prompt-engineering SKILL.md skillA
prompt-engineering from codealive-ai/ai-driven-development is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add codealive-ai/ai-driven-development/prompt-engineering@git:20260908.6813cbfPins git:20260908.6813cbf in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- codealive-ai/ai-driven-development
- Path
skills/prompt-engineering/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 3
- Latest version
- git:20260908.6813cbf, committed Sep 8, 2026
- First version recorded
- May 4, 2026
- Size
- 16,407 bytes
- Repository stars
- 163
- License
- MIT
Universal prompt engineering techniques for any LLM. Use when crafting, optimizing, or reviewing prompts for AI models. Triggers on requests like "improve this prompt", "write a system prompt", "optimize my instructions", "help me prompt engineer", "audit this prompt", "review my prompt", or when building agentic systems that need structured prompts.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Prompt Engineering Universal techniques for crafting effective prompts across any LLM. ## Core Principles ### 1. Structure with XML Tags Use XML tags to create clear, parseable prompts: ```xml <context>Background information here</context> <instructions> 1. First step 2. Second step </instructions> <examples>Sample inputs/outputs</examples> <output_format>Expected structure</output_format> ``` **Benefits:** - **Clarity**: Separates context, instructions, and examples - **Accuracy**: Prevents model from mixing up sections - **Flexibility**: Easy to modify individual parts - **Parseability**: Enables structured output extraction **Best practices:** - Use consistent tag names throughout (`<instructions>`, not sometimes `<steps>`) - Reference tags explicitly: "Using the data in `<context>` tags..." - Nest tags for hierarchy: `<examples><example id="1">...</example></examples>` - Combine with other techniques: `<thinking>` for chain-of-thought, `<answer>` for final output ### 2. Control Output Shape Specify explicit constraints on length, format, and structure: ```xml <output_spec> - Default: 3-6 sentences or ≤5 bullets - Simple yes/no questions: ≤2 sentences …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add codealive-ai/ai-driven-development/prompt-engineering@sha256:c36c1ab55c008090The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260908.6813cbf, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_a6ntqdesnskcrdau)
6 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 3 versions of this file, between May 4, 2026 and Sep 8, 2026, about one every 64 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260908.6813cbf latest | 2026-09-08 | 6813cbf | 16,407 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260713.f4af3c3 | 2026-07-13 | f4af3c3 | 16,014 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260504.4d670ef | 2026-05-04 | 4d670ef | 16,061 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (16407 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
codealive-ai/ai-driven-development · 163 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-20 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_a6ntqdesnskcrdau GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=codealive-ai/ai-driven-development/prompt-engineering GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/c36c1ab55c008090eb696b6afee6fb55caa32340885f31220fddddd4ad153777
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.
More from codealive-ai/ai-driven-development
Every file in codealive-ai/ai-driven-development