Creating Effective Agent Instructions

How to write clear instructions for your AI agents

Instructions are the most important part of your agent. Good instructions = great results.

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Quick Start

from praisonaiagents import Agent

# Simple but effective instructions
agent = Agent(
    instructions="You are a helpful coding assistant. Explain concepts simply and provide working code examples."
)
agent.start("How do I read a file in Python?")

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The 4 Parts of Great Instructions

1. 1. Role - Who is the agent?

   # ❌ Vague
   instructions = "You are a helper"
   
   # ✅ Clear
   instructions = "You are a senior Python developer with 10 years of experience"
   
2. 2. Goal - What should it achieve?

   # ❌ Vague
   instructions = "Help with code"
   
   # ✅ Clear
   instructions = "Help users write clean, efficient Python code with proper error handling"
   
3. 3. Style - How should it respond?

   # ❌ No guidance
   instructions = "Answer questions"
   
   # ✅ Clear style
   instructions = "Answer in bullet points. Keep explanations under 3 sentences."
   
4. 4. Constraints - What should it avoid?

   # ✅ With boundaries
   instructions = """You are a coding assistant.
   - Only answer programming questions
   - Never execute dangerous commands
   - Ask for clarification if the question is unclear"""
   

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Complete Example

from praisonaiagents import Agent

agent = Agent(
    name="CodeHelper",
    instructions="""You are a senior Python developer.

Your goal: Help users write clean, working Python code.

When answering:
1. First understand what the user wants
2. Provide a working code example
3. Explain the key parts briefly

Style:
- Use simple language
- Include comments in code
- Show expected output

Constraints:
- Only answer Python questions
- Keep explanations short
- Ask if something is unclear"""
)

agent.start("How do I sort a list of dictionaries by a key?")

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Good vs Bad Instructions

Aspect	❌ Bad	✅ Good
Role	”You are a helper"	"You are a data analyst”
Goal	”Help with stuff"	"Analyze sales data and find trends”
Style	(none)	“Use bullet points and charts”
Constraints	(none)	“Focus only on the provided data”

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Common Mistakes

Too Vague

“Help me” → Agent doesn’t know what to do

Too Long

1000+ words → Agent gets confused

Contradictory

“Be brief” + “Explain everything” → Conflict

No Examples

No sample output → Inconsistent format

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Improve Your Instructions

Start simple, then add details based on what’s missing in the responses.

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Template

Copy this template and fill in the blanks:

from praisonaiagents import Agent

agent = Agent(
    instructions="""You are a [ROLE] with expertise in [AREA].

Your goal: [WHAT TO ACHIEVE]

When responding:
1. [FIRST STEP]
2. [SECOND STEP]
3. [THIRD STEP]

Style: [HOW TO FORMAT RESPONSES]

Constraints:
- [WHAT TO AVOID]
- [BOUNDARIES]"""
)

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