karpathy-system-prompt-learning

Q: How do I install karpathy-system-prompt-learning?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/learnprompt/andrej-karpathy-skills --skill karpathy-system-prompt-learning in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/karpathy-system-prompt-learning/ (personal) or .claude/skills/karpathy-system-prompt-learning/ (project).

Q: Which AI agents can use karpathy-system-prompt-learning?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Q: Is karpathy-system-prompt-learning safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Q: Who maintains karpathy-system-prompt-learning?

It is published by learnprompt in learnprompt/andrej-karpathy-skills. It has 127 recorded installs.

by learnpromptAI & Agents

Write explicit strategy into system prompts as a learning mechanism — making LLM behavior more predictable and teachable through prompt-as-textbook approach. Use this skill when the user wants to improve an agent or LLM's performance on a specific task through system prompts, needs to encode a strategy or workflow into a prompt, wants consistent LLM behavior, or says "improve system prompt", "encode this strategy", "prompt engineering", "make agent follow this workflow", "prompt as textbook". Based on Karpathy system prompt learning post.

Installs: 127
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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/learnprompt/andrej-karpathy-skills --skill karpathy-system-prompt-learning

01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads karpathy-system-prompt-learning automatically when relevant.
03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Skill 13: System Prompt Learning（系统提示学习范式）

Source: https://x.com/karpathy/status/1921368644069765486 "System prompt learning — missing LLM learning paradigm"

Core Principle

The system prompt is a textbook. Write it like one.

Karpathy's insight: there are three learning modes for LLMs (pretrain, finetune, RL) — but there's a fourth that's massively underused: system prompt learning. Explicitly encoding strategy into the system prompt is more sample-efficient than retraining and more reliable than hoping the model figures it out.

Think of it as writing a textbook for the LLM before each task. Not just instructions — strategy with reasoning.

The System Prompt Learning Framework

Good system prompts have three layers (mirroring how humans learn):

Layer 1: EXPOSITION (pretrain equivalent)
→ Background knowledge the model needs
→ Relevant concepts, terminology, context
→ "Here's what you need to know about [domain]"

Layer 2: WORKED EXAMPLES (SFT equivalent)  
→ Step-by-step demonstration of correct behavior
→ Explicit reasoning traces
→ "Here's exactly how to handle [situation]"

Layer 3: STRATEGY (RL equivalent)
→ Explicit decision rules
→ Error patterns to avoid
→ "When you see X, do Y because Z"

Building a System Prompt from Scratch

Build a system prompt that teaches an LLM to [TASK] reliably.

Task description: [WHAT THE LLM SHOULD DO]
Current failure mode: [HOW IT CURRENTLY GOES WRONG]
Desired behavior: [EXACTLY WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE]

Structure the system prompt with all three learning layers:

Layer 1 — Exposition:
Write 2-3 paragraphs of background knowledge the LLM needs. 
Include: key concepts, relevant context, domain vocabulary.

Layer 2 — Worked Examples:
Write 2 complete examples of the task done correctly.
Format: INPUT → [step-by-step reasoning] → OUTPUT
Show the thinking, not just the answer.

Layer 3 — Strategy:
Write explicit decision rules as IF/THEN/BECAUSE statements.
Include: common mistakes to avoid, edge cases to handle, quality checks.

End with: "Before responding, verify: [checklist of 3-5 quality checks]"

Improving an Existing System Prompt

When your current system prompt isn't working well:

Diagnose and improve this system prompt.

Current system prompt:
[PASTE CURRENT PROMPT]

Failure mode I'm seeing:
[DESCRIBE HOW IT'S GOING WRONG]

Example of bad output:
[PASTE BAD EXAMPLE]

Example of good output:
[PASTE GOOD EXAMPLE]

Analysis:
1. What's missing from the exposition layer? (background knowledge gaps)
2. What worked examples should I add?
3. What explicit rules would prevent this failure mode?
4. Is the prompt too restrictive? Too vague? Wrong framing?

Output: improved version of the system prompt with changes annotated.

