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Atomic can create prompt templates. Ask it to build one for your workflow.

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Prompt Templates

Prompt templates are Markdown snippets that expand into full prompts. Type /name in the editor to invoke a template, where name is the filename without .md. Prerequisites: Atomic installed and running in a project. See the Quickstart. No code or build step is required. Use prompt templates when you repeat the same instructions and want a slash command for them. They are Atomic’s lightest customization option. Use a skill if the agent should decide when to load the instructions, or an extension if you need to run code.

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Locations

Atomic loads prompt templates from:
  • Global: ~/.atomic/agent/prompts/*.md (legacy ~/.pi/agent/prompts/*.md)
  • Project: .atomic/prompts/*.md (legacy .pi/prompts/*.md, only after the project is trusted)
  • Packages: prompts/ directories, atomic.prompts, or legacy pi.prompts entries in package.json
  • Settings: prompts array with files or directories
  • CLI: --prompt-template <path> (repeatable)
Disable discovery with --no-prompt-templates.

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Format

  • The filename becomes the command name. review.md becomes /review.
  • description is optional. If missing, the first non-empty line is used.
  • argument-hint is optional. When set, the hint is displayed before the description in the autocomplete dropdown.
  • Invalid YAML frontmatter (for example an unquoted description: Broken: value) skips only that template and reports a warning naming the file and the parse position; valid sibling templates still load.

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Argument Hints

Use argument-hint in frontmatter to show expected arguments in autocomplete. Use <angle brackets> for required arguments and [square brackets] for optional ones:
This renders in the autocomplete dropdown as:

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Usage

Type / followed by the template name in the editor. Autocomplete shows available templates with descriptions.

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Arguments

Templates support positional arguments, defaults, and simple slicing:
  • $1, $2, … positional args
  • $@ or $ARGUMENTS for all args joined
  • ${1:-default} uses arg 1 when present/non-empty, otherwise default
  • ${@:-default} or ${ARGUMENTS:-default} uses all arguments when present/non-empty, otherwise default
  • ${@:N} for args from the Nth position (1-indexed)
  • ${@:N:L} for L args starting at N
Example:
Default values are useful for optional arguments:
Usage: /component Button "onClick handler" "disabled support" Use "" or '' to pass an empty argument without shifting later positions. For a template containing Review $2. Focus: ${1:-correctness}., /review "" src/index.ts expands to Review src/index.ts. Focus: correctness.

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Loading Rules

  • Template discovery in prompts/ is non-recursive.
  • If you want templates in subdirectories, add them explicitly via prompts settings or a package manifest.

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Next steps

  • Skills — instructions the agent loads on its own when a task matches, instead of on an explicit slash command.
  • Subagents — delegate a focused, bounded task to a child agent.
  • Atomic packages — bundle your prompt templates with skills, themes, and extensions and share them.
  • Build with Atomic — compare every customization mechanism.