How to Write Bazel BUILD and bzlmod from a Target List
Bazel files rot when they load rules_go that nobody locked. The target list named rules_python 0.34.0. Quote that pin. Skip registry invention.
The matching generator is the Bazel BUILD and bzlmod from a Target List (No Invented Rulesets) (Bazel Build Bzlmod From Target List No Invented Rulesets) prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).
Print the ruleset lock table first
Write Bazel BUILD files and a MODULE.bazel from a locked target list. Do not invent rulesets, registries, or versions. Start by filling Inputs, not by asking the model to remember last week's run. If a field is blank, write NONE or NOT IN INPUTS and leave it blank through Generate. The card is built so the model cannot honestly invent a number, owner, URL, or command that you did not paste.
Paste these fields before you hit run:
Target list I lock (names, kinds, srcs I allow): [Targets]
Rulesets I lock with versions (or UNKNOWN): [Rulesets]
Bazel version I lock (or UNKNOWN): [Bazel]
Module name I lock: [Module]
Words I must not use: [Banned]
What I must never invent (rulesets, registries, extra srcs): [Never]
Output format: [Format]
Language for comments: [Lang]
Test targets I allow (or NONE): [Tests]
That inventory is the honesty ledger. Anything that does not appear there is forbidden in the draft. If you catch yourself adding a nice-to-have after the run, you are no longer using the card. You are ghostwriting. Put the extra fact in Inputs and run again.
Write MODULE.bazel deps only from the locked set
Generate is numbered on purpose. Do not skip a step because the first paragraph looked done. The early steps exist to stop later prose from smuggling claims.
Walk the Generate list in order:
- Honesty ledger: Targets, Rulesets, Bazel, Module, Tests, Lang. Forbidden: invented ruleset, invented registry, extra srcs.
- Ruleset lock table: each Rulesets line quoted. If a load needs a ruleset not listed, write NOT IN INPUTS.
- MODULE.bazel: module(name) from Module. bazel_dep only for Rulesets. Registry only if Inputs name one.
- BUILD: targets only from Targets. srcs only listed files. visibility only if Targets name it.
- Refuse list: cmake_minimum_required, pants.toml, buck2 prelude, WORKSPACE http_archive not in Inputs.
- Tests: quote Tests or write NONE. Do not add a catch-all test_suite.
- Never: do not write maven.install with a BOM that is not locked. Do not invent github.com registry hosts.
- Compliance pass: quote Banned and Never hits. Cut them. Format as Format.
If a step asks for a version lock, quote the version from Inputs in the output. If a step asks for a refuse list, keep the refuse list in the published artifact, not in a sidebar you delete. Reviewers should see what the model was not allowed to do.
Refuse CMake dumps and extra srcs
Most failures are the same shape: a missing field gets a confident fill. A conversion rate appears. A Gradle task appears. A flash point appears. A caption appears on a job that asked for slide text only. Your review is to search the draft for numbers, names, and commands, then grep Inputs. No match means cut.
Honor the constraints as hard stops, not vibes:
- Bazel BUILD and bzlmod from Targets and Rulesets only. Not CMake and not Pants.
- Never invent rulesets, registries, or extra srcs.
- Only Tests named in Inputs.
- No emojis.
When the card says not legal advice, not certification, not an exam dump, or not a caption engine, that sentence belongs at the top of the output. Deleting it to look more finished is how you inherit risk.
Keep test targets NONE if the list omitted them
Finish with the compliance pass the prompt already asks for. Quote the banned-word hits. Cut them. Print character counts when the job has a cap. Print word counts when the job has a budget. List gaps as gaps. Five missing facts are more useful than one smooth paragraph.
Tags on the card (bazel build bzlmod, no invented rulesets, target list lock) are a reminder of the job shape, not an invitation to wander into a neighboring cluster. If you need a different surface, open a different PromptDig card rather than stretching this one.
Fill the card, then run
Replace every bracket. Run on ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Read the ledger first, then the artifact. If the model invents a commit, KPI, DOI, PEL, bid, or logo, discard the run. Tighten Inputs. Run again. Share the filled card that survived, not the first draft that sounded done.