PromptSource
PromptSource is a free, Apache-2.0 open-source toolkit for developers creating, sharing, and using natural-language prompts.
What PromptSource is
PromptSource is a free, Apache-2.0 open-source toolkit for developers creating, sharing, and using natural-language prompts. Its web editor uses Jinja templates and displays outputs on examples. The application includes Sourcing, Prompted dataset viewer, and Helicopter view modes. Prompts are stored in standalone structured files, and the API provides Template, Metadata, DatasetTemplates, and TemplateCollection classes for managing prompts and metadata. Prompts can be applied to examples from the Hugging Face Datasets library. The repository describes the P3 collection as about 2,000 English prompts for more than 170 English datasets as of January 20, 2022. Users can install it with pip and run the local Streamlit app. Hosted versions support browsing, although the BigScience-hosted app disables Sourcing mode. Some datasets require manual downloads, and prompt creation currently calls for Python 3.7 stability.
Good
- Free and open source
- Jinja prompt templates
- API and SDK classes
- Hugging Face Datasets integration
- Local Streamlit app
Watch out
- Some datasets need manual downloads
- Hosted BigScience app disables Sourcing
- Prompt creation currently requires Python 3.7
- Platforms require setup or hosting
Who it suits
PromptSource suits developers who need prompt templates, testing, metadata, and API access. It is also useful for contributors creating prompts for additional datasets.
Verdict
PromptSource offers a developer-oriented prompt editor, library, and API without a paid plan. Review the Python requirement and dataset setup steps when planning local use.
The facts
Each one read from PromptSource's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API
- The API provides Template, Metadata, DatasetTemplates, and TemplateCollection classes to store, manipulate, and use prompts and metadata.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Dataset integration
- Prompts can be applied to examples from the Hugging Face Datasets library.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Hosted access
- The README links to hosted versions for browsing existing prompts and notes that the BigScience hosted app disables Sourcing mode.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Hosted version
- The README links to a hosted version for browsing existing prompts and says its Sourcing mode is disabled.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The README gives pip install promptsource as an installation command for users who do not intend to create new prompts.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Intended audience
- The package metadata lists developers as the intended audience.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Intended contributors
- The contribution guide says a way to grow P3 is to write prompts for new datasets and submit them in a pull request.checked 9 Oct 2026
- License
- The public repository is licensed under Apache-2.0.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Local install
- The README gives pip install promptsource as an installation option and documents launching the app locally with Streamlit.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Manual datasets
- Some datasets require manual download into ~/.cache/promptsource by default, and the location can be overridden with PROMPTSOURCE_MANUAL_DATASET_DIR.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Manual dataset setup
- Some datasets require manual download into ~/.cache/promptsource by default, and the path can be changed with PROMPTSOURCE_MANUAL_DATASET_DIR.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Prompt collection
- The README describes a collection of about 2,000 English prompts for more than 170 English datasets as of January 20, 2022.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Prompt editor
- Its web-based GUI lets developers write prompts in a templating language and view outputs on examples.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Prompt format
- Prompts are stored in standalone structured files and written in Jinja.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Prompt library
- The repository describes a collection called P3, with about 2,000 English prompts for more than 170 English datasets as of January 20, 2022.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Prompt metadata
- Prompt metadata can include the original task flag, whether answer choices appear in the prompt, and evaluation metrics.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- PromptSource is a toolkit for creating, sharing, and using natural language prompts.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Runtime requirement
- The package metadata specifies Python >=3.7,<4.0, and the README says creating prompts through the interface currently requires Python 3.7 for stability.checked 9 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- App modes
- The app has Sourcing, Prompted dataset viewer, and Helicopter view modes.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Local app
- The README says to launch the app locally with streamlit run promptsource/app.py after completing setup.checked 9 Oct 2026
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