zheng
dd8e0f55c3
Improve first-run and channel setup for non-technical users: detect newer Gemini key formats, pin Node 22.22.3, add Control Panel Telegram approve flow, and keep channels/models when config is rewritten. Persist uclaw wizard state via uclaw-meta.json so restarts skip language/persona prompts. Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
2.6 KiB
name, description, metadata
| name | description | metadata | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| claude-helper | Getting better results from the model - prompting, context, and knowing when the tool is wrong for the job |
|
Getting Better Results
How to ask, what to include, and when to stop asking.
The three things that change output most
1. Say what the output is for. "Summarise this" and "summarise this for someone deciding whether to attend" produce different, both-correct summaries. The purpose does more work than any phrasing trick.
2. Give the real material. A paraphrase of a document produces an answer about the paraphrase. Paste the document, attach the file, share the error in full — including the parts that look irrelevant.
3. Say what a good answer looks like. Length, format, who reads it. "Three bullets a non-technical manager can act on" beats "be concise".
What does not help
- Politeness formulas, threats, or claiming urgency
- "You are a world-class expert in…" — state the task, not a persona
- Asking the same thing again in the hope of a different answer. Change what you gave it instead.
When to start a new conversation
Long conversations drift. Start fresh when:
- You have changed subject entirely
- Earlier wrong turns keep resurfacing
- The context has filled with material that no longer matters
Carry forward a short summary rather than the whole history.
When the answer might be wrong
Language models produce fluent text regardless of whether they know the answer. Confidence is not a signal. Check independently when the answer involves:
- Specific numbers, dates, prices, versions — especially recent ones
- Citations, links, case law, standards — these get fabricated convincingly
- Anything you will act on without being able to reverse it
Ask for the reasoning or the source, and treat a refusal to give one as a warning.
When to use something else
- Arithmetic on real data — use a spreadsheet or a script, not the model
- Anything needing today's facts — the model needs to be given them
- Legal, medical or financial decisions — a draft to take to a professional, not the answer
Example prompts
Rewrite my prompt so it gets a more useful answer
What information are you missing to answer this properly?
Which parts of that answer should I verify before I use it?
Working notes
- When the user's request is ambiguous in a way that changes the answer, ask one question rather than producing two versions.
- Say plainly when something is outside what you can check, rather than hedging through it.