Prompt Archaeology
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Prompt archaeology is digging through an old prompt (or someone else's system prompt) to figure out how it works. You reverse-engineer the instructions by observing behavior and testing hypotheses. Like debugging, but fuzzier.
Real Talk
Prompt archaeology is the investigative process of understanding an existing prompt's design by analyzing its behavior, outputs, and sometimes leaked system prompts. Used in auditing AI products, red-teaming, and inheriting undocumented prompt engineering from previous owners. Techniques include probing with edge cases, comparing outputs across prompt variants, and extraction attacks.
When You'll Hear This
"I did some prompt archaeology on the leaked ChatGPT system prompt." / "Inheriting this agent — doing prompt archaeology to understand the logic."
Related Terms
Prompt Engineering
Prompt engineering is the art of talking to AI so it actually does what you want.
Red Teaming
Red teaming in AI is trying to break the AI on purpose — like hiring someone to try to rob your bank so you can find the security holes.
System Prompt
A system prompt is the secret instruction manual you give the AI before the conversation starts. It sets the personality, rules, knowledge, and behavior.