{"found":true,"collection":"patterns","library_url":"https://www.grokbotdb.com/library/pat.description-is-the-system-prompt","generated":"2026-09-06T05:32:11Z","citation":["Quote the record id and its source_url (or provenance if there is no URL).","Include last_verified or observed_at when present. Do not present an old date as current.","If tier is community and confidence is low, say so. Do not launder it into a fact.","If the database does not hold the answer, say that. Do not invent Grok Bot product claims.","Contradictions are data: when conflicts_with is present, report both records rather than picking a favourite.","Deprecated and removed records stay visible. They are history, not current guidance."],"record":{"id":"pat.description-is-the-system-prompt","name":"The description is the system prompt","category":"authoring","problem":"Operators treat the Bot creation form as metadata and put the real instruction in chat, then wonder why the Bot forgets it.","technique":"Put standing rules, ownership, sources, tools, deliverable shape, approval boundaries and missing-information behaviour in the Bot description. Keep messages for task-specific instruction only.","why_it_works":"The description survives every conversation and every routine run; a message does not.","when_to_use":"Every Bot, from creation.","when_not_to":"Do not put one-off task detail in the description; it becomes noise re-read on every run.","manual_ref":"1.1","evidence":"documented","source_url":"https://docs.x.ai/grok-bot/get-started","related":["pat.six-question-description","pat.profile-file-structure","pat.tight-descriptions"],"confidence":"high","first_seen":"2026-09-03","last_verified":"2026-09-03"}}