- What a prompt is and why it's the most important tool in the book.
- The four-part recipe for a good prompt.
- How to course-correct when the result isn't what you expected.
What is a prompt
The recipe for a good prompt
A solid prompt has four parts. You've already seen them in every chapter:
- What you want to build (the goal). "Create a web chat app with my PDFs."
- Which tools to use (the context). "Use Ollama with qwen3:4b and nomic-embed-text."
- How it should behave (the details that matter). "It must cite the file and page; minimal interface."
- What you expect back (the format). "Do it step by step and write me a README."
Tips that make the difference
- Ask for it step by step and have it explain what it creates. You learn and stay in control.
- Give examples of what you want ("the invoice should look like this...").
- Set limits: "don't use paid services", "make it work offline".
- Ask for one thing at a time. It's better to build in parts than to drop one giant prompt.
- Ask it to question you if something isn't clear: "if you're missing information, ask me before starting".
When the result isn't what you wanted
No problem—you fix it by talking. Instead of starting from scratch, adjust:
That's not what I wanted: the button should be at the top and blue. Change that and leave everything else the same.
I get this error when starting up: [paste the error here exactly as it appears]. What is it and how do I fix it?
Practice challenge
Pick any project from this book and, before looking at the prompt we suggest, write your own using the four-part recipe. Then compare them—you'll see what details to add next time.