Getting Started

Quick start guide to install and use format-prompt in your JavaScript or TypeScript project

Installation

Install format-prompt using your preferred package manager:

# npm
npm install format-prompt

# bun
bun add format-prompt

# pnpm
pnpm add format-prompt

# yarn
yarn add format-prompt

Basic Usage

Importing

import { prompt } from 'format-prompt';

Simple Example

import { prompt } from 'format-prompt';

const result = prompt`
  Hello world!
  This is a formatted prompt.
`;

console.log(result);
// Output: "Hello world!\nThis is a formatted prompt."

With Variables

const name = 'John';
const age = 30;

const result = prompt`
  User Information:
    Name: ${name}
    Age: ${age}
`;

console.log(result);
// Clean output without extra whitespace

Complex Example

import { prompt } from 'format-prompt';

function createAnalysisPrompt(email: string) {
  return prompt`
    You are a security guard that analyzes emails for:
      * Spam: unsolicited bulk/promotional content
      * Scam: phishing, fraud, identity theft attempts
      * Toxicity: hate speech, threats, harassment
      * Business relevance: legitimate business inquiries
    
    Email to analyze:
    ${email}
    
    Provide a detailed security assessment.
  `;
}

const analysis = createAnalysisPrompt('test@example.com');

How It Works

The prompt function:

Takes a template literal string with optional interpolated values
Removes leading/trailing whitespace from each line
Collapses multiple spaces into single spaces
Preserves intentional line breaks
Trims the final result
Returns a clean, token-efficient string

TypeScript Support

format-prompt is written in TypeScript and includes type definitions:

import { prompt } from 'format-prompt';

// Full type safety
const result: string = prompt`Your prompt here`;

Best Practices

Use template literals: Leverage JavaScript's template literal syntax for clean code
Indent for readability: Format your prompts for readability in code - the library will clean it up
Use interpolation: Insert variables directly into your prompts
Keep structure: The library preserves intentional line breaks and structure

Common Patterns

List Formatting

const items = ['item1', 'item2', 'item3'];
const result = prompt`
  Please analyze:
    * ${items[0]}
    * ${items[1]}
    * ${items[2]}
`;

Multi-line Instructions

const result = prompt`
  Step 1: Read the input
  Step 2: Process the data
  Step 3: Generate output
  
  Be thorough and accurate.
`;

Dynamic Content

function generatePrompt(context: string, question: string) {
  return prompt`
    Context: ${context}
    
    Question: ${question}
    
    Provide a detailed answer based on the context.
  `;
}

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