Project Course Prompts Cheat Sheet

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AI · Project Course Prompts Cheat Sheet

How course prompts of the form topic<course>-<chapter> behave, from rules/prompt_rules.md (agreed 2026-11-03), rules P5, P7, P9 and P11 and CLAUDE.md. Applies to ordinary and language courses.

Prompt forms

art1Same prompt as art1-1: course name, then course number, then optional -chapter.
react1-3Course 1 of react, chapter 3.
no separatorNever an underscore or space between the name and number.
german_basic2-5Language courses use the same shape: <language>_basic<course>-<chapter>.

Chapter 1 prompts (art1 / art1-1)

no outline yetWrites the outline (_outline.md), lists anything unclear, then stops. The streak is unchanged.
outline exists, no Ch 1Says the outline exists, then writes Chapter 1. Streak +1.
Chapter 1 existsError. Claude says so and the streak resets.

Any other chapter (art1-2, art1-3...)

outline missingIncorrect prompt. Streak resets and Claude asks for art1 or art1-1. No outline is written.
chapter already writtenError. Streak resets.
next expected chapterWrites it. Streak +1.
not the next oneClaude asks: continue and keep the streak, or reset it. If you say continue, it writes the chapter.

Streak

+1Whenever a chapter is written.
unchangedOutline-only replies, and clarifying questions and answers.
resetThe error cases above.
where it livesA tally in Claude's memory, updated after every course prompt.

Files and names

_outline.mdThe course outline, in the course folder; read only when generating that course's chapters.
<course_name_snake>_<course#>_<chapter#>.htmlChapter file, from the full course name, e.g. frontend_testing_1_1.html. Courses before 2026-07-08 keep the older <prefix><course>-<chapter>.html.
solutions/<prefix><course>-<chapter>_exercise<N>.txtOne solution file per coding challenge, in the course's solutions/ folder.
<subject>/<course>/Course folder under content/; follow how sibling courses are nested; ask if no subject fits.

Chapter contents

banner commentFirst in the file: Course, Chapter, File, Topic, Date Created / Date Updated (rule P1).
stylingTwo stylesheet links and a <genre>-lesson <course-slug> wrapper. No per-chapter <style>.
3 coding challengesEach in a .challenge-block linking, in a new tab, to its solution .txt.
tables and codeComparison tables against known technologies where useful; code blocks per rule P12.

flesh out <topic> (P9)

how many courses1-4, from the topic's real scope, following similar finished courses.
outline per courseFull chapter list written to <course>/_outline.md.
tracking rowsA row in course_folder_mapping.md and a line in course_prompts.md.
neverGenerates chapter content. The outline is the deliverable.

When the last chapter lands (P4, P7)

combined PDFpy scripts/python/build_course_pdf.py <folder> writes <folder>/pdfs/<Title>_Course.pdf.
course_prompts.mdStatus becomes Complete; the row is trimmed to prompt, title, Complete and moved to Completed Courses.
course_folder_mapping.mdRow added when the outline is approved and updated when the course completes.
no PDF builtListed in rules/pending_pdfs.md rather than skipped silently.
later chapter promptsAny chapter prompt for a finished course is an error.

Cross-references (P11)

in proseWrite the full course name plus chapter number, e.g. SEO Fundamentals 9, not seo1-9, and not in code styling.
finding the nameGrep the prefix in course_prompts.md, then course_name_index.md, then course_folder_mapping.md.
not foundAsk rather than guess.
old chaptersExisting seo1-9-style references stay unless a rewrite is requested.
Snapshot
Snapshot of the rule files as at 2026-11-08, summarised by reading them. Nothing was run to test it. If this sheet and a rule file ever disagree, the rule file wins, and the sheet needs regenerating. Rarely used prompt types are not covered.