refine-prompt SKILL.md skillA

refine-prompt from iliaal/whetstone is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.

Install it, pinned

mdr add iliaal/whetstone/refine-prompt@git:20260227.215f429

Pins git:20260227.215f429 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.

Audit grade: A, 17 of 17 checks passed
Kind: SKILL.md skill
Repository: iliaal/whetstone
Path: distillery/generated-skills/refine-prompt/SKILL.md
Versions recorded: 1
Latest version: git:20260227.215f429, committed Feb 27, 2026
Size: 2,762 bytes
Repository stars: 35
License: MIT

Transforms vague or rough prompts into precise, structured AI instructions. Use when asked to "refine prompt", "improve prompt", "make this prompt better", "promptify", "optimize prompt", "rewrite prompt", "enhance prompt", or "sharpen instructions".

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

# Refining Prompts

## Process

1. **Assess** — Identify what the prompt is missing:

| Element | Check |
|---------|-------|
| Task | Is the core action explicit and unambiguous? |
| Constraints | Are length, format, tone, and scope defined? |
| Output format | Does it specify the expected structure? |
| Context | Does the model have enough background to act? |
| Examples | Would a demonstration clarify the expected output? |
| Edge cases | Are failure modes and boundary conditions addressed? |

2. **Rewrite** — Transform into specification language: precise, imperative, no filler. Treat the prompt as a spec, not conversation.

3. **Validate** — Check the rewrite against the assessment table. Every gap identified in step 1 must be addressed.

## Rules

- **Length**: 0.75x–1.5x the original. Conciseness is a feature — add only what's missing, cut what's vague.
- **Never invent** — only use information present in the original prompt or conversation context. If critical info is missing, ask instead of assuming.
- **Instruction hierarchy** — order sections by priority: task → constraints → examples → input data → output format. Place the most important instruction first.
…

Read the whole file at its exact version.

How to install

The exact contents, by fingerprint

mdr add iliaal/whetstone/refine-prompt@sha256:90212f93f9c5d164

The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260227.215f429, 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.

Badge

[![mdr](https://markdownregistry.com/badge/art_fo2567glkndamawr.svg)](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_fo2567glkndamawr)

4 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.

Versions

The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Feb 27, 2026.

version	committed	commit	size	audit
git:20260227.215f429 latest	2026-02-27	215f429	2,762 B	A	view

Audit of the latest version

A 17 of 17 checks passed. Fixed automatic checks with no AI involved, so the same checks give the same answer every run.

pass: Frontmatter block present
pass: Frontmatter declares a name
pass: Frontmatter declares a description
pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (2762 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

GitHub

iliaal/whetstone · 35 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-04 · branch master

API

GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_fo2567glkndamawr
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=iliaal/whetstone/refine-prompt
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/90212f93f9c5d164d7c93f0690f5e62ec0b0e6ac845765c79649fbf51f629087

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.

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