Module 1 - Lesson 3a: Basic Prompt

Example 1: Basic Prompt

This is the simplest form of prompt - just a text input with no system context.

What It Does

Sends a simple text prompt to OpenAI and receives a response. This is the foundation we'll build upon.

Code Snippet

Create src/basic-prompt.ts:

import OpenAI from "openai";
import dotenv from "dotenv";

// Load environment variables
dotenv.config();

// Create OpenAI client
const openai = new OpenAI();

async function basicPrompt(): Promise<void> {
  try {
    console.log("Testing OpenAI connection...");

    // Simple prompt - just text input
    const response = await openai.responses.create({
      model: "gpt-5-nano",
      input: "Suggest a travel destination",
    });

    console.log("✅ Basic Prompt Success!");
    console.log("AI Response:", response.output_text);
    console.log("Tokens used:");
    console.dir(response.usage, { depth: null });
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof OpenAI.APIError) {
      console.log("❌ API Error:", error.status, error.message);
    } else if (error instanceof Error) {
      console.log("❌ Error:", error.message);
    }
  }
}

// Run it
basicPrompt().catch(console.error);

Run It

pnpm tsx src/basic-prompt.ts

Key Points

• Simple input: Just a string
• No context: AI doesn't know its role
• Basic response: Gets a general answer
• Use case: Quick, simple queries