Prompt Engineering Cheatsheet
The ultimate quick-reference guide for crafting perfect prompts. Master ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, Flux, Kling, Suno, and every major AI tool.
📌 Bookmark This Page • Updated January 2025Text AI Prompts
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Grok
🍚 The RICE Framework (Universal Formula)
The most effective structure for text AI prompts across all platforms:
Master Prompt Formula
Role+Instructions+Context+Examples+Format
# Complete RICE Example: Role: "You are a senior marketing strategist with 15 years of experience in tech startups." Instructions: "Create a product launch email sequence for a new AI writing tool." Context: "Target audience: content creators and bloggers. Price: $29/month. Key features: SEO optimization, plagiarism checker, tone adjustment." Examples: "Similar to how Grammarly or Jasper positions their products." Format: "Provide 5 emails with subject lines. Each email should be 150-200 words."
🎭 Power Role Starters
Begin prompts with a role for dramatically better results:
"Act as a..." "You are an expert..." "As a professional..." "Imagine you're..." "Take the perspective of..." "You have 20 years of experience as..."
💡 Pro Tip
Add credentials: "You are a Harvard-trained lawyer" or "senior Google engineer with 15 years experience" for more authoritative responses.
📋 Output Format Controls
Specify exactly how you want responses structured:
in bullet points
as a numbered list
in a table format
as JSON
step by step
in 3 paragraphs
under 100 words
as markdown
with headers
pros and cons
🧠 Chain-of-Thought Triggers
Force AI to show reasoning for better accuracy on complex tasks:
"Let's think step by step" "Walk me through your reasoning" "Before answering, analyze the problem" "Break this down systematically" "First list the key considerations, then..." "Show your work"
💡 Best For
Math, logic puzzles, complex analysis, debugging code, strategic planning, multi-step problems.
🌡️ Temperature Settings Guide
Control creativity vs. precision (if your tool allows adjustment):
0.0 - 0.3
Factual, code, analysis
0.4 - 0.6
Balanced writing
0.7 - 1.0
Creative, brainstorm
🔒 Constraint Phrases
Set boundaries for more targeted results:
"Do not include..." "Avoid using..." "Only focus on..." "Limit your response to..." "Must include..." "Never mention..." "Use simple language a 10-year-old would understand" "Keep it professional/casual/formal"
⚡ Bad vs. Good Prompts Comparison
❌ Bad (Vague)
"Write about dogs"
✅ Good (Specific)
"Write a 300-word blog introduction about the mental health benefits of owning a dog for first-time pet owners. Use a warm, conversational tone with 2-3 statistics."
❌ Bad
"Help with my resume"
✅ Good
"Act as a senior HR recruiter. Rewrite my software engineer resume bullet points to emphasize impact using the XYZ format (Accomplished X by doing Y, resulting in Z). Focus on quantifiable achievements."
