The builder's cheat sheet.

Act as a senior product engineer who ships fast. Here is what I have: {paste your context — project, code, constraints}. My goal: {goal}. My deadline: {deadline}. Answer in plain words: 1) the simplest path to ship, 2) the three biggest risks and how to de-risk each, 3) what to build in week one, 4) what to skip. Be direct — no praise, no filler.

Quick prompts

Turn these rough notes into a clear, well-structured {document type — README, proposal, essay}: {paste notes}. Style: simple words, short sentences, one idea per paragraph. Keep my voice — here are three sentences I wrote recently: {sample}. Use the notes as the only source of facts; mark anything missing as [TBD]. No marketing language.

Quick prompts

Act as my research analyst. Question: {question}. Ground every claim in a named source. Return: (1) the direct answer in three sentences, (2) the three strongest sources with links, (3) what experts still disagree on. If the answer differs by region or year, say so.

Quick prompts

Research {topic} for {audience}. I need sources, not a summary: list the key facts, each with a numbered citation. Then tell me what the most credible sources agree on and where they disagree. Link every claim. Flag anything that looks outdated.

Quick prompts

Create a {16:9 / 1:1} hero image for {product or page}. Subject: {subject}. Style: {clean editorial photography}. Palette: {colors}. Lighting: soft, natural, gentle shadows. Camera: 35mm, eye level. Composition: subject on the right third, calm negative space on the left for text. Mood: calm, premium, trustworthy. No text, no watermark, no extra objects.

Quick prompts

Edit the image I attached: {change — remove the object on the right, replace the background with a warm studio wall, keep the lighting identical}. Keep the subject’s face, hands, and clothing exactly the same. Output the same aspect ratio.

Quick prompts

Design a wordmark logo for {brand}: the word “{name}”. Style: clean, letter-spaced, premium. Colors: brass gold #C89B3C on deep charcoal #0B0A08. No icon, no tagline, no gradient, no extra shapes. Every letter must be perfectly legible — the word is exactly: {name}.

Quick prompts

Generate {n} thumbnail concepts for {video or article topic}. Each one must be a single strong image that still reads at 320px wide. Subject: {subject}. Style: {style}. No text — I add titles myself.

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Create a {character or prop} concept sheet for {project}: front, side, and 3/4 views on a neutral gray background. Proportions must match across all three views. Style: {style}. Palette: {colors}. One light source.

Quick prompts

Design {scene}. Style: {medium or artist direction}. Lighting: {lighting}. Lens: {lens}. Composition: {rule-of-thirds, centered, etc}. Resolution: 1024×1024. Negative prompt: blurry, low detail, watermark, extra limbs.

Quick prompts

Animate my image into a {5 or 10}s clip. Subject: {describe who/what — must stay identical}. Motion: start {pose or state}, then {action} — slow and natural. Camera: {camera move — push-in, orbit, static}. Atmosphere: match the image’s lighting and mood. End on a stable, sharp frame. No morphing, no extra limbs; hands stay still unless the action needs them.

Quick prompts

Turn this image into a {5}s cinematic clip. Subject: {subject}. Motion: {action} starting small and building. Camera: slow dolly {in or out}. Keep colors and lighting identical to the source image. End on a stable frame.

Quick prompts

Using my image as the keyframe, direct a {genre} shot: the subject {subject} performs {action}. Camera: {track left-to-right, crane up, handheld}. Lens: {35mm or 100mm}. Lighting: {mood}. Pace: start slow, hold on the subject’s face at second {n}, end on {final frame}. Physics must stay believable — no warping, no melting.

Quick prompts

Turn my image into {5}s of {stop-motion, ink, anime, clay} animation. Subject: {subject}. Motion: {action}. The style must stay consistent in every frame. End on a clean frame that can loop.

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Generate a {10}s, 1080p clip: {scene description}. Camera: {move}. Light: {mood}. Motion must be physically believable; any person must look consistent across every frame. End on a strong final frame.

Quick prompts

You are {brand}’s writer. Write {format — blog intro, product page, email} about {topic}. Audience: {who}. Voice — match these three sentences: {sample}. Length: {n} words. Structure: hook, value, proof, one clear next step. No buzzwords, no exclamation marks.

Quick prompts

Write {ad, email, or landing section} for {product}. What it does: {one line}. Who it is for: {audience}. Main benefit: {benefit}. Proof: {fact or testimonial}. Tone: calm, confident, specific. End with a single call to action. Under {n} words.

Quick prompts

Plan content for {keyword or topic} that ranks in 2026: 1) the intent behind the search, 2) an outline built on the questions people actually ask, 3) what your page must say to win the featured snippet, 4) a title under 60 characters. Plain language wins — no keyword stuffing.

Quick prompts

Edit {source} into a {30–60s} short. Hook: first 2 seconds = {hook}. Keep only: {points}. Cut every pause and repetition. Captions on — style {Clean or Bold} — with the key word highlighted. One subtle zoom per scene change. End card: {cta}. Music: calm instrumental, no vocals, fade out.

Quick prompts

Grade this footage: balanced exposure, soft highlights, neutral skin tones, shadows kept natural (no teal). Deliver 4K Rec.709, export H.264. Mark any cut that needs review with a red clip.

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Clean my recording: remove filler words (“um”, “you know”) without changing meaning, cut dead air longer than 0.7s, and fix the section where I lost my thought — rewrite it in my voice. Keep my pauses and personality. Output: corrected transcript plus audio.

Quick prompts

Turn this recording into a clean talking-head video: trim silence, add captions that highlight the key word, add a simple lower-third with {name and title}, brand colors {colors}. Export 1080p, and give me a blurred-background version too.

Quick prompts

Write a {2-min} script explaining {topic} for {audience}: an opening line that names the problem, three points with one concrete example each, and a closing that states the one thing to remember. Simple words, short sentences. Then plan visuals: one avatar shot, two screen recordings, three caption cards.

Quick prompts

Get your key at aistudio.google.com (free, no credit card), then test it with curl.

curl -s https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-2.5-flash:generateContent \
  -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"contents":[{"parts":[{"text":"Hello — one line on what you are."}]}]}'

Grab a key at console.groq.com. Test with:

curl -s https://api.groq.com/openai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GROQ_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"llama-3.3-70b-versatile","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hi"}]}'

Create a key at openrouter.ai, then call any model:

curl -s https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENROUTER_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b-instruct:free","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hi"}]}'

Create an account at console.mistral.ai and grab an API key under “API Keys”. Try mistral-small in the playground first, then move the same prompt to code.

Find any open model at huggingface.co, hit “Deploy → Inference Providers”, and paste your key to test it in the built-in playground before you write code.

Use the free tier where it is strongest: inline completions while you type, and chat for “explain this file” or “write a test for this function”. Save the monthly chat budget for hard problems, not greetings.