Working With AI Tools•Working With AI Tools•10 min lesson

Few-Shot Prompting — Teaching AI by Showing Examples

Use examples to teach AI your patterns, styles, and conventions before it writes new code.

ai-toolsprompt-engineeringfew-shotexamples

Copy-ready prompt

**Use this when you want the agent to follow an existing pattern instead of inventing one:**
"I need a new [component / route / hook / migration].
Use these files as examples:
- [file 1]
- [file 2]

Replicate these aspects:
- [imports and file structure]
- [error handling pattern]
- [response shape or UI composition]

Adapt these aspects for the new task:
- [field names]
- [queries]
- [business logic]

Before coding, summarize the pattern you see.
Call out any inconsistencies between the examples.
Stop if the examples appear outdated or conflict with the rest of the repo."

Prompt FAQ

Questions to answer before you paste it

When should I use the Few-Shot Prompting — Teaching AI by Showing Examples prompt?

Use examples to teach AI your patterns, styles, and conventions before it writes new code. Use it when you need a safer starting point than a blank prompt and you want the agent to stay inside explicit constraints.

Should I paste this prompt exactly as written?

No. Treat it as a safe starter. Replace the task, files, constraints, and verification details with your actual context before you run it.

What should I do after the agent answers?

Read the diff, run the checks, and stop after one reviewable step. If you need deeper context, open the lesson that explains the reasoning behind the prompt.

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