Classify provided material

Use this prompt when the answer must classify only the material supplied by the user into explicit labels, categories, statuses, or risk levels.

  • Outcome
    Source-bound classification
    Assigns labels only from the provided label set or classification rules.
  • Use case
    Files, notes, logs, reports, threads, or excerpts
    Use when the user supplies material and needs each item classified against explicit labels.
  • Output
    Classification table with limits
    Returns labels, supporting evidence, uncertain cases, missing information, and confidence.

Scope and best-fit use

Use this prompt when the task is classification and the answer must stay inside the supplied material and explicit label set.

  • Primary focus
    Classify provided material into explicit labels
    Use this prompt to classify user-provided files, notes, logs, reports, screenshots, threads, or pasted excerpts.
  • Boundary
    Do not invent labels or categories
    The answer must use only the labels, categories, statuses, or rules supplied by the user. Add the Use provided material only component when this evidence boundary must be reused in a larger workflow.
  • Use a different prompt when
    The task needs summarization, public research, or rewriting
    Use Summarize provided material when the goal is explaining the material, Use web search when current facts matter when external sources are needed, or a writing prompt when the goal is rewriting.

Inputs required

Provide the material to classify, the allowed labels, and the rule for assigning each label. If the labels or rules are missing, the prompt should ask for them instead of inventing categories.

  • Material to classify: Files, notes, logs, reports, screenshots, threads, pasted excerpts, or other user-provided source material.
  • Allowed labels: The exact labels, categories, statuses, severity levels, or classes that may be assigned.
  • Classification rules: The criteria for assigning each label, including what to do when evidence is missing, ambiguous, or conflicting.

Copy-ready prompt

Copy the prompt and replace the MATERIALS and ALLOWED LABELS blocks with the material and classification rules. 

Classify the provided material.

TASK:
Classify only the material supplied in the MATERIALS block using only the labels and rules supplied in the ALLOWED LABELS block.

SOURCE BOUNDARY:
- Use only the provided material.
- Use only the provided labels, categories, statuses, or classes.
- Do not invent labels.
- Do not add outside facts, inferred context, assumptions, or background knowledge.
- Do not fill gaps.
- If the material does not support a label, mark the result as INSUFFICIENT_EVIDENCE.
- If the allowed labels or rules are missing, ask for them before classifying.

CLASSIFICATION CHECKS:
- Identify the unit being classified.
- Match each unit to the allowed labels.
- Cite or quote the specific material that supports each label when available.
- Mark ambiguous cases separately.
- Do not force a label when the evidence is unclear.
- Preserve important constraints, dates, numbers, names, entities, and dependencies when they affect classification.

OUTPUT:
A) Classification summary
B) Classification table
   - Item
   - Assigned label
   - Supporting evidence from the provided material
   - Reason
   - Confidence
C) Ambiguous or conflicting cases
D) Missing information
E) Items that cannot be classified from the provided material
F) Confidence

ALLOWED LABELS:
"""
Replace this block with the allowed labels and classification rules.
"""

MATERIALS:
"""
Replace this block with the material to classify.
"""

Use this as a runtime classification prompt

Paste the labels, classification rules, and material into the prompt at runtime. Keep stable files-only and no-fabrication rules in the instruction layer when this task repeats.

Next steps

Use these related resources when the task needs the policy or procedure behind files-only answering.