Prompt Basics Guide
What Is a Prompt?
A prompt is the text instruction you send to Kimi. It can be a question, a description, a set of requirements, or even a full task brief. Kimi uses your prompt to understand your intent, structure its response, and complete the task.
In simple terms: the way you ask shapes the way Kimi answers. A clear, specific prompt often leads to a more accurate and useful response.
Four Essentials of a Good Prompt
1. Clarify Your Role and Context
Tell Kimi who you are and the scenario you’re working in. This helps it match the depth and style of its answer to your needs.
2. Describe the Task Specifically
The more specific your description, the fewer rounds of revision you’ll need. A good task description usually includes:
- What to do: clear actions, such as analyze, summarize, translate, generate, compare…
- Output format: table, list, paragraph, code, Markdown…
- Quantity and scope: word count, number of items, time range, region…
- Quality requirements: academic, conversational, concise, detailed…
3. Provide Examples or References
When you have a clear expectation for the output format, giving Kimi an example (Few-shot) can be very effective:
4. Break Down Complex Tasks Step by Step
For complex tasks, split the larger task into smaller steps and guide Kimi through them progressively:
Practical Tips
Make Good Use of Follow-ups and Iteration
Not satisfied with the first answer? Ask a follow-up directly. You don’t need to repeat all the background:
- “Please expand on point 2 in more detail”
- “Make the tone more formal”
- “Please add data sources”
- “Analyze it again from a different angle”
Use Files and Links Effectively
Kimi supports uploads of PDF, Word, Excel, images, and other files. You can also paste a URL directly. Asking questions with files can greatly improve efficiency:
- “Summarize the key points of this PDF”
- “Analyze sales trends based on this Excel data”
- “Read the article at this link and extract the key information”
Specify the Output Format
Tell Kimi exactly what output format you want:
| Need | Example prompt |
|---|---|
| Table comparison | “Please compare the strengths and weaknesses of A and B in a table” |
| Code output | “Please implement it in Python, with comments included” |
| Structured list | “Please organize it as a numbered list, with each item under 20 words” |
| Markdown | “Please output in Markdown format, including heading levels” |
Use System Prompts and Memory
If you have fixed preferences or requirements, you can use Kimi’s memory feature so Kimi remembers them over the long term:
- “Remember that I’m a frontend engineer and prefer the React tech stack”
- “Use Simplified Chinese for future replies and format them in Markdown”
- “When answering technical questions, please include code examples”
This way, you don’t need to repeat the same instructions every time. Kimi will automatically refer to these preferences in future conversations.
Common Pitfalls
| Pitfall | Better approach |
|---|---|
| Putting too many unrelated tasks into one prompt | Start a new conversation for each independent task to keep the context clear |
| Being too vague, such as “Help me write something” | Explain what to write, who it is for, the desired style, and the length |
| Expecting a perfect output in one try | Generate a first draft, then refine it through follow-up questions |
| Not checking the factual accuracy of AI output | Always verify factual information such as data and dates |
Quick-Start Templates
Here are several ready-to-use prompt templates. Copy and adapt them as needed:
Writing
Analysis
Translation
Once you master these core concepts and techniques, you can work with Kimi more efficiently and turn AI into a true productivity tool.