Generate Multiple Solutions with Template-Driven Hooks

Template-driven hooks turn one instruction into multiple structured solutions. Load templates from disk, replace placeholders, and get consistent output formats every time.

The manual variation problem

Getting multiple solutions requires:

• Repeatedly prompting with different angles
• Inconsistent output formats
• Lost context between attempts

Template + hook solution

Store a reusable template with placeholders:

.claude/prompts/variations.md:

Generate $count possible solutions for the following instruction:

Format each solution with this template:

Steps:
1. ...
2. ...
3. ...

Reasoning:
...

Tradeoffs:
...

Instruction: $instruction

Hook to load and fill template:

.claude/hooks/UserPromptSubmit.ts:

import { type UserPromptSubmitHookInput } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-code"

const input = await Bun.stdin.json() as UserPromptSubmitHookInput

// Match v(N) pattern
const match = input.prompt.match(/v\((\d+)\)/)
if (match) {
  const count = match[1]
  const template = await Bun.file(".claude/prompts/variations.md").text()

  // Strip command, keep instruction
  const instruction = input.prompt.replace(match[0], "").trim()

  // Fill template
  const prompt = template
    .replace("$count", count)
    .replace("$instruction", instruction)

  console.log(prompt)
}

Use it

Type your request with the command:

Build a desktop dictation app v(5)

Claude receives the full template with your values filled in, returning 5 structured solutions.

Debug with transcript

View the transformed prompt:

• Press Ctrl+O to toggle detailed view
• See exactly what Claude received
• Refine templates based on results

Try it

Prompts:

desktop app for capturing dictation v(3)

CLI tool for file organization v(5)