Module 2 - Lesson 2d: Extended Prompts with Anthropic

Lesson 2d: Extended Prompts with Anthropic Claude

Learn how to craft detailed, comprehensive prompts that leverage Claude's large context window and excellent reasoning capabilities.

Claude's Advantage

Anthropic Claude supports up to 200,000 tokens of context - perfect for long, detailed prompts that would overwhelm other models.

Code Example

Create src/anthropic/extended-prompt.ts:

import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
import dotenv from "dotenv";

// Load environment variables
dotenv.config();

// Create Anthropic client with typed configuration
const anthropic = new Anthropic();

// Async function with proper return type
async function extendedPrompt(): Promise<void> {
  try {
    console.log("Testing Anthropic connection...");

    // Make API call - response is automatically typed!
    // Using a system prompt along with user prompt
    const response = await anthropic.messages.create({
      model: "claude-haiku-4-5",
      max_tokens: 1000,
      system:
        "You are a helpful travel assistant. Provide detailed travel suggestions based on user preferences and give a guide to the destination and include distance from the airport.",
      messages: [
        {
          role: "user",
          content:
            "Suggest a travel destination within Europe where there is a Christmas market that is famous but is not in a big city. I would like to go somewhere that is less than 2 hours from a major airport and has good public transport links.",
        },
      ],
    });

    console.log("✅  Extended Prompt Success!");
    // show response usage
    console.log("Tokens used:");
    console.dir(response.usage, { depth: null });

    // Check if we got a response
    if (!response.content || response.content.length === 0) {
      throw new Error("No content in response");
    }

    // Extract text
    const textBlocks = response.content.filter(
      (block) => block.type === "text"
    );

    if (textBlocks.length === 0) {
      throw new Error("No text content in response");
    }

    // TypeScript knows the structure of response

    console.log(
      "AI Response:",
      textBlocks.map((block) => block.text).join("\n")
    );
  } catch (error) {
    // Proper error handling with type guards
    if (error instanceof Anthropic.APIError) {
      console.log("❌ API Error:", error.status, error.message);
    } else if (error instanceof Error) {
      console.log("❌ Error:", error.message);
    } else {
      console.log("❌ Unknown error occurred");
    }
  }
}

// Run the test
extendedPrompt().catch((error) => {
  console.error("Error:", error);
});

Run It

pnpm tsx src/anthropic/extended-prompt.ts

---

Crafting Extended Prompts

Basic vs Extended Prompts

Basic Prompt:

Suggest a travel destination

Extended Prompt:

Suggest a travel destination within Europe where there is a Christmas
market that is famous but is not in a big city. I would like to go
somewhere that is less than 2 hours from a major airport and has good
public transport links.

The extended version provides:

• Geographic constraints (Europe)
• Specific attraction (Christmas market)
• Size preference (not a big city)
• Accessibility requirements (airport distance, transport)

---

Extended Prompt Patterns

1. Context + Constraints + Requirements

content: `I'm planning a family vacation with two children (ages 6 and 9)
for next summer. We have a budget of $5000 for a week-long trip.

Requirements:
- Family-friendly activities
- Safe destination
- English widely spoken or easy to navigate
- Good weather in July/August
- Not too expensive
- Within 10 hours flight from New York

Please suggest 3 destinations with brief explanations for each.`

2. Multi-Step Instructions

system: "You are a code review expert specializing in TypeScript.",
content: `Review this TypeScript code and provide:

1. Security vulnerabilities (if any)
2. Performance issues
3. Best practice violations
4. Suggested improvements with code examples
5. Overall quality rating (1-10)

Code:
\`\`\`typescript
${codeToReview}
\`\`\`

Format your response with clear sections for each point.`

3. Role + Context + Task + Format

system: `You are an experienced data analyst with expertise in e-commerce.`,
content: `Context: Our online store has seen a 30% drop in conversion rates
over the past 3 months despite increased traffic.

