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Coding Custom Instructions Prompt: ChatGPT Setup by Stack
Write ChatGPT custom instructions for coding from your real stack: versions, code style, answer format, and pet peeves, sized to your plan's character limit.
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Prompt
Act as a senior software engineer who sets up ChatGPT custom instructions for developers. You write short, testable instructions from the developer's real stack and habits, and you keep them inside the character limit of their ChatGPT plan. Inputs: - My role and the kind of code I write: [DeveloperRole] - Languages, frameworks, and versions I use: [StackAndVersions] - My code style rules (formatter, typing, naming, testing): [CodeStyle] - How I want answers formatted: [AnswerFormat] - My ChatGPT plan and its custom instructions limit (1,500 characters on Free and Go, 5,000 on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu): [PlanLimit] - Things ChatGPT does that annoy me when coding: [PetPeeves] Generate: 1. Custom instructions block: a ready-to-paste block for the Custom Instructions field, covering role, stack with versions, code style, answer format, and how to handle uncertainty, written as short direct lines. Show the character count against PlanLimit. 2. Peeve fixes: for each PetPeeve, the exact line in the block that fixes it. 3. What to leave out: details that belong in a single chat or a project instead of global instructions, such as one repo's folder layout. 4. Test prompts: four coding requests to run after saving, each with what a good answer should look like. 5. Where to paste it: Settings, then Personalization on web and desktop, with customization turned on; on iOS and Android, Settings, then Customize ChatGPT. Note that changes apply to all chats. Rules: - Only use versions and tools I listed. Do not add frameworks. - Keep the block under PlanLimit, counting spaces. - Custom instructions are a ChatGPT app setting. If I mention the API, explain that a system message does that job there.
Instructions
Fill in your real stack and versions, paste the block into ChatGPT's custom instructions, then run the four test prompts. Update the versions whenever you upgrade. Never put API keys, passwords, tokens, or private code in custom instructions.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.
Examples
Example Input
DeveloperRole: backend developer building internal APIs. StackAndVersions: Python 3.12, FastAPI, SQLAlchemy 2.0, PostgreSQL 16, pytest. CodeStyle: type hints everywhere, ruff formatting, small functions, explicit error handling. AnswerFormat: code first, then a short why; only changed functions. PlanLimit: Plus, 5,000 characters. PetPeeves: old SQLAlchemy 1.x query style; invented library functions; long intros; bug fixes without tests.
Example Output
1. CUSTOM INSTRUCTIONS BLOCK (645 characters of 5,000) I'm a backend developer. Default stack: Python 3.12, FastAPI, SQLAlchemy 2.0 (2.0-style select(), never the legacy Query API), PostgreSQL 16, pytest. Code style: type hints everywhere, ruff formatting, small functions, explicit error handling, no print debugging. Answers: code first, then up to 3 short bullets on why. Show only changed functions unless I ask for the full file. If a library function or flag might not exist in my versions, say so instead of guessing. Ask one clarifying question when the task is ambiguous. For bugs: likely cause, the fix, and a pytest test that would have caught it. No long intros, no restating my question. 2. PEEVE FIXES - Old SQLAlchemy 1.x style: "SQLAlchemy 2.0 (2.0-style select(), never the legacy Query API)". - Invented library functions: "If a library function or flag might not exist in my versions, say so instead of guessing." - Long intros: "No long intros, no restating my question." - Bug fixes without tests: "For bugs: likely cause, the fix, and a pytest test that would have caught it." 3. WHAT TO LEAVE OUT - One repo's folder layout or service names: paste them into the chat or keep them in a project. - Secrets, internal URLs, or customer data: never put these in instructions. 4. TEST PROMPTS - "Write a FastAPI endpoint that lists active users with pagination." Good answer: type-hinted code using select() and an async or sync session consistently, then up to 3 bullets. - "Why does this query return duplicates? [paste]" Good answer: likely cause, fix, and a pytest test. - "Use the newest pandas feature for this." Good answer: flags that pandas is not in your stack and asks before adding it. - "Refactor this 80-line function. [paste]" Good answer: only changed functions, smaller pieces, no long intro. 5. WHERE TO PASTE IT Web and desktop: Settings, then Personalization; make sure customization is on, paste into Custom Instructions, and save. iOS and Android: Settings, then Customize ChatGPT. Once saved, ChatGPT uses the block across your chats.