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Custom prompts let you replace the built-in prompt template for any phase with your own version. This gives advanced users full control over LLM instructions without forking the project.

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How It Works

When a phase runs, Skaro loads its prompt template using a two-step lookup:
  1. Project override — .skaro/prompts/{name}.md
  2. Built-in default — skaro_core/prompts/{name}.md (inside the package)
If a project-level file exists, it is used instead of the built-in. If not, the built-in template is used as usual. This means existing projects are not affected — the feature is fully opt-in.

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Quick Start

1

Create the prompts directory

2

Copy the built-in prompt you want to customize

Find the original in the Skaro package (src/skaro_core/prompts/) and copy it:
Or simply create a new file from scratch — only the filename must match.
3

Edit the prompt

Open .skaro/prompts/clarify.md in your editor and modify the instructions as needed.
4

Run the phase

The next time the Clarify phase runs, Skaro will use your custom prompt automatically. No configuration changes required.

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Available Prompts

Each filename corresponds to a specific phase or sub-action:

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Placeholders

Some prompts contain placeholders that Skaro replaces at runtime (e.g., {spec_template}, {review_section}, {user_guidance}). Keep these placeholders intact in your custom prompt — Skaro substitutes them with actual content before sending to the LLM. If you remove a placeholder, the corresponding context will not be injected.

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Skills vs Custom Prompts

Skills and custom prompts both customize LLM behavior, but at different levels:
Start with skills for most customization needs. Custom prompts are for cases where you need to fundamentally change how a phase asks the LLM to behave — for example, changing the output format, adding domain-specific reasoning steps, or restructuring the prompt flow entirely.

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Version Control

The .skaro/prompts/ directory can be committed to Git if prompts are shared across the team, or added to .gitignore if they are personal preferences.