Data summary:
- Traffic: +40% increase
- Bounce rate: +15% increase
- Average session time: -2 minutes decrease
- Cart abandonment: +25% increase

Task: Analyze this situation and provide:
1. Likely root causes (ranked by probability)
2. Recommended diagnostic tests
3. Potential solutions for the top 3 causes
4. Implementation priority

Format: Use bullet points and include specific metrics to track.`

---

Leveraging Claude's Strengths

1. Long Context Analysis

Claude can handle entire documents:

const document = `[Insert 10-page document here]`;

const response = await anthropic.messages.create({
  model: "claude-sonnet-4-5",  // Use Sonnet for complex analysis
  max_tokens: 2000,
  system: "You are an expert document analyst.",
  messages: [{
    role: "user",
    content: `Analyze this contract and:
    1. Summarize key terms
    2. Identify potential risks
    3. Flag unusual clauses
    4. Provide recommendations

    Contract:
    ${document}`
  }]
});

2. Multi-Turn Reasoning

content: `Let's solve this problem step by step:

Problem: A train leaves Chicago at 9am traveling at 60mph toward
New York (800 miles away). Another train leaves New York at 10am
traveling at 80mph toward Chicago.

Questions:
1. When will they meet?
2. How far from Chicago will they meet?
3. Show your work for each step.`

3. Structured Output Requests

content: `Analyze the top 5 programming languages in 2026 and provide
a comparison in this exact format:

For each language, include:
- Name
- Primary use cases (3-5 bullet points)
- Strengths (3 points)
- Weaknesses (3 points)
- Market trend (growing/stable/declining)
- Recommended for beginners? (yes/no with brief reason)

Format as a markdown table for easy reading.`

---

Best Practices for Extended Prompts

1. Structure Your Prompt

Use clear sections:

Context: [Background information]
Requirements: [What you need]
Constraints: [Limitations]
Task: [What to do]
Format: [How to respond]

2. Be Specific

❌ Vague:

Tell me about travel options

✅ Specific:

List 3 budget-friendly beach destinations in Southeast Asia
accessible from Bangkok, suitable for solo travelers in March,
with estimated costs per day.

3. Break Down Complex Tasks

content: `Task 1: First, list all European cities with famous Christmas markets
Task 2: Filter to only cities with population under 500,000
Task 3: Check which have airports within 2 hours
Task 4: Rank by public transport quality
Task 5: Recommend top 3 with explanation`

4. Provide Examples

content: `Generate product descriptions in this style:

Example:
"The Aurora Backpack: Where functionality meets adventure.
Crafted from weather-resistant canvas with ergonomic straps,
this 30L companion transforms your daily commute into an expedition.
Features: Laptop sleeve, water bottle pockets, hidden security
compartment. $89.99"

Now create descriptions for:
1. Wireless headphones
2. Smart water bottle
3. Portable charger`

---

Common Patterns

Research & Analysis

system: "You are a market research analyst.",
content: `Research the electric vehicle market and provide:

1. Current market size and growth rate
2. Top 5 manufacturers by market share
3. Key technological trends
4. Regulatory environment summary
5. 5-year outlook

Include specific numbers and cite reasoning.`

Planning & Strategy

system: "You are a project management consultant.",
content: `Create a 3-month launch plan for a new SaaS product:

Product: AI-powered customer support chatbot
Target: Small businesses (10-50 employees)
Budget: $50,000
Team: 2 developers, 1 designer, 1 marketer

Provide:
- Week-by-week timeline
- Resource allocation
- Key milestones
- Risk factors
- Success metrics`

Code & Technical Tasks

system: "You are a senior full-stack developer.",
content: `Design a scalable REST API for a social media platform:

Requirements:
- User authentication and profiles
- Post creation/editing/deletion
- Comments and likes
- Following/followers
- Feed generation
- Real-time notifications

Provide:
1. API endpoint structure
2. Data models
3. Authentication strategy
4. Caching approach
5. Scaling considerations`

---

Key Takeaways

• ✅ Claude excels at long, detailed prompts (200k context)
• ✅ Structure prompts with clear sections
• ✅ Provide context, requirements, and constraints
• ✅ Break complex tasks into steps
• ✅ Specify output format explicitly
• ✅ Use examples to guide the response style

---

Next Steps

Learn how to stream responses in real-time for better UX!

Next: Lesson 2e - Streaming Responses →

---

Quick Reference

// Extended prompt structure
const response = await anthropic.messages.create({
  model: "claude-haiku-4-5",
  max_tokens: 2000,
  system: "[Detailed role and expertise]",
  messages: [{
    role: "user",
    content: `
Context: [Background]
Requirements: [What you need]
Constraints: [Limitations]
Task: [Specific request]
Format: [Output structure]
    `
  }]
});