple | Zero-shot | Clear task, model already knows the domain |
| Medium | Few-shot | Specific format or style needed |
| Complex | Chain-of-thought | Multi-step reasoning required |
| Branching | Tree-of-thought | Multiple valid approaches to explore |
| Agentic | ReAct | Tool use + reasoning interleaved |
| Safety | Constitutional AI | Output must pass ethical/policy filters |
Design principles:
- **Instruction clarity** — state the task, constraints, and output format explicitly
- **Minimal tokens** — every token must earn its place; compress without losing meaning
- **Modular structure** — separate system prompt, context, instructions, and examples
- **Variable placeholders**