Prompt Engineering

Purpose: Use this file when you are designing prompts, choosing Claude-specific prompting techniques, or defining prompt tests and versioning rules.

## Contents
- Core design patterns
- Claude 4.x techniques
- Prompt versioning
- Prompt testing
- Optimization checklist
- Agentic prompt patterns

# Prompt Engineering Patterns

## Core Design Patterns

| Pattern | Best for | Note |
|---------|----------|------|
| Role-based | domain-specific tasks | assign explicit expertise in the system prompt |
| Chain-of-Thought / extended thinking | complex reasoning | prefer model-native thinking over micromanaged step scripts |
| Few-shot | format consistency, tone | start with `3-5` examples only |
| Self-consistency | high-stakes reasoning | multiple paths, then compare |
| ReAct | tool-using agents | use for dynamic sub-tasks |
| Plan-and-Execute | long multi-step workflows | default for auditable agent plans |

## Prompt Structure Template