4.1 Prompt Architecture & Management¶

Prompts are source code: compose them deliberately (identity and scope, operating rules, injected context, output contract, ordered so the static prefix caches), then version them, review them, and roll them back like any other artifact.

Also called: prompt architecture, prompt composition, prompt versioning, PromptOps, prompts-as-code, automatic prompt optimization (pointer only; depth in 9.7).

Stub: scaffolding, not finished writing. The skeleton below shows the beats this chapter will hit. Contributions welcome.

Why you'd reach for it¶

The problem, what breaks without it, and when you need it. To be written.

What it actually is¶

A crisp definition, the maturity call argued with cited evidence, and how it differs from its neighbours. To be written.

How to do it¶

Code included from a tested file in listing-studio/, so the prose can't drift from working code. To be written.

Gotchas¶

The real costs and when not to, feeding the Anti-Patterns Catalog. To be written.

In short¶

A weighted recommendation: what you would actually do. To be written.

Maturity: Standard (treating prompts as versioned artifacts is accepted practice) · Grounding: production

Sources¶

Citations added as the chapter is written. Every non-obvious claim gets a footnote.