platform-guideline checked
OpenAI prompt engineering guide
Documents prompt engineering as writing effective instructions for models, with guidance on goals, context, examples, structured outputs, constraints, and iterative refinement for non-deterministic model behavior.
Pattern Decisions This Source Supports
| Pattern | Supported decision | Required contract | Claim note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent plan preview | Choose agent plan preview when an AI agent's proposed multi-step execution needs review before it starts. | The preview names the objective, plan version, source context, model or workflow instructions, planned tools, and expected output before run. | Supports goals, context, constraints, structured outputs, and iterative refinement for model behavior. |
| Editable AI output | Choose editable AI output when the primary object is generated output after creation and users need to revise, review, save, copy, or apply that output. | The generated draft, user edits, tracked changes, source mappings, citations, review status, and final output state are modeled as distinct data rather than one mutable text blob. | Supports distinguishing prompt revision before generation from output editing after generation. |
| Prompt box | Choose prompt box when the central user action is composing and submitting an AI request. | The prompt box always exposes the user's editable draft before submission. | Supports explicit instructions, context, constraints, structured response expectations, and iteration. |
| Regenerate / retry | Choose regenerate / retry when the task is rerunning an AI response attempt, creating a new answer version, continuing a failed generation, or recovering from failed AI source or tool work. | Retry same prompt repeats the submitted prompt and visible context unless the UI explicitly shows which context changed. | Supports distinguishing edited-prompt iteration from regenerating the same submitted prompt. |
| Scope clarification | Choose scope clarification when the AI needs a missing boundary before producing a reliable answer, plan, retrieval query, or tool action. | The system identifies what boundary is missing before asking the user to clarify. | Supports explicit goals, context, constraints, and iterative refinement when instructions are incomplete. |
Evidence Role
This source is treated as platform-guideline evidence. Use it to validate the decision rules above, not as a visual style reference.
Publisher: OpenAI. Last checked: .