# Maintaining Prompts Instead of Code

> Source: <https://www.dotnetperls.com/2026_9_21_maintaining-prompts-instead-code>
> Published: 2026-09-21 07:00:00+00:00

So I wrote a 180-line **Markdown file** containing a detailed **specification** of a parsing function needed in my program. I used a local model (Ternary Bonsai 2) to generate the `parse_prompt` function (which returns `ParsedPromptInfo`) in about 30 minutes.

The code was mostly correct, although there were 3 small **compile-time errors** that I fixed. Now my plan is to **maintain the prompt file** instead of the Rust code. This means:

• If I want to optimize the code, I could buy tokens and have GPT-6 Astra or Claude Fable follow the prompt from scratch (I could add a note that I want performance optimizations).

• If I want a different feature, I could just change the prompt file and then have a model rewrite the code.

For now, the **first iteration** from Bonsai was **enough** for my needs—it was 300-400 lines of Rust. As the entire file is just generated code, I should not maintain it directly—it would be better for me to just maintain the prompt Markdown file.