Image AI Prompts
Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, Flux, Leonardo, Ideogram
🎯 Universal Image Prompt Formula
Image Prompt Structure
Subject+Action/Pose+Environment+Style+Lighting+Camera+Quality
# Complete Example: [Subject] A majestic white wolf [Action] howling at the moon [Environment] on a snow-covered mountain peak [Style] National Geographic wildlife photography [Lighting] moonlit, ethereal blue glow, rim lighting [Camera] Sony A7R IV, 200mm telephoto, f/2.8 [Quality] 8K, ultra detailed, award-winning photo Full prompt: "A majestic white wolf howling at the moon on a snow-covered mountain peak, National Geographic wildlife photography, moonlit scene with ethereal blue glow and rim lighting, shot on Sony A7R IV with 200mm telephoto lens at f/2.8, 8K ultra detailed, award-winning photo"
🎨 Style Keywords
photorealistic
cinematic
anime style
oil painting
watercolor
3D render
pixel art
concept art
digital art
illustration
pencil sketch
comic book
studio ghibli
art nouveau
cyberpunk
vaporwave
💡 Lighting Keywords
golden hour
blue hour
studio lighting
dramatic
soft diffused
rim light
backlighting
neon glow
volumetric
chiaroscuro
natural light
candlelight
moody
high key
low key
📷 Camera & Quality Keywords
8K UHD
ultra detailed
sharp focus
bokeh
depth of field
35mm film
DSLR
macro lens
wide angle
telephoto
anamorphic
film grain
Canon EOS R5
Sony A7
Hasselblad
🎨
Midjourney Parameters
Essential commands for Midjourney V6+
--ar 16:9 # Aspect ratio (16:9, 1:1, 9:16, 4:3, 2:3) --v 6.1 # Version (5.2, 6, 6.1) --style raw # Less stylized, more realistic --stylize 100 # Stylization (0=minimal, 1000=max) --chaos 30 # Variation (0=similar, 100=wild) --no text, blur # Negative prompt (exclude elements) --cref [url] # Character reference (consistent faces) --sref [url] # Style reference (copy style) --q 2 # Quality (0.25, 0.5, 1, 2) --tile # Create seamless patterns
🌀
Stable Diffusion / Flux Settings
Optimal parameters for SD and Flux models
CFG: 7-9
Prompt adherence
Steps: 25-35
Quality vs speed
DPM++ 2M Karras
Best sampler
💡 Weight Syntax
Use (keyword:1.3) to emphasize elements. Example: (blue eyes:1.4), (detailed hands:1.2). Higher = stronger effect.
🚫 Universal Negative Prompt (Copy This!)
ugly, deformed, noisy, blurry, distorted, grainy, low quality, worst quality, bad anatomy, bad proportions, extra limbs, extra fingers, mutated hands, poorly drawn hands, poorly drawn face, mutation, disfigured, malformed, watermark, text, signature, logo, username, cropped, out of frame, jpeg artifacts, duplicate, morbid, long neck, cross-eyed, extra arms, extra legs, fused fingers, too many fingers, bad hands, missing fingers, error, lowres
⚠️ Note
Midjourney uses --no parameter instead. DALL-E 3 has limited negative prompt support. Flux and SD use full negative prompts.
Video AI Prompts
Kling, Veo 3, MiniMax, Runway, Sora, Pika, Luma
🎯 Video Prompt Formula
Video Prompt Structure
Camera+Subject+Action+Setting+Style+Mood
# Complete Kling/Runway Example: [Camera] Slow cinematic dolly shot pushing in [Subject] A woman in a flowing red silk dress [Action] walking through a field of lavender, her dress billowing in the wind [Setting] French countryside at golden hour sunset [Style] Shot on ARRI Alexa, anamorphic lens flares, 24fps [Mood] Dreamy, romantic, ethereal atmosphere Full prompt: "Slow cinematic dolly shot pushing in on a woman in a flowing red silk dress walking through a field of lavender, her dress billowing in the wind, French countryside at golden hour sunset, shot on ARRI Alexa with anamorphic lens flares, 24fps, dreamy romantic ethereal atmosphere"
🎥 Camera Movement Keywords
dolly shot
tracking shot
pan left/right
tilt up/down
zoom in/out
crane shot
steadicam
handheld
drone shot
orbiting
push in
pull back
static shot
slow motion
🏃 Motion Description Keywords
walking slowly
running towards
turning around
hair blowing
fabric flowing
leaves falling
water rippling
smoke rising
birds flying
car driving past
sun setting
clouds moving
🎥
Kling AI Tips
Best practices for 2-minute cinema-quality videos
Mode: Use "Standard" for speed, "Pro" for quality Input: Start with image-to-video for better control Physics: Describe realistic motion and physics explicitly Duration: Supports up to 2 minutes (extended generation) Audio: No native audio - add with ElevenLabs or Suno later
🔊
Google Veo 3 Audio Prompts
First AI video tool with native audio generation
# Include audio descriptions in your prompt: "[Audio: footsteps on gravel, birds chirping softly, gentle wind]" "[Dialogue: 'Welcome to our store' spoken by a friendly female voice]" "[Music: upbeat electronic background, 120 BPM]" "[SFX: door creaking, clock ticking, rain on window]"
Code AI Prompts
GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, ChatGPT, v0
🎯 Code Prompt Formula
Coding Prompt Structure
Language+Task+Requirements+Constraints+Examples
# Complete Example: "Write a Python function that: - Takes a list of dictionaries as input - Filters items where 'status' equals 'active' - Sorts by 'created_date' field (newest first) - Returns top 10 results - Handles empty list gracefully (return empty list) - Include type hints and Google-style docstring - Use list comprehension where appropriate"
🐛 Debugging Prompts
"This code should [expected behavior]
but instead it [actual behavior].
