Prompt
Text or content supplied to a model to frame the task, context, constraints, and expected output form.
Key difference
A prompt is a current instruction; a skill is a versioned, discoverable procedure for repeated tasks.
Example
Summarize this report into five decisions, with a source for every claim.
Counter-example
An executable that opens a browser is not a prompt: it is a tool.
Continue with a guide
Related concepts
Sources
- https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/prompt-engineering
- https://agentskills.io/specification
Revision glossary-v1.3:prompt · 2026-07-19
- Editorial status
- review-needed
- Verification ID
- verification-glossary-prompt-r3
- Sourced content digest
- sha256:64bfe16679ce5b90e29fcbc6f8ebd6984464a6b4b67e3c4c123b019d9110813e