Prompt Engineering for Developers: The Complete Tutorial

Prompt engineering is the skill of crafting effective inputs for AI models to get the output you want. For developers, it's the difference between mediocre AI suggestions and production-ready code.

The CRAFT Framework

Use this framework for every coding prompt:

Essential Patterns

Pattern 1: The Role Pattern

You are a senior software engineer with 15 years of experience in TypeScript and React. 
You follow clean code principles and always consider edge cases.

[Your actual question here]

Pattern 2: The Step-by-Step Pattern

Create a user authentication system. Think step by step:

1. First, design the database schema
2. Then, create the API endpoints
3. Finally, implement the frontend forms

Show your reasoning before each step.

Pattern 3: The Example Pattern

Create a function similar to this:

Example input: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Example output: [2, 4, 6, 8, 10]

But instead of doubling, the function should [your requirement].

Pattern 4: The Constraints Pattern

Write a sorting algorithm with these constraints:
- Must be O(n log n) time complexity
- Must use no extra space (in-place)
- Must be stable
- Must handle null values

Pattern 5: The Refinement Pattern

Here's my current code:
[paste code]

Improve it by:
1. Adding error handling
2. Improving performance
3. Adding TypeScript types
4. Following React best practices

Explain each change you make.

Advanced Techniques

Chain of Thought

I need to optimize this database query that's taking 30 seconds.
Walk me through your analysis:
1. What could cause this slowness?
2. How would you diagnose it?
3. What solutions would you try?
4. Implement the most likely solution.

[query here]

Few-Shot Learning

Convert these SQL queries to Prisma:

SQL: SELECT * FROM users WHERE active = true
Prisma: await prisma.user.findMany({ where: { active: true } })

SQL: SELECT * FROM posts WHERE author_id = 1
Prisma: await prisma.post.findMany({ where: { authorId: 1 } })

Now convert:
SQL: SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = 'pending' AND total > 100

Negative Prompting

Create a React form component.

DO:
- Use controlled components
- Include validation
- Handle loading states

DON'T:
- Use class components
- Use any external libraries except React
- Include inline styles

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Too vague: "Make it better" → Specify what "better" means
• No context: Always explain your environment and constraints
• Ignoring errors: If AI gives an error, provide the full message
• Not iterating: First response isn't always best; refine it

My Coding Team: Beyond Manual Prompting

While prompt engineering is valuable, it's time-consuming. At My Coding Team, we've built systems that handle prompting automatically—our squad of 8 AI specialists knows exactly how to prompt each other for optimal results.