Version Your Prompts with LangWatch Prompts CLI

Determine Scope

If the user's request is general ("set up prompt versioning", "version my prompts"):

• Read the full codebase to find all hardcoded prompt strings
• Study git history to understand what changed and why: focus on agent behavior changes, prompt tweaks, bug fixes. Read commit messages for context.
• Set up the Prompts CLI and create managed prompts for each hardcoded prompt
• Update all application code to use langwatch.prompts.get()

If the user's request is specific ("version this prompt", "create a new prompt version"):

• Focus on the specific prompt
• Create or update the managed prompt
• Update the relevant code to use langwatch.prompts.get()

Plan Limits

LangWatch's free plan has limits on prompts, scenarios, evaluators, experiments, and datasets. When you hit a limit, the API returns "Free plan limit of N reached..." with an upgrade link.

How to handle:

• Work within the limits. If 3 resources of the relevant type are allowed, create 3 meaningful ones, not 10.
• Make every creation count: each one should demonstrate clear value.
• Show what works FIRST. If you hit a limit, summarize what was accomplished and note that upgrading the plan raises it. Point to the subscription settings on the platform, or to the license settings if the CLI is pointed at a self-hosted endpoint. Read the endpoint the CLI actually uses, which can come from .env, from the process environment, or from the saved CLI configuration.
• Do NOT delete existing resources to make room or repurpose an existing resource to evade the limit.

Step 1: Read the Prompts CLI Docs

Then specifically read the Prompts CLI guide:

langwatch docs prompt-management/cli

CRITICAL: Do NOT guess how to use the Prompts CLI. Read the docs first.

Step 2: Initialize Prompts in the Project

langwatch prompt init

Creates a prompts.json config and a prompts/ directory in the project root.

Step 3: Create a Managed Prompt for Each Hardcoded Prompt

Scan the codebase for hardcoded prompt strings (system messages, instructions). For each:

langwatch prompt create <name>

Edit the generated .prompt.yaml file to match the original prompt content.

Model: keep the generated model on a current model. Store the alias openai/latest rather than a version number: LangWatch resolves it to the current flagship at run time, so the prompt does not go a generation stale every release. Do not default a new prompt to a legacy model like gpt-4o-mini; pick one only when the user is trading quality for cost or latency on purpose.

Temperature: the gpt-5 family rejects a custom temperature, so do not add modelParameters.temperature for those models. create omits it on purpose.

Structured outputs: if the prompt must return strict JSON, add a response_format block instead of asking for JSON in prose:

response_format:
  name: product_category
  schema:
    type: object
    properties:
      category: { type: string }
      reasoning: { type: string }
    required: [category, reasoning]
    additionalProperties: false

response_format round-trips losslessly through sync/pull. See langwatch docs prompt-management/cli for the full format.

Step 4: Update Application Code

Replace every hardcoded prompt string with a call to langwatch.prompts.get().

Python (BAD → GOOD):

agent = Agent(instructions="You are a helpful assistant.")

import langwatch
prompt = langwatch.prompts.get("my-agent")
agent = Agent(instructions=prompt.compile().messages[0]["content"])

TypeScript (BAD → GOOD):

const systemPrompt = "You are a helpful assistant.";

const langwatch = new LangWatch();
const prompt = await langwatch.prompts.get("my-agent");

CRITICAL: Do NOT wrap langwatch.prompts.get() in a try/catch with a hardcoded fallback string. The whole point of prompt versioning is that prompts are managed externally. A fallback defeats this by silently reverting to a stale hardcoded copy.

Step 5: Sync to the Platform

langwatch prompt sync

Step 6: Tag Versions for Deployment

Three built-in tags: latest (auto-assigned), production, staging. Update code to fetch by tag:

prompt = langwatch.prompts.get("my-agent", tag="production")

const prompt = await langwatch.prompts.get("my-agent", { tag: "production" });

Assign tags via the CLI (or the Deploy dialog in the LangWatch UI):

langwatch prompt tag assign my-agent production

For canary or blue/green deployments, create custom tags with langwatch prompt tag create.

Step 7: Verify

Run langwatch prompt list to confirm everything synced, or open the Prompts section in the LangWatch app.

Common Mistakes

• Do NOT hardcode prompts. Always fetch via langwatch.prompts.get()
• Do NOT add a hardcoded fallback string in a try/catch; that silently defeats versioning
• Do NOT manually edit prompts.json. Use the CLI
• Do NOT skip langwatch prompt sync after creating prompts
• Prefer the flagship alias openai/latest (or openai/latest-mini for the fast tier). Pin a version only when a prompt is tuned to one, and pick an older model like gpt-4o-mini only when intentionally optimizing for cost or latency
• Do NOT set modelParameters.temperature on a gpt-5-family model; the family rejects it
• Do NOT ask for JSON in the prompt text when output must be structured. Use a response_format block