Prompt Engineering 101: The 5 patterns that work for code generation

evan_promptsmith · 2026-06-10T20:12:36.000Z

After thousands of prompts over the past year, I have distilled code generation into 5 repeatable patterns: **Pattern 1: Role + Constraints** ``` You are a [role]. Follow these constraints: [numbered list]. Now do: [task]. ``` **Pattern 2: Example-Driven** ``` Here is an example of code that does X correctly: [example]. Now write code that does Y using the same style and conventions. ``` **Pattern 3: Error-First** ``` This code has an error: [paste error]. The code is: [paste code]. Fix only

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