# Write good demo prompts

> What to ask your agent for, so the first take is the one you keep.

Source: https://showtake.app/docs/prompts

One sentence is enough. The agent plans the steps, writes the captions and retakes on its own. A good prompt names three things.

1. **The app.** "the Todos app", "the Mac app in `build/Notes.app`". If the folder holds several schemes, name the scheme.
2. **The story.** One feature from start to finish: "adding a todo and checking it off", "creating a note and sharing it".
3. **The length or use.** "a 20-second demo", "an App Store preview", "a launch clip for X".

```text
Film a 20-second demo of the Todos app showing how to add todos and check them off,
and save it as a replayable flow.
```

## What makes a clean take

The agent aims for **6 to 8 steps and 15 to 30 seconds**, one action per step, each with a caption of at most eight words written for the viewer ("Add a new todo", "Mark it done"). After each take `end_take` judges it: too few steps, too short, the keyboard left open, a step that changed nothing or a failed step make it unclean, and the agent shoots again (up to three times).

Waiting is not a problem: build time, loading and the agent's thinking are cut out of the render. Judge length by `rendered_estimate_s`, not by the raw recording.

## Tips

- **Ask for the captions you want.** "Use the captions: Start in one tap, Write a note, Share it anywhere."
- **Give it data.** Seed content makes demos look real. Pass launch arguments for a demo mode, or `photos` and `location` to `prepare_ios` ([demo mode](https://showtake.app/docs/demo-mode)).
- **Pick the look.** "in dark mode", "on an iPhone 17 Pro Max", "in German".
- **Help it target.** Elements with an `.accessibilityIdentifier` are found by id, which survives copy changes and translations. Without labels the agent falls back to points, which is less robust for replays.
- **Keep it one story.** Two features make two videos: ask for two takes and two flows.

## Prompts that work

```text
Make an App Store preview of the onboarding: open the app fresh, go through the three
onboarding pages and land on the home screen. Light mode, en_US.
```

```text
Film the Mac app at ./build/Release/Notes.app: create a note called "Trip ideas",
add three bullet points and pin it. 1280x800 window.
```

```text
Replay the flow add-and-check-todos in en_US, de_DE and ja_JP.
```