Prompting and prompt management glossary
Short, plain definitions of the terms that come up around prompts and prompt libraries. Each entry answers the question directly in its first sentence and then shows the idea in use, rather than defining a term with three more terms.
For the longer treatment of any of these, the guides go deeper. For prompts that already apply the techniques, see the prompt packs.
What Is Prompt Engineering?
Prompt engineering is the practice of writing inputs that reliably get useful output from an AI model. A plain definition, an example, and core methods.
September 1, 2026
Zero Shot vs Few Shot Prompting
The difference between prompting with no examples and prompting with a handful, when each performs better, and how many examples is usually enough.
September 1, 2026
What Is Role Prompting?
Role prompting tells a model who to be before telling it what to do. A plain definition, a worked example, and honest notes on how much it really changes.
September 1, 2026
What Is a Prompt Template?
A prompt template is a reusable prompt with the changing parts marked as variables. A plain definition, a worked example, and how teams keep them current.
September 1, 2026
What Is a System Prompt?
A system prompt sets a model's role, rules and constraints before a conversation starts. A plain definition, an example, and how it differs from a message.
September 1, 2026
What Is Zero Shot Prompting?
Zero shot prompting asks a model to perform a task without giving it any examples first. A plain definition, a worked example, and when to use few shot.
September 1, 2026
What Is Prompt Versioning?
Prompt versioning keeps a history of every change to a prompt so an earlier version can be restored. Definition, a worked example, and why teams need it.
September 1, 2026