Quick Prompts

Overview

Quick Prompts are saved AI prompt templates. Instead of retyping the same diagnostic question every time a BGP neighbor flaps or an interface starts dropping packets, you save the wording once and run it from the status bar with a couple of clicks. The selected prompt is sent to the AI side panel, automatically prefixed with your current session and topology context.

• Reusable templates — write a good prompt once, reuse it across any session
• Favorites — star frequently used prompts so they sort to the top of the menu
• Live context — NetStacks appends the active session, connected sessions, and active topology to the prompt when you run it
• Org sharing — in Controller (enterprise) mode, prompts can be shared with everyone in your organization

How It Works

Storage

Each Quick Prompt has a name, a prompt body, an is_favorite flag, and (in Controller mode) a shared flag. In Controller mode prompts are stored in the controller database, scoped to your organization and owned by the user who created them. The list endpoint returns each prompt with an owner_name and an is_own flag so the UI can show who created a shared prompt.

Context injection (the dynamic part)

Quick Prompts are sent as-is — the body is plain text, not a templating language. There is no {{variable}} substitution and no per-run input form. What is dynamic is the context block NetStacks appends to the prompt when you run it. Before sending to the AI panel, NetStacks builds a short context section from your current workspace:

• Active Session — the title of the terminal tab you are on
• Connected Sessions — the titles of all tabs currently in a connected state
• Active Topology ID — if you are on a topology tab

The result that the AI actually receives looks like this:

List all VLANs configured on this device and compare them against
our standard VLAN plan (10 Management, 20 Users, 30 VoIP, 40 Printers,
100 Servers, 999 Native/Unused). Flag any non-standard or missing VLANs.

--- Current Context ---
Active Session: core-rtr-01.dc1
Connected Sessions: core-rtr-01.dc1, dist-sw-02.dc1
Active Topology ID: 7f3c1a90-...

The context block is only added when there is something to report. On a fresh workspace with no connected sessions, the prompt is sent with no --- Current Context --- footer.

Sharing and visibility

In Controller mode, a prompt with shared = true is visible to every user in the organization; the list endpoint shows shared prompts alongside your own. Prompts you do not own are read-only — only the creator can edit or delete them.

Managing Prompts

Create, edit, favorite, and delete prompts from Settings → Prompts in the Terminal app (the Manage Prompts... link in the status-bar Prompts menu opens the same place).

Create a prompt

1. Open Settings → Prompts and click + New Prompt.
2. Enter a clear name that identifies the use case, e.g. "Troubleshoot BGP Neighbor" or "VLAN Audit".
3. Write the prompt body in natural language. Be specific about what to analyze and what output format you want.
4. Optionally mark it a favorite so it sorts to the top of the menu.
5. Click Save. The prompt is immediately available from the status bar.

Favorite, edit, delete

In the prompt list, click the star to toggle favorite status, the pencil to edit, or the trash icon to delete. Favorites are grouped and shown first in both the settings list and the status-bar menu.

Running a Prompt

1. Click Prompts in the status bar to open the Quick Prompts menu. Favorites appear first; use the search box to filter by name or body text.
2. Click a prompt to select it.
3. NetStacks appends the current-context block, opens the AI side panel, and submits the combined text as your message.
4. The AI responds with analysis, commands, or recommendations in the side panel, where you can continue the conversation.

To get the most relevant answers, connect to the device(s) you are asking about first so they show up under Connected Sessions, and make the device the active tab so it is listed as the Active Session.

Example Prompts

These are prompt bodies you can paste straight into the editor. They assume the device context is supplied by the appended context block, so they say "this device" rather than using a placeholder.

Troubleshoot BGP neighbor

Analyze the BGP neighbors on this device. For any neighbor not in
Established state, identify the likely cause (authentication mismatch,
AS-number mismatch, reachability, hold-timer expiry) and give the exact
diagnostic and remediation CLI for the platform shown in the context.
Summarize each neighbor as a row: Neighbor, State, Uptime, Prefixes,
Likely Cause, Next Command.

VLAN audit

List all VLANs configured on this device and compare them against our
standard VLAN plan: 10 (Management), 20 (Users), 30 (VoIP),
40 (Printers), 100 (Servers), 999 (Native/Unused). Flag non-standard
VLANs, missing required VLANs, and any VLAN carried on a trunk that
should not be. Present as a table.

Interface health check

Check this device's interfaces for input/output errors, CRC errors,
recent flaps, duplex/speed mismatches, and bandwidth utilization.
Give each interface a health rating (Healthy, Warning, Critical) with a
one-line recommendation where issues are found. Provide the show
commands you used for the platform in the context.

