F68 AI

Library · Chapter 03

System Prompt

Design the operating rules, workflow, tools, and output.

Knowledge tells the Agent what to know.

The System Prompt defines how the Agent must work.

A good Instruction doesn’t need to be long.

It needs to be clear:

Goal → Scope → Workflow → Rules → Tools → Output → Failure Behavior

  1. 5.1
    OBJECTIVE & ROLEStart by defining what the Agent exists to do.
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  2. 5.2
    SCOPE & BOUNDARYThe Agent needs to know what falls within its scope.
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  3. 5.3
    WORKFLOWA workflow is the sequence the Agent must follow.
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  4. 5.4
    RULES & CONSTRAINTSRules are the principles the Agent must follow throughout the workflow.
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  5. 5.5
    SOURCE POLICYIf the Agent does research, the Source Policy should be written separately.
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  6. 5.6
    TOOL POLICYHaving a Tool does not mean the Agent may use it freely.
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  7. 5.7
    OUTPUT SCHEMAA good Agent must know what the final result looks like.
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  8. 5.8
    FAILURE BEHAVIORThe Agent needs to know what to do when it cannot complete the task.
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  9. 5.9
    INSTRUCTION HIERARCHY & CONFLICTThe longer the Instruction, the more likely contradictions are to appear.
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  10. 5.10
    HOW LONG SHOULD A SYSTEM PROMPT BE?Keep the Core Instruction compact.
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  11. 5.11
    BASIC SYSTEM PROMPT STRUCTUREYou don’t need to start with a prompt of thousands of lines.
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  12. 5.12
    EXAMPLE — RESEARCH AGENTResearch a topic and produce a report based on verifiable sources.
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  13. 5.13
    TEST THE SYSTEM PROMPTDon’t evaluate an Instruction by reading it and thinking it “seems reasonable”.
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  14. 5.14
    WHEN THE AGENT DOESN’T FOLLOW THE SYSTEM PROMPTDon’t immediately add yet another paragraph to the Prompt.
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  15. 5.15
    DON’T PATCH THE PROMPT ENDLESSLYThe System Prompt keeps getting longer.
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  16. 5.16
    VERSIONING THE SYSTEM PROMPTwhich change altered the Agent’s behavior.
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  17. 5.17
    SYSTEM PROMPT CHECKLISTIf these parts are clear, the Agent has an Instruction foundation good enough to start testing.
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