Over 12,000 Stars! The Story Behind My GitHub Repo Sharing AI System Prompts… and How You Can Learn from It5 min read·Just now--Hey everyone: developers, AI fans, and curious minds!I’m blown away today. My GitHub project, system-prompts-and-models-of-ai-tools, just passed 12,000 stars! Honestly, it’s pretty surreal.When I started digging into these AI system prompts out of my own curiosity, I never imagined it would resonate with so many people. Seeing it grow into a resource used by thousands worldwide is incredibly humbling. Each star feels like a thumbs-up from someone else who’s curious about what makes these AI tools tick.This isn’t just about a number; it shows how many of us want to peek “under the hood” of AI. It definitely motivates me to keep going! In this post, I want to share what’s inside the repo, why I think this info matters, and the wild ride to 12k+ stars.What’s Inside the Repo? A Look at AI System PromptsSo, what is this repository? It’s basically a collection of the “system prompts” used by various AI applications. These aren’t the prompts you type in; they’re the hidden instructions developers give the AI beforehand.Think of system prompts as the AI’s core programming or rulebook. They tell the AI:How to act: Should it be a helpful assistant, a coding guru, a creative partner?The rules: What it can and can’t do (important guardrails!).How to answer: Should responses be formatted in a certain way (like code blocks)?What tools it can use: Sometimes, prompts explain how to use external tools or data.Its main goal: What is the AI fundamentally trying to achieve?The repo gathers these prompts for several well-known AI tools, including:Vercel’s v0: A tool that generates UI code from prompts. Its system prompt shows how it turns plain language into code.Cursor AI: An AI code editor. Its prompts detail how it understands your codebase to help out.Devin AI: Billed as an “AI software engineer.” Its prompt hints at how it tries to tackle complex coding tasks.Others like Manus, Same.dev, Lovable, Replit Agent: Each has unique instructions tailored to its specific job, showing the different ways AI is being used.Looking at these prompts gives you a cool insight into the design choices behind these AI tools.Why Collect This Stuff? More Than Just CuriosityWhy bother digging up these hidden instructions? It turns out they’re useful for a lot of people:Better Prompting: If you work with LLMs, studying these advanced system prompts is like getting real-world examples of effective prompt engineering. You can borrow techniques for your own projects or even just get better results from everyday AI tools.Understanding AI Behavior: Ever get a weird answer from an AI? The system prompt might explain why. Knowing the rules helps predict responses, understand limitations, and figure out why things sometimes go off track.Product Design Insights: Building your own AI features? Analyzing these prompts reveals how others handle things like user interaction, safety, and defining core functions.Research Material: For AI researchers, this collection offers data to study trends in AI instruction, alignment techniques, and how LLMs are used in practice.AI Transparency: As AI gets more powerful, understanding its underlying instructions is key for trust and responsible development. This project is a small step towards opening up the “black box.”The Unexpected Journey to 12,000+ StarsMy dive into system prompts started simply. I was playing around with Vercel’s v0 and got really curious about its instructions. I thought, “Can I actually find its system prompt?”After some digging with prompt engineering, I managed to pull out what looked like the full v0 prompt. It was fascinating! I figured others might find it interesting too.So, I stuck it on GitHub and shared it on the r/nextjs subreddit. That post got some decent attention (over 1,000 upvotes!).But things really took off when Ian Nuttall spotted the Reddit post and shared it on X (https://x.com/iannuttall/status/1897773437403230580). His tweet, which linked to the repo and said ‘somebody on reddit got the full v0 system prompt’, just exploded… over 8,000 likes! My phone started buzzing constantly, and the GitHub stars climbed like crazy.Honestly, I thought I’d be lucky to get 100 stars. Seeing it jump into the thousands, largely thanks to that tweet and the Reddit visibility, was completely unexpected and super motivating. It showed me people really wanted this kind of information, which pushed me to find prompts for other tools and build out the repository. And now, here we are!It’s About the CommunityWhile the star count is amazing, the best part has been the community that’s formed around the repo. Many prompts and updates came from contributions, suggestions, and discussions from people all over the world.People open issues asking for new tools, submit pull requests with corrections or additions, and discuss the implications. This collaboration keeps the repo useful and up-to-date. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who’s contributed in any way, even just starring the repo helps others find it. This milestone really belongs to the community.What’s Next?Hitting 12k+ stars is awesome, but it feels like just the start. I plan to keep maintaining and growing the repository by:Adding prompts/details for new AI tools as they pop up.Improving organization and maybe adding search features.Looking for interesting patterns across different prompts.Making it even easier for others to contribute.Ready to explore our full roadmap? Check it out here: https://systemprompts.featurebase.app/Join In!If you’re interested in AI, how these tools work, or leveling up your prompt skills, come check it out:Explore the Repo: https://github.com/x1xhlol/system-prompts-and-models-of-ai-toolsLeave a Star: If you find it useful, starring it helps visibility!Contribute: Found a prompt or see an error? Open an issue or pull request!Share this Post: Help spread the word!Thank You!Seriously, thank you to everyone who has starred, contributed to, or learned something from the repository. Building this has been an amazing experience, mostly because of the community engagement.This milestone is a shared one, showing our collective interest in understanding AI. I’m excited to see where we go next!Happy Prompting!Best, Lucas Valbuena (x1xhlol)X: https://x.com/NotLucknite