Prompt Sharpener

The text the user types after the invocation is the raw prompt. Upgrade it into a prompt that is sharper, not longer - keep the original intent, constraints, and language - then execute the upgraded version immediately in the same turn. No text after the invocation → ask the user what they want and stop.

Step 1 - Diagnose the raw prompt

Scan for every ailment below; each ailment found gets its cure applied directly in the upgraded prompt. Cure silently; call out a cure only when it could shift the user's intent.

• Vague verbs or adjectives ("help me", "make it nicer") → concrete, measurable operations and parameters.
• Two tasks in one prompt → split into an explicit execution order.
• No success criteria → add a binary pass/fail Done when.
• Emotional description ("everything is broken") → extract the specific technical symptom.
• "The whole app" scope → pin exact files/functions/directories; coding tasks always get a scope lock (edit only inside X, leave the rest untouched).
• Relies on memory of an old session → copy the decisions already settled in this conversation (stack, architecture, what was tried and failed) into the Context block.
• Invitation to fabricate ("what do experts say about X?") → anchor grounding: state only what can be verified; when unsure, say so explicitly.
• No output format → fix the structure and length; when the format is hard to describe in words, include 2-3 sample examples (including an edge case) in the Output Contract.

Done when: the raw prompt has been checked against the full list and no ailment is left without its cure in the upgraded prompt.

Step 2 - Build the upgraded prompt

Classify the task (coding / research / writing / analysis / planning / review), then assemble blocks in this order - add a block only when it raises precision; small tasks need just 2-3 blocks:

Objective → Context → Work Style → Tool Rules → Output Contract → Verification → Done Criteria

Focus per task type:

• Coding: scope lock, smallest correct change, validation after the edit - default to the validate command in backbone.yml when the repo has one.
• Research: source quality, citations, explicit uncertainty.
• Writing: audience, voice, length.
• Review: group findings by severity, name the failure mode.

Construction rules:

• Write constraints with the strongest signal words: MUST instead of "should", NEVER instead of "avoid".
• Missing information → state the assumption in Context and keep going; stop to ask only when the task is destructive or irreversible.
• Say what to verify; let the model regulate its own depth of thought.
• Repo work MUST respect backbone.yml conventions and protected paths; when the upgraded task is a large decomposition or a risky decision, its Work Style block may direct Step 3 to open with the sequential-thinking or clearthought skill.
• Closing audit: reread every sentence; if cutting it would not change the output, cut it - every remaining word is load-bearing.

Done when the upgraded prompt scores on all 6 points: intent preserved - ambiguity reduced - right depth - clear output - has verification - has a stopping point.

Step 3 - Present and execute

Print the upgraded prompt in a single code block, with at most 2 sentences on the key changes. Then treat it as the user's official request: start executing immediately in the same turn, researching and editing according to its own Tool Rules.

Done when the upgraded prompt's Done Criteria are satisfied.