Strategy Encoding Templates

For coding tasks

SYSTEM PROMPT: [CODING TASK]

You are an expert [LANGUAGE] developer. Follow this exact strategy:

UNDERSTANDING PHASE (always do this first):
- Restate the task in your own words
- List all edge cases you can think of
- Identify the one tricky part

IMPLEMENTATION PHASE:
- Start with the simplest working version
- Add complexity only when simple version fails
- Comment every non-obvious line with WHY

VERIFICATION PHASE (always do this last):
- Trace through your code with one concrete example
- Check: does it handle empty input? Large input? Wrong type?
- Confirm: could a junior dev maintain this?

NEVER:
- Assume the input is well-formed without checking
- Add dependencies without saying why
- Write clever code when simple code works

For analysis tasks

SYSTEM PROMPT: [ANALYSIS TASK]

You are an analytical expert. Follow this strategy:

GROUNDING:
- Always cite specific evidence before making claims
- Confidence levels: CERTAIN / LIKELY / SPECULATIVE — always label which
- If you don't know something, say so explicitly

STRUCTURE:
- Lead with the conclusion, then the evidence
- One claim per paragraph
- Maximum 3 levels of nesting

QUALITY CHECKS before responding:
- [ ] Every claim has evidence?
- [ ] Confidence levels labeled?
- [ ] Would an expert in this field agree with this framing?
- [ ] Am I answering the actual question or a related easier one?

For creative/writing tasks

SYSTEM PROMPT: [WRITING TASK]

Writing strategy for this task:

VOICE:
[Describe the tone, style, what to avoid]

STRUCTURE:
[Describe the expected output format]

QUALITY STANDARD:
A response is good when [describe what success looks like].
A response is bad when [describe common failure modes].

EXAMPLE OF GOOD OUTPUT:
[Paste one example]

EXAMPLE OF BAD OUTPUT (and why):
[Paste one example with annotation]

Prompt Version Control

Track your system prompt iterations like code:

# [PROMPT NAME] — Version History

## v3 (current) — [DATE]
Change: Added explicit "verification phase" checklist
Reason: v2 was skipping edge case checking
Result: Failure rate dropped from ~30% to ~5%

## v2 — [DATE]
Change: Added worked examples section
Reason: v1 was too abstract; model wasn't following the strategy
Result: Moderate improvement

## v1 — [DATE]
Initial version: [PASTE]

The Meta-Prompt (write prompts with an LLM)

Help me write a system prompt for this agent.

Agent task: [WHAT IT SHOULD DO]
I'll be using this with: [CLAUDE / GPT-4 / etc.]
Critical behavior: [WHAT MUST ALWAYS HAPPEN]
Failure modes to prevent: [WHAT GOES WRONG WITHOUT GOOD PROMPTING]

Apply the three-layer system prompt learning framework:
1. Exposition (what the model needs to know)
2. Worked examples (demonstrate correct behavior)
3. Strategy rules (explicit IF/THEN/BECAUSE)

Then: suggest 3 variations I could test to find the best version.

Workflow

属于工作流：反偏见决策（第3步/终点）

位置	上游	下游
第3步（沉淀）	karpathy-understanding-first（验证后）	沉淀完成，可复用

完整链路：llm-simulator → understanding-first → system-prompt-learning

也在日常开发中独立使用——任何时候 Agent 反复犯同一类错，都应该触发本 Skill。

Prompt Contract

Extract a system prompt lesson from this failure/pattern: <DESCRIBE_THE_RECURRING_ERROR>. Produce: 1) Trigger condition — when does this error occur, 2) Correct strategy — step-by-step what the agent should do instead, 3) Anti-patterns — what specifically to avoid, 4) Worked example — a before/after showing the improvement, 5) Concise instruction block (< 200 words) ready to paste into system prompt or SKILL.md.

Verification Checklist

触发条件描述具体（不是「有时候」）
策略是 step-by-step 的（不是模糊建议）
反模式列出了具体的错误做法
有 before/after 对比示例
指令块 < 200 words，可直接粘贴
在新的测试 case 上验证过指令块有效

FAQ

What does the karpathy-system-prompt-learning skill do?

How do I install karpathy-system-prompt-learning?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/learnprompt/andrej-karpathy-skills --skill karpathy-system-prompt-learning in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/karpathy-system-prompt-learning/ (personal) or .claude/skills/karpathy-system-prompt-learning/ (project).

Which AI agents can use karpathy-system-prompt-learning?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is karpathy-system-prompt-learning safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains karpathy-system-prompt-learning?

It is published by learnprompt in learnprompt/andrej-karpathy-skills. It has 127 recorded installs.