# Show HN: Promptctl – Git for your AI prompts > Source: > Published: 2026-06-25 01:09:05+00:00 Git for your AI prompts. Track, version, diff, and rollback your LLM prompts — just like you version your code. ``` bash $ promptctl commit system --file prompts/system.txt -m "initial" ✓ Committed prompt "system" as v1 $ promptctl commit system --file prompts/system.txt -m "added citation rule" ✓ Committed prompt "system" as v2 $ promptctl diff system --- system v1 (2026-06-01 09:12) +++ system v2 (2026-06-03 14:47) - You are a helpful assistant. + You are a helpful assistant. Always cite your sources. $ promptctl rollback system 1 -m "reverting — citation hurt recall" ✓ Rolled back "system" to v1 → saved as v3 ``` Your prompts live in random places — hardcoded in files, buried in Notion docs, copy-pasted in Slack. When something breaks or stops working well, you have no idea: - What the prompt looked like last week when it *was*working - What changed between versions - Which version performed best - How to get back to a specific point promptctl solves this. It's `git` for prompts. Requires [Go 1.22+](https://go.dev/dl/). ``` go install github.com/naya-ai/promptctl/cmd/promptctl@latest ``` Or build from source: ``` git clone https://github.com/naya-ai/promptctl.git cd promptctl make build # binary at bin/promptctl # or: go build -o bin/promptctl ./cmd/promptctl/ # 1. Initialize in your project (creates .promptctl/store.json) promptctl init # 2. Save your first prompt version echo "You are a helpful assistant." | promptctl commit system -m "initial" # 3. Make a change and save it echo "You are a helpful assistant. Always cite sources." | promptctl commit system -m "added citation rule" --model claude-3 # 4. See the history promptctl log system --preview # 5. Compare latest vs. previous promptctl diff system # 6. Roll back promptctl rollback system 1 -m "reverting" ``` Initialize promptctl in the current directory. Creates `.promptctl/store.json` . ``` promptctl init ``` Save a new version of a prompt. ``` # From stdin echo "You are a helpful assistant." | promptctl commit system -m "initial" # From a file (recommended for longer prompts) promptctl commit system --file prompts/system.txt -m "from file" # With metadata promptctl commit classifier -m "optimized for speed" --model gpt-4o-mini --tag prod # Interactive — type END on its own line to finish promptctl commit system -m "manual entry" ``` Flags: `-m` /`--message` — commit message (default:`"add version N"` )`--model` — tag with the model this prompt targets`--tag` — add a label to this version`-f` /`--file` — read content from a file instead of stdin Show version history. ``` promptctl log # all prompts promptctl log system # one prompt promptctl log system --preview # show content snippets promptctl log system --tag prod # filter by tag promptctl log system --json # machine-readable output ``` Compare versions side by side with color highlighting. ``` promptctl diff system # latest vs. previous promptctl diff system 2 # v2 vs. latest promptctl diff system 1 3 # v1 vs. v3 ``` Show a prompt version. ``` promptctl show system # latest version promptctl show system 2 # specific version promptctl show system --raw # content only (good for piping) promptctl show system --json # full JSON promptctl show system --copy # copy to clipboard (macOS/Linux) promptctl show system --version-at 2026-06-01 # version that was latest on that date ``` Restore a previous version. Creates a new version (non-destructive). ``` promptctl rollback system 1 promptctl rollback system 1 -m "reverting — citation hurt recall" ``` List all tracked prompts. ``` promptctl list promptctl list --json # JSON array with version counts promptctl list --names # one name per line (used by shell completions) ``` Search across content, commit messages, and tags. ``` promptctl search "helpful assistant" promptctl search prod # matches tag "prod" ``` Export all versions of a prompt to Markdown. ``` promptctl export system promptctl export system > system-history.md ``` Fork a prompt with its full version history under a new name. ``` promptctl copy system system-experimental ``` Rename a prompt. All history moves with it. ``` promptctl rename system assistant ``` Delete a prompt and all its versions. ``` promptctl delete system ``` Auto-commit a file whenever it changes on disk. Great for editing prompts in your usual editor and automatically versioning every save. ``` promptctl watch prompts/system.txt --as system promptctl watch prompts/system.txt --as system --model claude-3 --interval 2 ``` Flags: `--as ` — the prompt name to commit under (required)`--model` — tag new versions with this model`--interval ` — polling interval (default: 1) Commit timestamps match the file's modification time, not when promptctl ran. Keep only the N most recent versions and discard the rest. ``` promptctl prune system --keep 10 ``` Show a store-wide overview. ``` promptctl stats Stats: ────────────────────────────────────────────────── Prompts: 4 Total versions: 23 Total content: 8432 chars First commit: 2026-06-01 09:12:00 Last commit: 2026-06-24 15:30:44 Most iterated: system (12 versions) ``` Print a shell completion script. ``` # Bash — add to ~/.bashrc source <(promptctl completion bash) # Zsh — add to ~/.zshrc source <(promptctl completion zsh) # Fish — save to completions directory promptctl completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/promptctl.fish ``` Completions dynamically suggest prompt names for commands that take a `` argument. promptctl stores everything in `.promptctl/store.json` — similar to how `.git/` works. The store is discovered from your current directory or any parent, so commands work from any subdirectory. ``` your-project/ ├── .promptctl/ │ └── store.json ← all prompt versions live here ├── src/ └── ... ``` Add `.promptctl/` to your project's `.gitignore` to keep prompt history local. If your team wants to share versions in git, track only the store file: ``` .promptctl/* !.promptctl/store.json ``` Several commands support `--json` or `--raw` for scripting: ``` # Read the latest version of a prompt promptctl show system --raw # Pipe the latest content into another tool promptctl show system --raw | pbcopy # List prompts as JSON promptctl list --json # Ingest output from a script ./generate-prompt.sh | promptctl commit system -m "generated" # Tag a version for filtering promptctl commit system -m "production" --tag prod --model claude-opus-4-8 # View only tagged versions promptctl log system --tag prod # Find all prompts referencing a tag promptctl search prod ``` promptctl uses only Go's standard library — no external packages, no version conflicts, no `go mod tidy` surprises. One binary, no runtime. - Remote sync (S3, GitHub Gist) - Side-by-side terminal diff view - VS Code extension See [CONTRIBUTING.md](/naya-ai/promptctl/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md). PRs welcome — open an issue first for major changes. ``` git clone https://github.com/naya-ai/promptctl.git cd promptctl make test make build ``` MIT © [Shawnaya Williams](https://shawnayawilliams.com)