Prompt Templates

Customize agent prompts with system, prompt, and response templates

Templates let you customize how agents construct their prompts - system instructions, user prompts, and response formats.

Quick Start

1. Basic Templates

   from praisonaiagents import Agent, TemplateConfig
   
   agent = Agent(
       name="Custom Agent",
       instructions="You are a helpful assistant",  # System Prompt: defines agent identity
       templates=TemplateConfig(
           system="You are {role}. {instructions}",  # System Prompt template
           prompt="User request: {input}",  # User Prompt template
       )
   )
   
2. Response Format

   agent = Agent(
       name="Structured Agent",
       instructions="You provide structured answers",
       templates=TemplateConfig(
           response="""Format your response as:
   ## Summary
   [Brief summary]
   
   ## Details
   [Detailed explanation]
   
   ## Next Steps
   [Recommendations]"""
       )
   )
   

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Template Types

Template	Purpose	When Applied
system	Agent identity, rules, context	Start of conversation
prompt	Format user input	Each request
response	Structure output format	Each response

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Configuration Options

from praisonaiagents import TemplateConfig

config = TemplateConfig(
    system="You are {role}...",      # System Prompt: agent identity (WHO you are)
    prompt="Query: {input}",          # User Prompt: task input (WHAT to do)
    response="Format: ...",           # Response format (HOW to answer)
    use_system_prompt=True,           # Include system prompt
)

Option	Type	Default	Description
system	str	None	System prompt template
prompt	str	None	User prompt template
response	str	None	Response format template
use_system_prompt	bool	True	Whether to use system prompt

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Template Variables

Templates support variable substitution:

agent = Agent(
    name="Support Agent",
    role="Customer Support Specialist",
    instructions="Help customers with their issues",
    templates=TemplateConfig(
        system="""You are {role}.
Your goal: {goal}
Background: {backstory}

{instructions}"""
    )
)

Available Variables

Variable	Source
{name}	Agent name
{role}	Agent role
{goal}	Agent goal
{backstory}	Agent backstory
{instructions}	Agent instructions
{input}	User input

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Common Patterns

Structured Output

agent = Agent(
    instructions="You analyze data",
    templates=TemplateConfig(
        response="""Provide your analysis in this format:

**Finding**: [Main finding]
**Evidence**: [Supporting data]
**Confidence**: [High/Medium/Low]
**Recommendation**: [Action to take]"""
    )
)

Role-Based System

agent = Agent(
    name="Expert",
    role="Senior Software Engineer",
    backstory="10 years of experience in Python",
    templates=TemplateConfig(
        system="""# Role
You are {role} with the following background:
{backstory}

# Guidelines
{instructions}

# Constraints
- Always explain your reasoning
- Provide code examples when relevant
- Cite best practices"""
    )
)

Chain-of-Thought

agent = Agent(
    instructions="You solve problems step by step",
    templates=TemplateConfig(
        response="""Think through this step by step:

1. **Understanding**: What is being asked?
2. **Analysis**: What are the key factors?
3. **Solution**: What is the answer?
4. **Verification**: Is this correct?

Final Answer: [Your answer]"""
    )
)

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Disabling System Prompt

For some use cases, you may want to skip the system prompt:

agent = Agent(
    instructions="...",
    templates=TemplateConfig(
        use_system_prompt=False  # No system prompt
    )
)

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Template Inheritance

Templates combine with agent properties:

# Agent properties
agent = Agent(
    name="Helper",
    role="Assistant",
    instructions="Be helpful and concise",
    templates=TemplateConfig(
        system="{role}: {instructions}"
    )
)

# Results in: "Assistant: Be helpful and concise"

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Best Practices

Keep templates focused

Each template should have a clear purpose. Don’t overload the system template.

Use response templates for consistency

Define response formats to get predictable, structured outputs.

Test template combinations

Variables are substituted at runtime - test with different agent configurations.

Document custom templates

If using custom templates, document what variables are expected.

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Related

Output

Display configuration

Structured Output

Pydantic output models