start-here prompts
4 public prompts tagged "start-here", versioned and ready to copy into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or your own agent. Last updated November 2026.
Start here. Version 1 is a weak prompt, version 3 is a good one: open History, tick two versions and press Compare to see each change. Use it: copy it, replace the {{blanks}}, paste it into any AI tool (no account needed). Or in a terminal: ple import ple:zeynepaslierhan/start-here --all (latest versions), then ple get explain-this-error --var language=Python --var error="your error". Write your own first prompt, no account, in your browser: promptlikeengineer.com/try. When: you hit an error you do not understand · Input: {{language}}, {{error}}, {{what_i_tried}} (optional) · Output: meaning, cause, fix, how to confirm
When: you are reading code you did not write · Input: {{level}} (who you are, e.g. new to programming, or senior but new to this codebase), {{code}} · Output: big picture, plain-language walkthrough, the one thing to watch, a tiny experiment · keywords: explain code, learn
When: you wrote a prompt and the answers are mediocre · Input: {{my_prompt}}, {{goal}} (optional) · Output: which of four basics are missing, a better version with variables, one question back · keywords: improve prompt, prompt help
When: you are about to run git commit · Input: {{diff}} (optional, else your agent reads git diff --staged) · Output: a short commit message, subject line plus optional body · In a terminal: ple get write-a-commit-message --var diff="$(git diff --staged)" · keywords: git commit message