Resource
Compare Two Versions of a Prompt
See exactly what changed between v1 and v2 of a prompt — added, removed, and modified instructions, plus whether the revision reduced or introduced risk.
Revising a Research Prompt Without Losing Scope
Tightening a research prompt usually means narrowing it — the diff shows whether your revision sharpened the scope or silently changed the question.
Overview
Research prompt revisions have a specific failure mode: in the act of adding criteria and structure, you accidentally change what's being asked. Narrowing 'project tools' to three named candidates is sharpening; dropping the budget constraint while doing it changes the answer you'll get. Diffing the revision separates the two — additions show the sharpening, removals show anything that fell out of scope on the way. The loaded pair includes one of each, which makes it a good calibration exercise.
How to use this resource
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Diff the loaded pair
Version B names candidates, adds criteria, source rules, and an output shape — clear sharpening, all in the added list.
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Find the scope leak
The $500/month budget cap is in the removed list. Nothing in B replaces it — the recommendation can now exceed budget.
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Patch and re-diff
Add the budget back as an evaluation criterion ('total cost at 12 seats vs the $500/month cap') and diff again — removals should be empty.
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Apply to your revisions
Rule of thumb: in a research prompt revision, every removal needs an explicit replacement or an explicit decision to drop it.
Why This Works
- Additions and removals separate 'sharpened the question' from 'changed the question'
- Budget and scope constraints are the most common silent casualties of research prompt rewrites
- Re-diffing after the patch verifies the fix instead of assuming it
Best for
- Decision-support research where the question must stay stable across revisions
- Prompts revised by someone other than the person who owns the decision
- Long research prompts where a dropped constraint hides easily
Not for
- Comparing two competing research prompts for quality — that's the Prompt Comparator
- Restructuring a rambling research request — that's the Prompt Formatter
Use cases
- Reviewing a research prompt revision before spending a long model run
- Checking that added criteria didn't displace original constraints
- Teaching the sharpen-vs-shift distinction with a concrete pair
FAQ
How do I check whether editing my research prompt dropped a constraint
Diff the two versions: additions show the sharpening while removals show anything that fell out of scope. In the loaded pair the $500/month budget cap lands in the removed list with nothing in B replacing it. Prompt Version Diff itemizes the change; you run the corrected prompt in your own assistant after patching.
How do I tell sharpening a research prompt from silently changing the question
Additions versus removals separate them. Narrowing knowledge base software to named candidates Notion, Confluence, and Helpjuice and adding criteria shows as additions, clear sharpening; the dropped $500/month budget cap shows as a removal, a silent scope change. The rule of thumb: every removal needs an explicit replacement or an explicit decision to drop it.
How do I confirm my fix restored the missing budget constraint
Re-diff after patching. Once you add the budget back as an evaluation criterion, such as total cost at 12 seats versus the $500/month cap, run the diff again and the removals list should be empty. That re-diff verifies the fix instead of assuming the revision merely looks right.
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