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By Anthropic · Question Mode

QuestionQ38

Prompt and Context Engineering

A teammate asks you to explain the distinction between context engineering and prompt engineering. They have heard the terms used interchangeably and are uncertain how each applies to a Claude application that handles long-running, multi-step tasks. How would you describe the difference?

Explanation

Prompt engineering shapes the instructions, examples, constraints, and output format of an individual model interaction. Context engineering manages the relevant information and state supplied throughout a multi-step, long-horizon workflow, including continuity across turns or context windows, so the model retains the information needed for subsequent work.

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