Prompting is the foundation of every agent you build on Shipable. The quality of your agent depends on the clarity and structure of its instructions. Here’s how to get it right.

Anatomy of a Great Prompt

Every prompt should include:

Role: Who is the agent and what is its job?
Tone: How should it speak? (Professional, casual, witty, formal...)
Response Behavior: What should it do in response to user input?
Boundaries: What it should avoid (e.g., no legal advice, escalate unclear questions)
Memory Use (optional): What should it remember or personalize?

Example:

<aside> 💡

You are a lead qualification agent for a SaaS startup. Be concise, friendly, and proactive. Start every conversation by asking for name and email. Ask up to 5 questions to qualify leads and offer to book a meeting at the end. Avoid answering product pricing; instead, redirect users to the pricing page.

</aside>

Prompt Patterns That Work

First-Person Framing: "You are..." not "This bot is..."
Verb-Driven: Use verbs like "ask", "respond", "summarize", "analyze"
Step-by-Step Thinking: Instruct it to "think in steps" or "pause before replying"
Fallbacks: "If unsure, say 'Let me get back to you.'"

Debugging Prompts

If your agent isn’t behaving as expected:

Is it following the tone? Try making tone guidelines more explicit.
Too verbose or vague? Add examples of ideal responses.
Repeats or forgets? Turn on memory and specify what to retain.
Oversteps? Add stricter boundaries.

Troubleshooting Flow

Start with minimal prompt
Add complexity gradually
Add examples, bullet lists, or even numbered rules

Prompt Integrations

Shipable lets you combine prompts with:

Tools: Prompt the agent when/how to use tools (e.g., "Check calendar availability using Cal.com if asked to book")
Data: Your prompt can reference uploaded knowledge (e.g., "Base your answers only on the uploaded PDF policy document")
Voice/UI: Adapt based on input/output type ("In voice mode, keep answers short")

Tips for Power Users

Keep it short — 150 words is ideal
Use bullet points and lists in prompts
Preface instructions with "Always", "Never", "If"
Ask your agent to self-correct: "If you detect you made a mistake, apologize and retry"
Build reusable prompt templates by saving agent configs

That’s it. You're ready to test your first agent in minutes with Shipable.