Utility Tags

Utility tags insert live values from your system into the prompt. They produce fresh output every time you run your prompt.

UUID

Generates a random unique identifier (UUID v4). This is useful for giving each prompt run a trackable ID.

Properties

None.

Example

<Task>
  Process this request. Request ID: <UUID />
</Task>

Produces something like:

<task>
Process this request. Request ID: a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890
</task>

A new UUID is generated each time you run the prompt.

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DateTime

Outputs the current date and time. It defaults to ISO 8601 format, but you can customize it with a format string.

Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
format	string	—	A format string using YYYY, MM, DD, HH, mm, ss tokens. When omitted, output uses ISO 8601.

Examples

Default (ISO 8601):

Current time: <DateTime />

Produces something like:

Current time: 2026-02-13T16:58:22.540Z

Custom format:

Today's date: <DateTime format="YYYY-MM-DD" />

Produces something like:

Today's date: 2026-02-13

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Timestamp

Outputs the current Unix timestamp (in seconds).

Properties

None.

Example

Timestamp: <Timestamp />

Produces something like:

Timestamp: 1771001902

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Hostname

Outputs the hostname of the machine running the prompt.

Properties

None.

Example

Running on: <Hostname />

Produces something like:

Running on: my-laptop

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Username

Outputs the current system username.

Properties

None.

Example

User: <Username />

Produces something like:

User: alice

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Cwd

Outputs the current working directory.

Properties

None.

Example

Working directory: <Cwd />

Produces something like:

Working directory: /home/alice/my-project

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Putting Them Together

Utility tags shine when you want the AI to know about the environment it is running in. Combine several of them inside a <Context> tag, and the AI gets a full picture of when, where, and who is running the prompt -- without you typing any of that information by hand.

<Prompt name="context-aware" bare>
  <Context>
    Running on <Hostname /> as <Username />.
    Current time: <DateTime />.
    Working directory: <Cwd />.
    Request ID: <UUID />.
  </Context>
  <Task>Help the user with their project.</Task>
</Prompt>

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Related

• Environment & Context — how pupt adapts to different AI providers
• Tags Overview — browse all available tags