system-prompts-and-models-of-ai-tools/HOW_TO_EXTRACT_PROMPTS.md

🔍 How to Extract AI Tool Prompts

A comprehensive guide to discovering and documenting system prompts from AI coding tools

---

📋 Overview

This guide explains ethical methods for obtaining system prompts from AI coding assistants. We prioritize:

• ✅ Legal methods - Public sources, official documentation
• ✅ Ethical practices - Respect for intellectual property
• ✅ Transparency - Clear source attribution
• ❌ No unauthorized access - No hacking or ToS violations

---

🎯 Method 1: Official Documentation

Difficulty: Easy
Reliability: High
Legality: ✅ Completely legal

Sources:

1. Official GitHub Repositories

   • Many tools are open source
   • Prompts in code or config files
   • Example: Bolt, Cline, RooCode

2. Documentation Sites

   • Some vendors publish prompts
   • API documentation
   • Developer guides

3. Blog Posts & Announcements

   • Launch announcements
   • Technical deep dives
   • Behind-the-scenes posts

How to Find:

# Search GitHub
site:github.com "system prompt" OR "system instructions" [tool name]

# Search documentation
site:[tool-domain.com] "prompt" OR "instructions"

# Search for technical posts
[tool name] "system prompt" blog

Example:

• Anthropic Claude: Published in API docs
• Bolt.new: Open source on GitHub
• Cline: Full system prompt in repository

---

🎯 Method 2: Browser Developer Tools

Difficulty: Medium
Reliability: High
Legality: ✅ Legal (for tools you have access to)

For Web-Based Tools (v0, Bolt, Replit, etc.):

Step 1: Open Developer Tools

• Press F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux)
• Press Cmd+Option+I (Mac)

Step 2: Go to Network Tab

• Clear existing requests (🚫 icon)
• Start recording

Step 3: Trigger AI Request

• Ask the AI a question
• Request code generation
• Start a new chat

Step 4: Find API Calls

• Look for requests to:
  • /api/chat
  • /v1/messages
  • /completions
  • OpenAI/Anthropic endpoints

Step 5: Inspect Request Payload

{
  "model": "gpt-4",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "system",
      "content": "This is the system prompt..." // <-- Here!
    },
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "User message"
    }
  ]
}

Step 6: Copy System Prompt

• Click on the request
• Go to "Payload" or "Request" tab
• Find the system message
• Copy the content

Screenshot Guidance:

Network Tab → Select API Call → Payload
└── Look for: "role": "system"
    └── Copy: "content": "..."

---

🎯 Method 3: IDE Extension Inspection

Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Reliability: High
Legality: ✅ Legal (for extensions you've installed)

For VS Code Extensions (Cursor, Copilot, etc.):

Method A: Extension Files (Windows)

1. Find Extension Directory:

   # VS Code extensions
   cd $env:USERPROFILE\.vscode\extensions
   
   # Cursor extensions
   cd $env:USERPROFILE\.cursor\extensions
   

2. List Installed Extensions:

   Get-ChildItem -Directory
   

3. Search for Prompts:

   # Search all JS files for "system" or "prompt"
   Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.js" | Select-String -Pattern "system.*prompt|You are|Your role"
   

4. Common Locations:

   • extension.js
   • out/extension.js
   • dist/extension.js
   • prompts/system.txt

Method B: Runtime Inspection

1. Open Extension Host DevTools:

   • VS Code: Ctrl+Shift+P → "Developer: Toggle Developer Tools"
   • Look for "Extension Host" console

2. Inspect Network Requests:

   • Same as browser method
   • Look for API calls to AI providers

3. Search Memory (Advanced):

   • Use Chrome DevTools memory profiler
   • Search for string patterns

For JetBrains IDEs:

1. Find Plugin Directory:

   # Linux/Mac
   ~/.config/JetBrains/[IDE]/plugins/
   
   # Windows
   %APPDATA%\JetBrains\[IDE]\plugins\
   

2. Search JAR Files:

   # Extract and search
   unzip plugin.jar -d temp/
   grep -r "system prompt" temp/
   

---

🎯 Method 4: API Documentation

Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Reliability: High
Legality: ✅ Completely legal

For API-Based Tools:

1. Read Official API Docs:

   • OpenAI API documentation
   • Anthropic API documentation
   • Tool-specific APIs

2. Look for Example Requests:

   • Usually include system messages
   • May show recommended prompts

3. Check SDKs:

   # Example: Python SDK might include prompts
   import tool_sdk
   print(tool_sdk.DEFAULT_SYSTEM_PROMPT)
   

Examples:

• Claude API: Shows system prompt structure
• OpenAI API: Example system messages
• Tool SDKs: Often include default prompts

---

🎯 Method 5: Community Sharing

Difficulty: Easy
Reliability: Medium
Legality: ✅ Legal (shared willingly)

Sources:

1. Discord Servers:

   • Tool-specific servers
   • AI development communities
   • Developer channels

2. Reddit:

   • r/OpenAI
   • r/LocalLLaMA
   • r/ClaudeAI
   • r/coding

3. Twitter/X:

   • Developers sharing findings
   • Tool announcements
   • Technical threads

4. GitHub Discussions:

   • Tool repositories
   • Community Q&A

5. Blog Posts:

   • Technical breakdowns
   • Reverse engineering writeups

How to Search:

# Discord
Search: "system prompt" OR "system instructions"

# Reddit
site:reddit.com [tool name] "system prompt"

# Twitter
from:@[developer] "system prompt"

---

🎯 Method 6: Packet Capture (Advanced)

Difficulty: Hard
Reliability: High
Legality: ⚠️ Only for tools you own/have access to

Using Wireshark/mitmproxy:

Warning: Only use this method for tools you have legitimate access to.

