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Prompting Q&A

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Prompting

  • User created prompting guide

  • Begin Broad and Refine

    • Start with general architecture, including framework
    • Add individual components and features
    • Work in details in each component with small, specific prompts

  • Use Specific and Focused Prompts:

    When prompting the AI, be clear and specific. Direct the model to focus on certain files or functions rather than the entire codebase, which can improve token usage efficiency. This approach is not a magic fix, but anecdotally we’ve seen evidence that it helps. Some specific prompting strategies that other users have reported as helpful are below, and a ton more can be found in the  comment thread below

If you have specific technologies you want to use (IE Astro, Tailwind, ShadCN), say that in your initial prompt.Mention Specific Code Segments or Classes: When possible, refer to specific divs, classes, or functions to guide Bolt to the exact place where you want the changes made. You can do this manually in chat or by highlighting the relevant code in your project and using the “Ask Bolt” functionality. Use the Prompt Enhancer function: The better the prompt, the higher quality of the output — bolt․new can help you improve your prompts automatically with the prompt enhancement feature! Be Specific About What Should Remain Unchanged: Mention explicitly that no modifications should occur to other parts of the site.Batch multiple simple to explain instructions into one message. For example you can ask Bolt to change the color scheme, add mobile responsiveness, and restart the dev server safely all in one message.

  • **ADVANCED FEATURE: **.bolt/prompt

    If you open a Bolt project in SB you will find the following prompt file:

    .bolt/prompt

    Here, you can add custom instructions for the AI. For example, here is our Vite React starter prompt file:

    https://stackblitz.com/edit/vite-shadcn?file=.bolt%2Fprompt.

    Any instructions listed there will be taken into account on each prompt inside Bolt. You’ll need to edit the .bolt/promptfile in StackBlitz and then reopen the project in Bolt for the changes to take effect.