Prompt Improver
severity1/claude-code-prompt-improver
This skill enriches vague prompts with targeted research and clarification before execution.
Crafting examples that steer AI behavior effectively. An agent skill from Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills.
Install Few Shot Patterns
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills --skill few-shot-patterns -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills few-shot-patterns --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns .claude/skills/few-shot-patterns && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "few-shot-patterns" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills/tree/main/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns into .claude/skills/few-shot-patterns/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "few-shot-patterns", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills/tree/main/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patternsType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills --skill few-shot-patterns -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills few-shot-patterns --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns .agents/skills/few-shot-patterns && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "few-shot-patterns" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills/tree/main/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns into .agents/skills/few-shot-patterns/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "few-shot-patterns", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills --skill few-shot-patterns -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills few-shot-patterns --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns .cursor/skills/few-shot-patterns && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "few-shot-patterns" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills/tree/main/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns into .cursor/skills/few-shot-patterns/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "few-shot-patterns", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills.git --path skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills --skill few-shot-patterns -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills few-shot-patterns --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns .gemini/skills/few-shot-patterns && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "few-shot-patterns" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills/tree/main/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns into .gemini/skills/few-shot-patterns/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "few-shot-patterns", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills few-shot-patternsInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills --skill few-shot-patterns -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns .github/skills/few-shot-patterns && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "few-shot-patterns" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills/tree/main/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns into .github/skills/few-shot-patterns/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "few-shot-patterns", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills --skill few-shot-patterns -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills few-shot-patterns --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns .opencode/skills/few-shot-patterns && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "few-shot-patterns" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills/tree/main/skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns into .opencode/skills/few-shot-patterns/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "few-shot-patterns", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
few-shot-patterns- GitHub stars
- 182
- Token cost
- ~723 tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 376 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 11
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Crafting examples that steer AI behavior effectively. An agent skill from Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills.
- Tasks that involve Prompt engineering
- SKILL.md covers Why Examples Work, Example Design Principles, How Many Examples and Anti-Patterns, plus 1 more section
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Few Shot Patterns is an agent skill from Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills. Crafting examples that steer AI behavior effectively.
Its SKILL.md is about 720 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in AI & LLM Engineering, covering Prompt engineering. The repository describes itself as: AI Design Skills Collection: agentic skills, commands, and plugins for designing AI products — from interaction patterns to alignment, evaluation, agent orchestration, and prompt… The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Tasks that involve Prompt engineering
Example prompts
- “/few-shot-patterns”
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit f41b650. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Few Shot Patterns loads about 723 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 18 tokens; SKILL.md has 376 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills at commit f41b650, republished under its MIT licence (© Owl-Listener). 376 words, ~723 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/few-shot-patterns/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- few-shot-patterns
- description
- Crafting examples that steer AI behavior effectively.
Few-Shot Patterns
Few-shot prompting provides examples of input-output pairs that demonstrate the desired behavior. The AI learns the pattern from the examples and applies it to new inputs. The quality of examples directly determines the quality of outputs.
Why Examples Work
Examples communicate what instructions alone cannot:
- Implicit patterns: The AI picks up on format, style, and reasoning patterns from examples without being told explicitly
- Ambiguity resolution: When instructions could be interpreted multiple ways, examples show which interpretation you want
- Quality calibration: Examples set the bar for output quality, length, and depth
- Edge case handling: Examples of tricky cases teach the AI how to handle similar situations
Example Design Principles
Diversity: Examples should cover different scenarios, not repeat the same type
- Include easy cases, hard cases, and edge cases
- Vary the input format and content
- Show different valid output formats if applicable Clarity: Each example should demonstrate one clear pattern
- Avoid examples that could be interpreted multiple ways
- Make the mapping from input to output obvious
- Remove irrelevant variation between examples Quality: Examples set the ceiling for output quality
- Every example should be one you'd be happy to ship
- If the example has a flaw, the AI will replicate that flaw
- Invest time in crafting examples — they're worth more than instructions Ordering: The position of examples matters
- Put the most representative example first
- Put edge cases after common cases
- End with an example closest to the expected input type
Show full SKILL.md (137 more words)Show less
How Many Examples
- Zero-shot: No examples. Relies entirely on instructions. Good for simple, well-understood tasks.