Step 1: Install mitmproxy

pip install mitmproxy

Step 2: Configure Tool to Use Proxy

# Set environment variables
export HTTP_PROXY=http://localhost:8080
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://localhost:8080

Step 3: Start mitmproxy

mitmproxy

Step 4: Use Tool

• Make AI requests
• Watch for API calls in mitmproxy

Step 5: Inspect Traffic

• Look for JSON payloads
• Find system messages

---

✅ Verification & Validation

After Extracting a Prompt:

1. Test It:

   • Use with API directly
   • Verify behavior matches tool
   • Check for completeness

2. Check Version:

   • Note extraction date
   • Look for version indicators
   • Track changes over time

3. Validate Completeness:

   • Is it the full prompt?
   • Are there multiple parts?
   • Any missing context?

4. Document Source:

   • Where you found it
   • When you extracted it
   • Method used
   • Any modifications

---

📝 Documentation Template

When documenting extracted prompts:

# [Tool Name] System Prompt

**Version:** [version or date]
**Source:** [method + URL/location]
**Extracted:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Extracted By:** [your name/handle]
**Validation:** [tested/verified/partial]

---

## Extraction Method

[Describe how you obtained this prompt]

## Validation

[How you verified accuracy]

## Notes

[Any caveats, incompleteness, etc.]

---

[ACTUAL PROMPT CONTENT]

---

⚖️ Legal & Ethical Considerations

✅ DO:

• Use tools you have legitimate access to
• Respect terms of service
• Document sources clearly
• Share for educational purposes
• Attribute properly
• Ask permission when possible

❌ DON'T:

• Hack or unauthorized access
• Violate terms of service
• Share confidential information
• Steal proprietary data
• Misrepresent source
• Use for commercial harm

Gray Areas:

• Reverse engineering for personal use: Generally legal
• Sharing publicly: Depends on ToS and jurisdiction
• Educational purposes: Usually protected (fair use)
• Commercial use: More legally risky

When in doubt: Consult legal counsel or don't share publicly.

---

🔧 Tools & Software

Recommended Tools:

Browser:

• Chrome/Edge DevTools - Best for web tools
• Firefox Developer Tools - Alternative

Network:

• mitmproxy - HTTPS proxy inspection
• Wireshark - Packet capture (advanced)
• Charles Proxy - GUI-based proxy

File Search:

• grep (Linux/Mac) - Search text files
• ripgrep - Fast search
• Select-String (PowerShell) - Windows search

Code Analysis:

• VS Code - View extension files
• jadx - Decompile Android apps (for mobile tools)
• JD-GUI - Java decompiler

---

📊 Success Rates by Method

Method	Success Rate	Difficulty	Time Required
Official Docs	30%	Easy	5 min
Browser DevTools	80%	Medium	10 min
Extension Inspection	70%	Medium	20 min
API Docs	40%	Easy	10 min
Community Sharing	50%	Easy	Variable
Packet Capture	90%	Hard	30 min

---

🎓 Example Walkthroughs

Example 1: Extracting from Web Tool

Tool: v0 by Vercel
Method: Browser DevTools

1. Open https://v0.dev
2. Press F12 (DevTools)
3. Network tab → Filter: Fetch/XHR
4. Ask v0 to generate code
5. Find POST request to /api/...
6. Click request → Payload tab
7. Look for system or instructions
8. Copy content
9. Format and document

Result: System prompt extracted in ~5 minutes

---

Example 2: Extracting from VS Code Extension

Tool: Cursor (VS Code fork)
Method: Extension file inspection

1. Navigate to extensions directory
2. Find Cursor extension folder
3. Search for .js files containing "system"
4. Open extension.js in editor
5. Search for prompt patterns
6. Extract and clean up
7. Verify with actual tool behavior

Result: Prompt found in ~15 minutes

---

🔍 Common Patterns to Search For

When searching files, look for:

// Common patterns
"You are a helpful"
"You are an AI"
"Your role is to"
"system prompt"
"system_prompt"
"systemMessage"
"SYSTEM_PROMPT"
"instructions"
"<system>"

---

🚨 Red Flags

Stop if you encounter:

• ❌ Encrypted/obfuscated prompts (don't decrypt)
• ❌ Clear ToS violations
• ❌ Security warnings
• ❌ Authentication bypasses required
• ❌ Proprietary markings (confidential, internal, etc.)

---

📚 Additional Resources

• OpenAI Cookbook: Prompt engineering examples
• Anthropic Documentation: Claude best practices
• Awesome Prompts: Community-curated prompts
• PromptBase: Commercial prompt marketplace
• GitHub Topics: #prompt-engineering

---

🤝 Contributing Your Findings

Found a prompt? Share it!

1. Check MISSING_TOOLS.md - Is it on our list?
2. Document properly - Use the template above
3. Create pull request - Follow CONTRIBUTING.md
4. Join discussion - Discord/GitHub Discussions

---

❓ FAQ

Q: Is this legal?
A: Methods 1-5 are generally legal. Method 6 requires caution. Always respect ToS.

Q: Can I share extracted prompts publicly?
A: Depends on the source and ToS. Educational use is usually fair use.

Q: What if the tool is closed source?
A: Methods 2-6 may work, but verify legality first.

Q: How do I know if I have the complete prompt?
A: Test it with the API and compare behavior to the actual tool.

Q: Can companies change prompts after I extract them?
A: Yes! Always document the version/date.

---

📞 Need Help?

• GitHub Issues: Ask questions
• Discord: Real-time help
• Discussions: Long-form questions

---

Last Updated: 2025-01-02
This guide is for educational purposes only.
Always respect intellectual property and terms of service.