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Prompt library

117 prompts, organised by what you're doing

Every prompt here is written to ask for a specific answer rather than a survey. Free to read and copy. Inside SnipTray they're searchable, and the blanks become fields you fill in before pasting.

Writing

Explain it to someone new

Plain language, no analogies that need explaining.

2 blanks
Writing

Proofread without rewriting

Fix errors only, and show what changed.

1 blank
Writing

Reply that says no

Decline clearly, once, without three paragraphs of cushioning.

3 blanks example
Writing

Reply to a long email

Answer every question asked, in a fraction of the words.

2 blanks
Writing

Rewrite for one specific reader

Same facts, aimed at the person who has to act.

3 blanks
Writing

Rewrite in our tone

Match a voice you paste in, not a generic one.

2 blanks example
Writing

Shorten without losing the point

Cut by half, keep the argument intact.

2 blanks
Writing

Subject lines that get opened

Specific over clever, every time.

2 blanks example
Writing

Thank-you note that isn't generic

Name the specific thing, skip the template.

2 blanks
Writing

Tighten this paragraph

Same meaning, fewer words, better rhythm.

1 blank
Writing

Turn a decision into a short doc

What we chose, what we rejected, and why.

2 blanks
Writing

Turn notes into an update

Bullet dump in, readable paragraph out.

2 blanks example
Writing

Write a changelog entry

What changed, from the user's side of the screen.

2 blanks example
Coding

Review this API surface

How it reads at the call site, and what it lets you do wrong.

2 blanks
Coding

Explain this code

What it does, why it might be written this way.

1 blank
Coding

Explain this error

What it means, why it happened here, what to try first.

2 blanks
Coding

Find the edge cases

Where this breaks, before a user finds out.

2 blanks example
Coding

Name this thing

Options that say what it is, with the trade-offs.

2 blanks example
Coding

First look at a performance problem

What to measure before changing anything.

2 blanks
Coding

Refactor without changing behaviour

Smallest safe steps, each one verifiable.

2 blanks example
Coding

Regex from a description

The pattern, plus what it deliberately excludes.

2 blanks
Coding

Review this diff

Correctness pass that insists on a test check.

3 blanks example
Coding

Write a minimal reproduction

Strip it to the smallest thing that still fails.

2 blanks
Coding

Write a commit message from this diff

Imperative subject, a body that explains why.

1 blank example
Coding

Write a data migration

Forward path, failure path, and how to verify it.

2 blanks
Coding

Write tests for this

Cases that could actually fail, not coverage theatre.

2 blanks
Design

Critique this screen

Hierarchy, affordance, and the one thing to cut.

2 blanks
Design

Dark mode pass

What to change beyond inverting the greys.

1 blank
Design

Empty state that earns its keep

Explain, then give the one action that fills it.

2 blanks
Design

Empty, loading, and error states

Three states people forget, written together so they agree.

2 blanks example
Design

Error message that helps

What went wrong, and the one thing to do about it.

2 blanks example
Design

Brief for an icon

What it must read as at 16 points.

2 blanks
Design

Landing page hero section

One promise, one action, no adjective soup.

3 blanks example
Design

Mobile version of a desktop screen

What survives the narrow width, and what changes job.

2 blanks
Design

First-run experience

Get to the first real use in as few steps as possible.

3 blanks
Design

Reduce this screen

Find the third of it that isn't earning its place.

2 blanks
Design

Settings screen that scales

Group by what people came looking for, not by subsystem.

1 blank
Design

Make this table readable

Column order, alignment, and what to cut.

2 blanks
Design

Three-column pricing table

Tiers a visitor can choose between in ten seconds.

2 blanks
Marketing

Ad variations from one promise

Same claim, several angles, testable against each other.

2 blanks
Marketing

Cold email that isn't spam

One specific reason you're writing to them.

3 blanks
Marketing

Compare against a competitor, fairly

Credible because it concedes what they do better.

3 blanks example
Marketing

Ask a customer for a quote

Make it two minutes of their time, not twenty.

2 blanks
Marketing

Landing page outline

Section order that answers objections as they arise.

3 blanks
Marketing

Launch post from a changelog

Ship notes turned into something worth reading.

2 blanks
Marketing

Meta description that gets clicks

155 characters, one promise, no keyword stuffing.

2 blanks
Marketing

Positioning in one sentence

Who it's for, what it replaces, why it wins.

3 blanks example
Marketing

Press pitch in one paragraph

The story, not the feature list.

2 blanks
Marketing

Pricing page copy

Make the choice easy and the limits honest.

2 blanks
Marketing

SEO brief for a new page

Intent first, keywords second.

2 blanks
Marketing

Social posts from a longer piece

Pull the parts that stand alone.

2 blanks
Support

Apology that lands

Once, specifically, then straight to the remedy.

2 blanks
Support

Bug report from a user complaint

Turn a frustrated message into something a developer can act on.

1 blank
Support

Canned reply from a help doc

Turn documentation into an answer you can send.

2 blanks
Support

De-escalate a thread that's gone wrong

Reset the conversation without conceding facts.

2 blanks
Support

Escalation reply

Firm, warm, and free of promises we cannot keep.

3 blanks example
Support

Explain a bug honestly

What broke, what it cost them, what happens now.

3 blanks
Support

Handover note for a live issue

What the next person needs and nothing else.

2 blanks
Support

Build a macro set for one topic

Three replies that cover the real variants.