Here's the code:
[paste code]
Error message:
[paste error]
What's wrong and how do I fix it?"
💡 Always Include
Expected vs actual behavior, full error message, relevant code context, language/framework versions.
🔍 Code Review Prompts
"Review this code for:
- Performance issues and optimization
- Security vulnerabilities
- Best practice violations
- Edge cases and error handling
- Code readability improvements
- Potential bugs
Provide specific line-by-line feedback."
♻️ Refactoring Prompts
"Refactor this code to:
- Follow SOLID principles
- Extract reusable functions
- Add comprehensive error handling
- Improve variable/function naming
- Reduce complexity (cyclomatic)
- Add logging for debugging
- Make it more testable"
🧪 Test Generation
"Write unit tests for this function using pytest:
- Test normal/happy path cases
- Test edge cases (empty, null, boundary)
- Test error conditions and exceptions
- Use descriptive test names
- Include fixtures where appropriate
- Aim for >90% code coverage"
📝 Documentation Prompts
"Generate comprehensive documentation:
- Function/class docstrings (Google style)
- Parameter descriptions with types
- Return value descriptions
- Raises section for exceptions
- Usage examples
- Any important notes/warnings"
Music AI Prompts
Suno AI, Udio, ElevenLabs, Stable Audio
🎯 Music Prompt Formula
Music Prompt Structure
Genre+Mood+Instruments+Vocals+Tempo+Quality
# Complete Suno/Udio Example: [Genre] Indie folk, acoustic [Mood] Nostalgic, warm, emotional [Instruments] Acoustic guitar, soft piano, gentle tambourine [Vocals] Female vocals, soft and breathy, intimate [Tempo] Slow, 80 BPM [Quality] Studio quality, warm analog sound Full prompt: "Indie folk, acoustic guitar, nostalgic and warm, female vocals soft and breathy, gentle piano, light tambourine, slow tempo 80 BPM, campfire feel, studio quality"
🎸 Genre Keywords
rock
pop
hip-hop
R&B
jazz
classical
EDM
country
metal
reggae
lo-fi
indie
disco
synthwave
punk
soul
blues
orchestral
😊 Mood Keywords
uplifting
melancholic
energetic
dreamy
dark
romantic
aggressive
peaceful
epic
nostalgic
happy
sad
mysterious
triumphant
🎤 Vocal Style Keywords
male vocals
female vocals
raspy
smooth
powerful
soft breathy
operatic
rapping
harmonies
falsetto
deep baritone
no vocals
instrumental
🎵
Suno AI Custom Lyrics Mode
Structure your own lyrics with tags
[Intro] Instrumental guitar intro [Verse 1] Walking down this empty road Memories of days of old The sun sets on what we had But I'm not feeling sad [Chorus] We'll rise again, rise again Like the sun after the rain We'll rise again, rise again [Verse 2] ... [Bridge] [Outro]
⚡ Universal Quick Reference
✅ Always Do
- Be specific and detailed
- Provide context and examples
- Specify output format clearly
- Set length/scope constraints
- Use step-by-step for complex tasks
- Iterate and refine prompts
❌ Never Do
- Use vague, one-word prompts
- Assume AI knows your context
- Give conflicting instructions
- Expect perfect first results
- Ignore AI's limitations
- Skip verification of outputs
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