PromptScript vs Manual Configuration¶
The Manual Approach¶
Without PromptScript, teams maintain separate configuration files for each AI tool in every repository. Even with just 2–3 tools, this quickly becomes unmanageable across many repos:
| Problem | Impact |
|---|---|
| No single source of truth | Instructions drift between tools |
| No validation | Errors go undetected until runtime |
| No inheritance | Copy-paste across repos |
| No audit trail | Who changed what and when? |
| Manual updates | One policy change = PRs in every repo, for every tool |
| Vendor lock-in | Switching tools means rewriting instructions, READMEs, and docs |
The PromptScript Approach¶
With PromptScript, you write one .prs file and compile to all 37 agents:
@meta { id: "my-project" syntax: "1.0.0" }
@inherit @company/backend-standards
@identity {
"""
You are an expert developer working on the API service.
"""
}
@standards {
code: { languages: ["TypeScript"], testing: ["Vitest"] }
}
@restrictions {
- "Never expose API keys"
- "Always validate input"
}
Generates all output files automatically:
| Benefit | How |
|---|---|
| Single source of truth | One .prs file, 37 outputs |
| Compile-time validation | Errors caught before deployment |
| Hierarchical inheritance | Org → Team → Project |
| Full audit trail | Git history on .prs files |
| Automated updates | Change registry, all repos update |
| Tool-agnostic | Switch tools without rewriting |
Side-by-Side Comparison¶
| Aspect | Manual | PromptScript |
|---|---|---|
| Files per repo | 5-37 | 1 |
| Update a policy | 100+ PRs | 1 registry update |
| Add new tool | Write new file format | prs compile |
| Validation | None | Compile-time + CI/CD |
| Inheritance | Copy-paste | @inherit / @use |
| Consistency | Hope for the best | Guaranteed |
| Onboarding time | Hours per tool | Minutes |
Getting Started¶
Ready to switch? See the Migration Guide to convert existing configs, or start fresh with the Getting Started guide.