Best Practices for Coding LLM Prompts

Intermediate
1

I’m currently working on a project involving coding language models (LLMs) and I am wondering how the prompt works in claude-3.7 or any coding LLM. Specifically, I’m curious about the following:

  1. Prompt Structure: What does an effective prompt for a coding LLM look like? Are there specific elements or formats that yield better results?
  2. Code Repositories: If I want to provide context from a code repository, do I need to attach the entire repo in the prompt? I’m concerned that it might be too lengthy for the context window. What are the best practices for including relevant code snippets without exceeding the limits?

I appreciate any insights or examples you can share!

Thank you!

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2

Anthropic seems to offer an official guide.

Official guides

Other resources

3

@John6666 mentioned nice sources regarding prompting.
Regarding code repositories - It strongly depends on the size of the repo. I would suggest description of the repo structure and separate code snippets.

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4

Let me tell you about Claude Models that there’s no “Claude-3.7” specifically, but the current Claude models (like Claude Sonnet 4) work great for coding tasks!

Remember one thing, good prompts are simple yet effective:

  1. Say exactly what you want the code to do
  2. Mention the programming language
  3. Give an example of what you expect
  4. That’s it!

This is For Code Repositories:

  1. No need to upload entire repos! That would be too much.
  2. Just share the specific files or functions you’re working with
  3. Give a quick 2-3 line summary of what your project does
  4. Include only the code parts that are related to your question

Quick Example: Instead of: “Here’s my entire 50-file project…” Say: “I’m building a user login system in Python. Here’s my current login function [paste the specific function]. I need help adding password validation.”

Make sure to Keep it focused and specific. Claude works better with clear, targeted questions than with everything at once.

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5

For coding LLMs like Claude 3.7 or others, an effective prompt is clear, specific, and includes relevant context. It’s best to outline what you want the model to do, mention the programming language, and describe any constraints or expected outcomes. The more precise your instructions, the better the results.

Code Repositories & Context:
You don’t need to include the entire repository. Instead, focus on the most relevant parts—like specific functions, files, or logic blocks. If something is too large, summarize it in plain language or mention the key purpose. The goal is to stay within the model’s context limit while giving it just enough to understand the task clearly.

Hope this helps! Happy to share examples or tips if needed.

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