AI engineering glossary · Prompt context engineering
What is template variable?
Template variable (also called Placeholder): A named placeholder in a prompt template, written like {customer_name}, that the program replaces with a real value each time. Good handling includes escaping unsafe content and checking length, because the inserted text becomes part of the instructions the model reads.
Template variable: an example
In 'Reply to {customer_name} about order {order_id}', the code supplies 'Meera' and 'OD4471'.
Related terms
More Prompt context engineering terms
- Thinking budget
- Token budget
- Token counting
- Token pricing
- Tool choice
- Tool description
- Tool result message
- Tool schema
Where you learn it
Template variable is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.