← Blog · 2026-10-12

Can you save prompts in ChatGPT? 5 ways to reuse your best prompts

Short answer: ChatGPT doesn’t have a built-in prompt library you can pick from while typing. Users keep asking for one (see the OpenAI community feature request). Here’s what you can use instead.

1. Custom Instructions: one global prompt

Good for permanent preferences (tone, format, who you are). It applies to every chat, though, so you can’t keep a different one for each task.

2. Projects: instructions per topic

Projects hold instructions and files for a body of work. Great for ongoing work, but still one set of instructions per project, not a menu of prompts.

3. Custom GPTs: one assistant per prompt

You can save a complex prompt as a named GPT. Each one starts its own chat, so you can’t mix several saved prompts into the conversation you’re already in.

4. A notes file or text expander

Free and works anywhere, but you have to switch windows, search, copy and paste, and filling in blanks is manual.

5. A prompt library extension (insert with a shortcut)

Our Prompt Library extension puts your prompts one shortcut away in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini: press Alt+P or type // in the message box, search, and press Enter to insert at the cursor. Tag prompts and search by #tag. Use variables like {{topic}} or {{tone:friendly}}; Pro shows a quick form to fill them in. Free covers 10 prompts on all three sites. Pro (2.99 €/month or 15 € lifetime) adds unlimited prompts, folders and JSON import/export. Prompts are stored only in your browser.

What makes a prompt worth saving

• You’ve used it more than twice.
• It has a clear slot for what changes (topic, audience, text), so write those as variables.
• The name says what it produces (“Blog outline”, “Code review”), not “good prompt 3”.

More on structure: how to organize a prompt library.

FAQ

Where does ChatGPT store my old prompts?

Only in your chat history, inside the conversations where you sent them. Search finds the chat, not the prompt.

Do saved prompts work in Claude and Gemini too?

Built-in features are per app. An extension like Prompt Library works across all three.