- One-shot: Single example. Enough when the pattern is straightforward.
- Few-shot (3-5): Multiple examples. Best for complex patterns or nuanced quality requirements.
- Many-shot (5+): Diminishing returns but useful for highly variable tasks or when consistency is critical. Balance example count against context window cost. More examples means less room for other context.
Anti-Patterns
- Identical examples: All examples are basically the same, teaching nothing about variation
- Perfect-only examples: No examples of how to handle imperfect inputs or edge cases
- Contradictory examples: Examples that demonstrate inconsistent patterns
- Low-quality examples: Sloppy examples produce sloppy outputs
- Outdated examples: Examples that no longer reflect current requirements
Design Artefacts
- Example libraries per task type
- Example quality rubrics
- Example selection guidelines
- Example maintenance and update schedules
- Example effectiveness testing results
© Owl-Listener, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
Just SKILL.md in skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns of Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit f41b650
Compare with similar skills
Few Shot Patterns next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Few Shot Patterns this skillOwl-Listener/ai-design-skills | 182 | — | ~723 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Prompt Improverseverity1/claude-code-prompt-improver | 1.9k | 1 repos | ~1.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Prompt Engineering Patternsynulihao/AgentSkillOS | 617 | 14 repos | ~1.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Patch CreationPiebald-AI/tweakcc | 2.5k | — | ~1.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Senior Prompt Engineermaslennikov-ig/claude-code-orchestrator-kit | 260 | 3 repos | ~1.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Codex Fable5baskduf/FableCodex | 437 | — | ~1.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | AGPL-3.0 |
Similar skills
Prompt Engineering Patterns
ynulihao/AgentSkillOS
Master advanced prompt engineering techniques to maximize LLM performance, reliability, and controllability in production.
Patch Creation
Piebald-AI/tweakcc
Create and register new patches for tweakcc. An agent skill from Piebald-AI/tweakcc.
Senior Prompt Engineer
maslennikov-ig/claude-code-orchestrator-kit
Provides reference guides and Python scripts for prompt optimization, RAG evaluation, and agent orchestration when building or tuning LLM systems.
Codex Fable5
baskduf/FableCodex
Apply a Claude Fable 5 inspired operating style inside Codex.
Prompt Engineering Patterns
wshobson/agents
Reference for designing and tuning production LLM prompts: few-shot examples, chain-of-thought, structured outputs, templates and system prompts.
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Related
Categories
Questions about Few Shot Patterns
What does Few Shot Patterns do?
Crafting examples that steer AI behavior effectively. An agent skill from Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills. Few Shot Patterns is an agent skill from Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills. Crafting examples that steer AI behavior effectively.
When should I use Few Shot Patterns?
Few Shot Patterns fits situations like: tasks that involve Prompt engineering.
How do I install Few Shot Patterns in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills --skill few-shot-patterns -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns in Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills) into .claude/skills/few-shot-patterns in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Few Shot Patterns in Codex?
Run `npx skills add Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills --skill few-shot-patterns -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/prompt-architecture/few-shot-patterns in Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills) into .agents/skills/few-shot-patterns in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Few Shot Patterns in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills --skill few-shot-patterns -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/few-shot-patterns, .gemini/skills/few-shot-patterns, .github/skills/few-shot-patterns and .opencode/skills/few-shot-patterns in your project.
What does Few Shot Patterns need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Few Shot Patterns is instructions for the agent only.
Does Few Shot Patterns access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Few Shot Patterns safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Few Shot Patterns use?
Few Shot Patterns is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Few Shot Patterns use?
About 723 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Few Shot Patterns?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Few Shot Patterns: Prompt Improver (severity1/claude-code-prompt-improver, 1.9k stars), Prompt Engineering Patterns (ynulihao/AgentSkillOS, 617 stars), Patch Creation (Piebald-AI/tweakcc, 2.5k stars) and Senior Prompt Engineer (maslennikov-ig/claude-code-orchestrator-kit, 260 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Few Shot Patterns?
Owl-Listener (a GitHub user) maintains it in Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills, which has 182 GitHub stars. The repository holds 11 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 9, 2026.
Source: Owl-Listener/ai-design-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.