principles.fyi · the brain · concept

prompt

The text you give the model to kick off and steer its answer.

prompt -> model -> continuation

A prompt is the input text the model conditions on before it starts writing — your question, instructions, examples, or pasted context. Because a decoder simply continues the tokens it is given, the prompt isn't a separate command channel; it literally becomes the start of the sequence the model extends. That is why wording, order, and included examples can change the answer so much, and why prompting is its own craft.