Claude Cheat Sheet
A quick Claude reference: prompting techniques, ready-to-use prompt patterns, and the features that make Anthropic's AI assistant more useful. Copy-ready examples.
Prompting basics
| Technique | Description | Example prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Tell Claude who it's for and the goal. The biggest lever on answer quality. | I'm a freelance designer emailing a new client. Draft a friendly intro. | |
| Set a persona to focus the tone and depth of the reply. | Act as an experienced copywriter and rewrite this headline. | |
| Ask for the exact shape of output you want back. | Reply as a bulleted list, max 5 points, under 100 words. | |
| State what to include or avoid so the answer fits. | Warm but not pushy, no discounts, no hype words. | |
| Paste a sample of what good looks like and ask Claude to match it. | Match the tone of this paragraph: [paste your writing]. |
Getting better answers
| Technique | Description | Example prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Prompts more careful, accurate reasoning on harder tasks. | Think step by step, then give me the answer. | |
| See how Claude reached a conclusion so you can check it. | Explain your reasoning before you give the recommendation. | |
| Get alternatives instead of a single take. | Give me three different openings, in different tones. | |
| Refine the last answer instead of rewriting the prompt. | Shorter, more formal, and add a data point. | |
| Push back when something seems off. | That doesn't sound right - can you double-check and correct it? |
Writing with Claude
| Technique | Description | Example prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Give samples so drafts sound like you, not generic AI. | Here are two things I've written. Draft in this same voice. | |
| Cut length without losing meaning. | Cut this by 30% and keep the key points. | |
| Shift formality or warmth to fit the audience. | Make this friendlier and less corporate. | |
| Fix flow and grammar without rewriting your voice. | Fix grammar and flow, but keep my wording where you can. | |
| Get unstuck with a rough starting point. | Here's my topic and three points. Draft a first version. |
Documents & analysis
| Technique | Description | Example prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Attach a PDF or paste text and control the length. | Summarize this report in 3 bullet points and list the action items. | |
| Pull specific data out of long content. | List every deadline, name and number mentioned in this document. | |
| Interrogate a file like a colleague who read it all. | Based on this contract, what am I responsible for, and by when? | |
| Surface what's missing, not just what's there. | What important questions does this proposal fail to answer? | |
| Turn one document into another format. | Turn these meeting notes into a short email to my team. |
Features to know
| Technique | Description | Example prompt |
|---|---|---|
| A workspace with custom instructions + reference files shared across every chat in it. | Set brand voice + product notes once, then every chat uses them. | |
| A side panel where generated code, documents or content appear and can be edited. | Ask for a webpage or doc and refine it in the Artifact. | |
| Add PDFs, images, spreadsheets and docs for Claude to work with. | Attach a PDF and ask Claude to summarize or extract from it. | |
| Handles long documents and conversations in one go. | Paste a long article and ask questions across the whole thing. | |
| Standing rules for how Claude should respond to you. | Always answer concisely and ask before making assumptions. |
Frequently asked questions
Is this Claude cheat sheet free?
Yes. It's a free reference of prompting techniques, ready-to-use prompt patterns and key Claude features. No sign-up needed. Copy any example and adapt it to your task.
What is the fastest way to get better results from Claude?
Add context. Tell Claude who the answer is for, what you're trying to achieve, and the format you want. Specific input is the single biggest driver of a useful reply.
Do these prompts work in other AI tools?
Mostly, yes. Good prompting habits (context, clear instructions, examples, asking for reasoning) transfer across assistants like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, so learning them once pays off everywhere.
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