References and the knowledge base
A prompt can use references two ways — to learn a method once at build time, or to pull from a live board or item on every run. Knowing the difference makes your prompts much sharper.
When you give a prompt reference material, you're doing one of two different things — and the builder treats them differently. One teaches the prompt how to do the task. The other is a live knowledge base the prompt reads from every time it runs. Getting this right is the difference between a generic prompt and one that sounds like you.
The two kinds of reference
Teach-from: a source that shows how it's done
A tutorial, a transcript, an example of great work, or a link that demonstrates the method. When you give the builder one of these, it studies it during the build and distills the technique into the prompt's instructions. The lesson gets baked in — the prompt knows the method afterward, so you don't need to keep the source around.
Example: paste a "how to write a viral thread" video. The builder watches it, extracts the structure and tactics, and writes them into your Thread prompt. From then on every thread you generate uses that method.
A one-time teaching source like this usually should not become part of the live knowledge base — its job was to teach the prompt once.
Pull-from: a live knowledge base
Boards or saved items the prompt should open or search every time it runs — your brand guidelines, a swipe file, an ongoing project board, your product notes. These stay attached as the prompt's knowledge base, and the AI consults them on each run so the output reflects current content, not a snapshot.
Example: attach your "Brand voice" board to a prompt. Every draft it produces is checked against the latest guidelines on that board.
How to attach references
When you're building a prompt (or chatting with the builder), give it references the same way you give any Eden chat context:
- Paste a link — an article, video, transcript, or post. Good for teach-from sources.
- Paste text directly — an example draft or a set of rules.
@mention a board or item — pick from the menu. Use this for the pull-from knowledge base.
The builder asks which you mean, and you can tell it: "study this to learn the method" versus "check this board every time you run".
A note for using prompts outside Eden
If you run your prompts through the Eden MCP in Claude or Cursor, a prompt's live knowledge base is a set of Eden board/item references. The assistant can open them with Eden's read tools, but the prompt's Eden-only tools and your saved voice don't travel to the outside client — so a prompt that leans heavily on those works best run inside Eden.
Building your own prompt
Build a prompt by describing a repeatable task in chat. Eden interviews you, writes the instructions, and saves it to your library.
What are prompts in Eden
A prompt is a saved, reusable instruction you run from the chat slash menu. Build a library of repeatable tasks once, then run them anytime.
Sharing a board with a collaborator
Boards are shareable. Generate a viewable or editable link, share it anywhere, and the receiver can read, edit, or duplicate the board as their own.
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