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 50 targets:
@meta { id: "my-project" syntax: "1.5.0" }
@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, up to 50 target outputs |
| Compile-time validation | Errors caught before deployment |
| Hierarchical inheritance | Org → Team → Project |
| Full audit trail | Git history on .prs files |
| Controlled updates | Change registry, then run prs update and recompile in each repo |
| Tool-agnostic | Switch tools without rewriting |
Side-by-Side Comparison¶
| Aspect | Manual | PromptScript |
|---|---|---|
| Files per repo | 5-50 | 2 source files plus generated outputs |
| Update a policy | 100+ manual edits | Registry update, dependency update, recompile |
| 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 | Validated in CI |
| 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.
Evaluating for a team or organization? Also see:
- Target Platform Matrix - exact output paths per tool
- CI/CD Integration - validation and drift detection in your pipeline
- Enterprise Setup - registry, policies, and governance across repositories