Recipe best practices

A strong recipe describes a repeated content job while leaving the response as the source of truth. Improve the instruction when different results require the same correction.

Make one purpose unmistakable

State the output, reader, and intended use near the beginning of the prompt. A recipe that tries to create a customer story, an internal analysis, and a sales email at once gives each purpose less direction.

Use the name and description to help people select the recipe. Put generation instructions in the prompt rather than relying on the title to carry them.

Specify the evidence rules

Tell the recipe which parts of the response matter and how to handle uncertainty. For publishable content, useful rules include:

• Use only claims supported by the response.
• Preserve the meaning and context of quotations.
• Do not invent missing names, figures, outcomes, or causation.
• Omit or clearly mark information that needs confirmation.

The output can reorganize and clarify what the participant said. It should not turn an assumption into a fact.

Describe the required shape

Name the sections or sequence that make the output usable. Add a length constraint only when the channel or reader requires one.

Avoid competing instructions such as “be exhaustive” and “keep every section brief.” Decide which quality matters and remove the conflict.

Test across different responses

Test the recipe with a detailed response and a thinner one. A reusable recipe should produce a useful result when the evidence varies, without filling gaps itself.

When reviewing the tests, separate two kinds of problem:

• Edit the recipe when the same structural or editorial problem appears repeatedly.
• Improve the conversation when the source consistently lacks the evidence the output needs.

Control changes deliberately

Keep a developing recipe Private. Use Team when others can understand its purpose and review its output without extra instructions.

Editing a recipe affects future generations. It does not rewrite results that have already been generated. Use Regenerate only when you want the saved result replaced with a new version based on the revised recipe.

Even a well-tested recipe produces a draft. Check attribution, quotes, figures, confidentiality, and participant approval before sharing the result outside holito.