How to Compile Packs

Compile YAML prompt configurations into production-ready pack files.

Goal

Transform your arena.yaml configuration or individual prompt files into optimized .pack.json files ready for use with the PromptKit SDK.

Prerequisites

• packc installed (installation guide)
• Prompt configuration files (arena.yaml or individual .yaml files)
• Basic understanding of pack structure

Method 1: Compile from arena.yaml (Recommended)

This is the standard approach for production packs.

Steps

1. Prepare your arena.yaml

   # config/arena.yaml
   prompts:
     - prompts/support.yaml
     - prompts/sales.yaml
     - prompts/marketing.yaml
   
   tools_directory: ./tools

2. Run the compile command

   packc compile \
     --config config/arena.yaml \
     --output packs/customer-service.pack.json \
     --id customer-service

3. Verify the output

   ls -lh packs/customer-service.pack.json
   packc inspect packs/customer-service.pack.json

Expected Output

Loaded 3 prompt configs from memory repository
Compiling 3 prompts into pack 'customer-service'...
✓ Pack compiled successfully: packs/customer-service.pack.json
  Contains 3 prompts: [support, sales, marketing]

Method 2: Compile Single Prompt

For individual prompt development or testing.

Steps

1. Create a prompt file

   # prompts/support.yaml
   apiVersion: promptkit/v1
   kind: PromptConfig
   spec:
     task_type: customer-support
     name: Customer Support Agent
     system_prompt: |
       You are a helpful customer support agent.
     user_template: |
       Customer: 

2. Compile the prompt

   packc compile-prompt \
     --prompt prompts/support.yaml \
     --output packs/support.pack.json

3. Verify compilation

   packc validate packs/support.pack.json

Common Compilation Patterns

Pattern 1: Environment-Specific Packs

# Development
packc compile \
  --config config/arena.dev.yaml \
  --output packs/app-dev.pack.json \
  --id app-dev

# Staging
packc compile \
  --config config/arena.staging.yaml \
  --output packs/app-staging.pack.json \
  --id app-staging

# Production
packc compile \
  --config config/arena.prod.yaml \
  --output packs/app-prod.pack.json \
  --id app-prod

Pattern 2: Versioned Packs

VERSION="1.2.0"

packc compile \
  --config arena.yaml \
  --output "packs/app-v${VERSION}.pack.json" \
  --id app

# Also create latest symlink
ln -sf "app-v${VERSION}.pack.json" packs/app-latest.pack.json

Pattern 3: Multi-Pack Build

#!/bin/bash
# build-all-packs.sh

for config in config/*.yaml; do
  name=$(basename "$config" .yaml)
  echo "Building pack: $name"
  
  packc compile \
    --config "$config" \
    --output "packs/${name}.pack.json" \
    --id "$name"
done

Pattern 4: Batch Compile with Validation

#!/bin/bash
set -e

echo "Compiling packs..."
packc compile --config arena.yaml --output packs/app.pack.json --id app

echo "Validating pack..."
packc validate packs/app.pack.json

echo "Inspecting pack..."
packc inspect packs/app.pack.json

echo "✓ Build complete"

Advanced Compilation

Organize Output by Environment

mkdir -p packs/{dev,staging,prod}

# Compile to environment directories
packc compile \
  --config config/arena.prod.yaml \
  --output packs/prod/app.pack.json \
  --id app

Add Metadata to Build

# Create build info
cat > packs/build-info.txt <<EOF
Build: $(date -u +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S UTC")
Compiler: $(packc version)
Git Commit: $(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
Branch: $(git branch --show-current)
EOF

# Compile pack
packc compile --config arena.yaml --output packs/app.pack.json --id app

Compile with Pre/Post Scripts

#!/bin/bash
# build-with-hooks.sh

# Pre-compilation checks
echo "Running pre-compilation checks..."
./scripts/validate-prompts.sh

# Compile
echo "Compiling pack..."
packc compile --config arena.yaml --output packs/app.pack.json --id app

# Post-compilation tasks
echo "Running post-compilation tasks..."
packc validate packs/app.pack.json
./scripts/test-pack.sh packs/app.pack.json

Makefile Integration

.PHONY: compile
compile:
	@mkdir -p packs
	packc compile --config arena.yaml --output packs/app.pack.json --id app

.PHONY: compile-all
compile-all:
	@mkdir -p packs
	@for config in config/*.yaml; do \
		name=$$(basename $$config .yaml); \
		echo "Compiling $$name..."; \
		packc compile --config $$config --output packs/$$name.pack.json --id $$name; \
	done

.PHONY: compile-and-validate
compile-and-validate: compile
	packc validate packs/app.pack.json

.PHONY: clean
clean:
	rm -rf packs/*.pack.json

Usage:

make compile                 # Compile main pack
make compile-all            # Compile all configs
make compile-and-validate   # Compile and validate
make clean                  # Remove compiled packs

Verification

After compilation, verify your pack:

Check File Exists

test -f packs/app.pack.json && echo "✓ Pack file created"

Check File Size

# Pack should be < 1MB for most use cases
ls -lh packs/app.pack.json

Validate Structure

packc validate packs/app.pack.json

Inspect Contents

packc inspect packs/app.pack.json

Test with SDK

pack, err := manager.LoadPack("./packs/app.pack.json")
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal("Pack load failed:", err)
}
fmt.Println("✓ Pack loaded successfully")

Troubleshooting

arena.yaml not found

Problem:

Error loading arena config: open arena.yaml: no such file or directory

Solution: Specify correct path:

packc compile --config ./config/arena.yaml --output packs/app.pack.json --id app

Missing required fields

Problem:

Error: --output and --id are required

Solution: Provide all required flags:

packc compile --config arena.yaml --output packs/app.pack.json --id my-app

Prompt file not found

Problem:

Error loading prompt: open prompts/support.yaml: no such file or directory

Solution: Check paths in arena.yaml are relative to config file:

# arena.yaml should reference prompts correctly
prompts:
  - ../prompts/support.yaml  # Adjust path as needed

Invalid YAML syntax

Problem:

Error parsing prompt config: yaml: line 5: mapping values are not allowed

Solution: Validate YAML syntax:

# Check YAML with yamllint
yamllint prompts/support.yaml

Media file warnings

Problem:

⚠ Media validation warnings for customer-support:
  - Image file not found: images/logo.png

Solution: Ensure media files exist or update paths:

mkdir -p images
cp assets/logo.png images/

Output directory missing

Problem:

Failed to write pack file: no such file or directory

Solution: Create output directory:

mkdir -p packs
packc compile --config arena.yaml --output packs/app.pack.json --id app

Best Practices

1. Always Validate After Compiling

packc compile --config arena.yaml --output packs/app.pack.json --id app
packc validate packs/app.pack.json

2. Use Descriptive Pack IDs

# Good
--id customer-support-prod-v1

# Avoid
--id pack1

3. Organize Packs by Purpose

packs/
├── dev/
│   └── app.pack.json
├── staging/
│   └── app.pack.json
└── prod/
    └── app.pack.json

4. Version Your Packs

packc compile \
  --config arena.yaml \
  --output "packs/app-v1.2.0.pack.json" \
  --id app-v1.2.0

5. Keep Packs Small

• Compile separate packs for different features
• Don’t bundle unrelated prompts together
• Consider pack size for deployment

Next Steps

• Validate Packs - Ensure pack quality
• Organize Pack Files - Structure your packs
• CI/CD Integration - Automate builds

See Also

• compile command reference
• compile-prompt command reference
• Pack format explanation