# The one prompt structure: a template you can fill in

Four blocks. Who and what. The material. The shape. The check. Every prompt in the ops-manager prompt pack uses these bones; this is the blank version.

From Distru's No Bullshit AI Course, lesson 03-01. CC0 1.0: copy, edit, share. Status 2026-09-17: the structure is the one every prompt in the ops-manager pack was written to; the filled-in example below was checked for the four blocks and for the no-guessing line. Try it on the last prompt you typed and compare the two answers. Never paste customer names, employee IDs, license numbers, passwords or API keys.

---

## The blank

```
WHO AND WHAT
You [write / classify / summarize / explain] [kind of thing] for a licensed cannabis [dispensary / cultivator / distributor / manufacturer] in [state].
I need [one sentence: the thing you want, for whom, by when].

THE MATERIAL
[Paste the thing it works from: the email thread, the export rows, the transcript, the spec sheet. Label each piece: "Catalog:", "Buyer's text:", "Last week's numbers:".]

THE SHAPE
Rules: [length limit]. [Tone, or "match this example:" + paste one you like]. [What it must never say: medical claims, prices you did not give, promises about delivery]. [Units, date format, state-specific rules.]
Output: [exactly what comes back: "the email only, subject line first" / "a table with columns a | b | c" / "numbered steps, one action each" / "JSON with fields x, y, z and nothing else"].

THE CHECK
Use only the information I gave you. If something is missing, say MISSING instead of guessing. [For anything numeric: do not compute totals yourself; give me the formula or script.] [For anything regulatory: quote the sentence you relied on.]
```

## Filled in once (so you can see the joints)

```
WHO AND WHAT
You write short purchasing emails for a licensed cannabis distributor in California.
I need a restock request to Acme Farms for delivery next Tuesday.

THE MATERIAL
Items: Blue Dream 3.5g x 120, OG Kush 1g preroll x 300.
Our license: LIC-XXXXX. Delivery address: 100 Example Way, Oakland.
Last email I sent them, for tone:
"Hi Dana, quick one: can we get 200 of the Sour D eighths by Friday? Same address. Thanks, Sam"

THE SHAPE
Rules: under 80 words. Same tone as the example. Ask them to confirm availability and a delivery window. No pleasantries beyond one line.
Output: the email only, subject line first.

THE CHECK
Use only the information I gave you. If something is missing, say MISSING instead of guessing.
```

## The four blocks, in one line each

| block | what goes in | what goes wrong without it |
|---|---|---|
| Who and what | its role, your business, your state, the one thing you want | generic output for a generic business in no state |
| The material | the actual text, rows or transcript, labelled | it invents the material |
| The shape | rules, forbidden claims, tone example, exact output format | prose when you wanted a table; a medical claim in menu copy |
| The check | "use only what I gave you; say MISSING"; formula not number; quote the rule | confident guesses you cannot tell from facts |

## Reuse it

- **In a chat app.** Save the WHO AND WHAT and THE SHAPE blocks as a project instruction or custom GPT. Then each message is just the material.
- **For your tech person.** The stable blocks (who, rules, output shape, check) become the system prompt; the material is the user turn. When the output has to be machine-readable, write THE SHAPE as a JSON schema and validate the answer before using it. Save the whole thing as `prompts/<job>.md` in a repo, one file per job, with a `version:` line at the top.
- **The next step up** is a SKILL.md (course module 06): the same template plus the steps, so an agent runs it without you retyping.

Twelve filled-in versions of this template live in the ops-manager prompt pack in this same folder.