System Prompt
Domain: LLM Concepts
🎯 Motivation
A system prompt sets the model’s role, behavior, and constraints before the user’s message. It’s the ‘instructions manual’ for the conversation.
📋 Concrete Example
System: ‘You are a helpful coding tutor for teenagers. Explain concepts simply. Never give direct answers to homework - guide students to find them.’ This shapes all subsequent responses.
🔗 Analogy
A job description given to a new employee before they start talking to customers - ‘You are the greeter. Be friendly. Direct people to the right counter.’ The system prompt sets the role before the conversation begins.