OSPF adjacency check

Show all OSPF neighbors on this device and verify they are FULL.
For any neighbor not in FULL state, explain the current state, what it
means, and the next diagnostic command for this platform.

Controller API

In Controller (enterprise) mode, Quick Prompts are exposed under /api/quick-prompts. The create body fields are name, prompt, is_favorite, and shared (the last two default to false). Requests are authenticated as the calling user and scoped to their organization.

List prompts

curl https://controller.example.net/api/quick-prompts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Each item is returned in this shape:

{
  "id": "7f3c1a90-...",
  "name": "OSPF Neighbor Check",
  "prompt": "Show all OSPF neighbors on this device...",
  "is_favorite": false,
  "shared": true,
  "owner_name": "jdoe",
  "is_own": false,
  "created_at": "2026-06-15T18:04:11Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-06-15T18:04:11Z"
}

Create a prompt

curl -X POST https://controller.example.net/api/quick-prompts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "OSPF Neighbor Check",
    "prompt": "Show all OSPF neighbors on this device and verify they are FULL. For any neighbor not in FULL state, explain the state and the next diagnostic command for this platform.",
    "is_favorite": false,
    "shared": true
  }'

A successful create returns 201 Created with the new prompt object.

Update or delete a prompt

Update with PUT /api/quick-prompts/{id} (all fields optional) and remove with DELETE /api/quick-prompts/{id} (returns 204 No Content). You can only update or delete prompts you own.

# Toggle a prompt to favorite
curl -X PUT https://controller.example.net/api/quick-prompts/7f3c1a90-... \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "is_favorite": true }'

# Delete a prompt
curl -X DELETE https://controller.example.net/api/quick-prompts/7f3c1a90-... \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Questions & Answers

Q: What are Quick Prompts?

A: Reusable AI prompt templates you save in NetStacks. Each has a name and a natural-language body. You run them from the status-bar Prompts menu, and NetStacks sends the body to the AI side panel with a short block of your current session and topology context appended.

Q: Do Quick Prompts support variable placeholders?

A: No. The prompt body is plain text and is sent as-is — there is no {{variable}} substitution or per-run input form. The only dynamic part is the auto-appended Current Context section (active session, connected sessions, active topology ID). Write self-contained prompts that say "this device" and let the context block supply the specifics.

Q: Where do I create and run them?

A: Create and manage them in Settings → Prompts. Run them from the Prompts button in the status bar, which opens a searchable menu with favorites first.

Q: Do I need a Controller/enterprise license?

A: No. Creating and running Quick Prompts is a local Terminal feature available in Personal Mode and Controller mode alike. Only org-wide sharing (the shared flag and cross-user visibility) requires a Controller connection, since shared prompts live in the controller database.

Q: Can I share prompts with my team?

A: Yes, in Controller mode. Setting shared to true makes a prompt visible to everyone in your organization. Prompts you do not own are read-only — only the creator can edit or delete them.

Q: What makes a good Quick Prompt?

A: Be specific about what to analyze, which metrics to pull, which platform CLI to emit, and the output format you want. Instead of "check BGP", ask for neighbor state, uptime, and prefix counts in a table with a remediation column. The more detail, the more useful the answer.

Troubleshooting

The prompt has no device context

If the AI answers generically, the context block was probably empty. The Active Session and Connected Sessions lines are only added when you have terminal tabs connected. Connect to the device first and make its tab active before running the prompt.

I expected a fill-in-the-blank form

Quick Prompts do not prompt for variable values — that is by design. If you need a parameterized, one-click operation that actually executes against an API, use Quick Calls instead, which do collect variable input before running.

Prompt produces poor results

• Add detail to the body — name the platform, the exact metrics to analyze, and the output format.
• Split a large prompt into several focused ones rather than one catch-all.
• Include a short example of the output shape you want.

Shared prompt not visible to a teammate

• Confirm shared is true on the prompt.
• Confirm the teammate is in the same organization.
• Confirm you are in Controller mode — sharing is not available in Personal Mode, where prompts are local to your install.

Related Features

Quick Prompts work alongside other NetStacks AI capabilities:

• AI Chat — the side panel where a selected Quick Prompt is sent and the response is shown
• Quick Calls — one-click API call templates with variable input that execute real operations (vs. Quick Prompts, which send text to AI)
• NOC Agents — autonomous agents that run multi-step diagnostics
• Command Suggestions — real-time command suggestions in the terminal
• Knowledge Base — runbooks and docs the AI can reference when answering
• AI Modes — system prompts and operating modes that shape AI behavior