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Prompter CLI

Prompt Templates

Learn how to create effective prompt templates for AI coding agents.

What Makes a Good Template

Good templates are:

  • Focused - One clear purpose
  • Specific - Clear instructions
  • Reusable - Work across different contexts
  • Structured - Organized and scannable
  • Actionable - Tell the AI what to do

Template Structure

Templates are Markdown files with optional frontmatter. If flag or shorthand are not set, Prompter generates them from the file name.

---
name: "Code Review"
description: "Review for bugs, clarity, and tests"
flag: "code-review"
shorthand: "r"
pin: false
---


# Code Review


Review the following changes for correctness and clarity.

Template Patterns

Code Review Template

---
name: "Code Review"
description: "Review code for quality and best practices"
flag: "code-review"
shorthand: "r"
pin: true
---


# Code Review


Review this code for:


## Code Quality
- Readability and maintainability
- Naming conventions
- Code organization
- DRY principle adherence


## Best Practices
- Language-specific idioms
- Design patterns
- Error handling
- Edge cases


## Potential Issues
- Bugs or logic errors
- Performance concerns
- Security vulnerabilities
- Memory leaks


Provide specific suggestions for improvement.

Bug Fix Template

---
name: "Bug Fix"
description: "Help diagnose and fix bugs"
flag: "bug-fix"
shorthand: "b"
---


# Bug Fix


Help me fix this bug:


## Analysis
1. Identify the root cause
2. Explain why it's happening
3. Assess the impact


## Solution
1. Propose a fix
2. Explain the approach
3. Consider edge cases
4. Suggest tests to prevent regression


## Prevention
Suggest how to prevent similar bugs in the future.

Security Review Template

---
name: "Security Review"
description: "Review code for security issues"
flag: "security"
shorthand: "s"
---


# Security Review


Review this code for security vulnerabilities:


## Input Validation
- SQL injection
- XSS attacks
- Command injection
- Path traversal


## Authentication & Authorization
- Authentication bypass
- Privilege escalation
- Session management


## Data Protection
- Sensitive data exposure
- Encryption usage
- Secure storage


## Dependencies
- Known vulnerabilities
- Outdated packages
- Insecure configurations


Rate severity (Critical/High/Medium/Low) and provide remediation steps.

Documentation Template

---
name: "Document"
description: "Generate documentation"
flag: "document"
shorthand: "d"
---


# Documentation


Generate documentation for this code:


## Overview
- Purpose and functionality
- Key components
- Dependencies


## API Documentation
- Function/method signatures
- Parameters and return values
- Usage examples
- Edge cases and errors


## Implementation Notes
- Important algorithms
- Design decisions
- Performance considerations


Use clear, concise language suitable for developers.

Dynamic Templates with Go Syntax

Context Wrapper

---
name: "Project Context"
description: "Wrap prompt with project context"
flag: "context"
shorthand: "c"
---


# Project Context


Working directory: {{ .CWD }}


{{ .Prompt }}


Please follow project conventions when suggesting changes.

File Summary

---
name: "File Summary"
description: "Summarize included files"
flag: "file-summary"
---


# File Summary


{{- range .Files }}
## {{ .Path }}
{{ mdFence "auto" .Content }}
{{- end }}


{{ .BasePrompt }}

Conditional Review

---
name: "Smart Review"
flag: "smart-review"
---


# Code Review


{{ if .Files }}
Reviewing {{ len .Files }} file(s):
{{- range .Files }}
- {{ .Path }}
{{- end }}
{{ end }}


{{ .Prompt }}


Provide specific, actionable feedback.

Context-Specific Templates

API Design Template

---
name: "API Design"
description: "Review API design"
flag: "api-design"
---


# API Design Review


Review this API design:


## RESTful Principles
- Resource naming
- HTTP methods
- Status codes
- Idempotency


## Design Quality
- Consistency
- Versioning strategy
- Error responses
- Pagination


## Documentation
- Endpoint descriptions
- Request/response examples
- Authentication requirements


## Best Practices
- Rate limiting
- Caching headers
- CORS configuration

Database Schema Template

---
name: "Database Schema"
description: "Review database schema"
flag: "db-schema"
---


# Database Schema Review


Review this database schema:


## Design
- Normalization
- Relationships
- Constraints
- Indexes


## Performance
- Query optimization
- Index strategy
- Partitioning needs


## Data Integrity
- Foreign keys
- Check constraints
- Unique constraints
- Default values


## Scalability
- Growth considerations
- Archival strategy
- Sharding potential

Performance Optimization Template

---
name: "Performance"
description: "Optimize performance"
flag: "performance"
shorthand: "p"
---


# Performance Optimization


Analyze and optimize this code for performance:


## Bottlenecks
- Identify slow operations
- Measure complexity
- Profile hot paths


## Optimizations
- Algorithm improvements
- Caching opportunities
- Lazy loading
- Batch operations


## Trade-offs
- Memory vs speed
- Complexity vs performance
- Maintainability impact


Provide benchmarks or estimates where possible.

Combining Templates

Templates can be combined for comprehensive reviews:

Terminal window
# Code review with security check
prompter --code-review --security


# Refactoring with tests
prompter --refactor --tests


# Full review
prompter --code-review --security --performance

Template Organization

Build a library of templates for common tasks:

prompts/
├── reviews/
│   ├── code-review.md
│   ├── security.md
│   └── performance.md
├── documentation/
│   ├── api-docs.md
│   └── readme.md
├── fixes/
│   ├── bug-fix.md
│   └── refactor.md
└── project-context.md

Best Practices

  1. Start simple - Begin with basic templates and refine over time
  2. Use checklists - Make it easy for AI to be thorough
  3. Be specific - Vague instructions lead to vague responses
  4. Include examples - Show what you want
  5. Iterate - Improve templates based on results
  6. Share templates - Collaborate with your team
  7. Version control - Keep templates in git
  8. Use Go templates sparingly - Only when you need dynamic behavior

Next Steps