2 blanks
Support

Decide and explain a refund

Say yes or no in the first line, then why.

2 blanks example
Support

Decline a feature request well

Take the problem seriously, decline the solution.

3 blanks
Support

Triage this ticket

Severity, owner, and the one question to ask back.

1 blank example
Support

Close the loop on a complaint

Tell the person who reported it that it shipped.

2 blanks
Support

Write a help doc from repeated questions

Answer first, steps second, edge cases last.

2 blanks
Research

Build a reading list on a topic

Ordered so each piece prepares the next.

2 blanks
Research

Compare two options honestly

Where each one wins, and what would change the call.

3 blanks
Research

Estimate something, showing the work

A number I can argue with, not a number to trust.

2 blanks
Research

Extract a timeline

What happened when, and what's only inferred.

1 blank
Research

Extract the facts from a page

Claims and numbers, separated from the pitch.

1 blank
Research

Find the counterexample

Test a rule by hunting the case it breaks on.

1 blank
Research

Trace a claim to its source

Who said it first, and did they measure it.

1 blank
Research

Questions to ask before committing

The ones that are cheap now and expensive later.

1 blank
Research

Reconcile two sources that disagree

Where they diverge and which to trust.

2 blanks
Research

Turn a vague question into an answerable one

Split it until each part can actually be settled.

1 blank
Research

Summarize a long thread

What was decided, what is still open, who owes what.

1 blank
Research

Summarize for a specific decision

Only the parts that change the answer.

2 blanks
Research

What am I missing?

Argue against your own conclusion.

2 blanks example
Data

Check this analysis

Where the numbers could be lying.

2 blanks
Data

Clean up this messy column

Find the patterns, then the rule that normalises them.

2 blanks
Data

Turn a CSV into something useful

Understand the shape before transforming it.

2 blanks
Data

Deduplicate records

Decide what counts as the same thing first.

2 blanks
Data

Define a metric precisely

Pin the edges so two people compute the same number.

2 blanks
Data

Explain a number to a non-analyst

What it means and what it doesn't.

2 blanks
Data

Explain this query

What it returns, and where it will hurt.

1 blank
Data

Model this in a spreadsheet

Inputs, formulas, and the assumption doing the work.

2 blanks
Data

Pick the right chart

Match the form to the comparison being made.

2 blanks
Data

Spot-check a dataset

The five queries to run before trusting it.

2 blanks
Data

SQL from a plain-English question

The query, plus the assumptions it is making.

3 blanks
Data

Why did this number change?

Decompose the move before explaining it.

3 blanks example
Data

Write a query that guards a report

Fail loudly when the underlying data drifts.

2 blanks
Productivity

Agenda from a messy thread

Turn forty replies into a meeting worth having.

2 blanks
Productivity

Decide between options I'm circling

Force the trade-off into the open.

2 blanks
Productivity

Hand off to tomorrow-you

Leave a note that makes restarting cheap.

2 blanks
Productivity

Estimate a piece of work

Break it down until the estimate is boring.

2 blanks
Productivity

Turn an inbox into a plan

Sort by what it needs from you, not by sender.

1 blank
Productivity

Meeting notes to actions

Only the commitments, with owners.

1 blank
Productivity

Plan a week that fits

Commit to less than you'd like, deliberately.

2 blanks
Productivity

Prepare for a hard conversation

Your point, their likely response, your actual goal.

2 blanks
Productivity

Get out of a commitment gracefully

Own the change, don't over-explain it.

2 blanks
Productivity

Standup from commits

Yesterday, today, blockers — read off the log.

1 blank example
Productivity

Triage this backlog

What to do now, what to drop, and why.

2 blanks
Productivity

Get unstuck on a task

Find the smallest next action that isn't the whole thing.

2 blanks example
Productivity

Weekly review from raw notes

What moved, what stalled, what to drop.

1 blank
Promptcraft

Add the constraints a prompt is missing

Name what you'd reject, then forbid it.

2 blanks
Promptcraft

Debug inconsistent output

Find the instruction the model is free to interpret.

2 blanks
Promptcraft

Split one prompt into a chain

When one call is doing three jobs badly.

1 blank
Promptcraft

Extract a template from examples

Find what's constant across prompts you've written before.

1 blank
Promptcraft

Improve a prompt that half-works

Diagnose why it drifts, then fix it.

2 blanks example
Promptcraft

Get output in an exact format

Specify the shape by showing it.

2 blanks
Promptcraft

Write a prompt for a colleague to use

Self-contained, with the context they'll forget.

2 blanks
Promptcraft

Stop a prompt producing hedged answers

Ask for a position, not a survey.

1 blank
Promptcraft

Shorten a prompt without weakening it

Cut the padding, keep the constraints.

1 blank example
Promptcraft

Test a prompt before relying on it

The inputs most likely to embarrass it.

2 blanks
Promptcraft

Turn a workflow into a reusable prompt

Capture something you do often, with the right blanks.

1 blank
Promptcraft

Turn feedback into a prompt change

Translate 'not quite right' into a specific edit.

2 blanks
Promptcraft

Write a rubric for judging output

Criteria specific enough to disagree with.

2 blanks
Promptcraft

Write a system prompt

Durable instructions, not a one-off request.

2 blanks

Use these without the copy-paste

SnipTray keeps the whole library a keystroke away, fills in the blanks, and pastes into whatever app you're in. Your own prompts live alongside them.