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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://fromhazel.ai/docs/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

A recipe is only as good as its instructions. These are the patterns we’ve seen work — and the traps that quietly break recipes in production.

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Start with a clear description

The description field is what Hazel reads to decide whether to run your recipe. Two sentences, concrete and specific.

Good

“Calculate and segment customer lifetime value from order data. Covers cohort analysis, distribution, and LTV:CAC payback.”

Too vague

“Helps with customer analysis.”
If your description could apply to five different recipes, Hazel will either pick the wrong one or pick nothing.

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Be opinionated

Recipes that hedge produce hedged answers. State defaults and stick to them.
  • “Default: Net Lifetime Revenue. Upgrade to Gross Margin when COGS exists.”
  • “Default horizon: 12 months. 24 for subscription businesses.”
  • “Never blend subscription and one-time revenue — segment them.”
Opinions can include a table of defaults, exclusions, what to include, and what to flag. The LTV cookbook recipe is a good model.

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Front-load the recon step

Tell Hazel what to check before it starts analyzing. This prevents it from inventing assumptions or asking unnecessary questions. 
Recon first (before asking anything):

- Query the warehouse for orders (and customer/line tables)
- Check for refund, discount, return fields
- Check whether COGS is present
- Check for acquisition fields (UTM, first-touch)

Then decide whether to ask. If defaults fit and data is clear,
proceed. Ask only when a choice materially changes output.

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Specify inclusions and exclusions

Data gotchas are where analyses silently go wrong. Spell them out.
Exclude: PR/gifted, influencer seeding, internal/employee, $0 comped, draft. Include: free replacements, sub trials, 100%-off acquisition offers (flag first-order impact). Exclude orders, not customers — a PR recipient who later pays keeps their paid orders.

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Define the output

Tell Hazel what the final artifact should look like: chart type, columns, color scale, segments to surface.
Artifact: cohort heatmap Rows: cohort month. Columns: month 0, 1, 2, … Cells: cumulative revenue per customer.
  • Color by column (each period gets its own scale so cohorts are comparable at the same age)
  • No download buttons inside the HTML

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Keep it under 5,000 characters

The instructions field has a hard 5k character limit. Shorter usually produces better results anyway — Hazel has to re-read the whole thing on every invocation. Tricks for staying tight:
  • Tables > paragraphs for decision logic
  • Bullet fragments > full sentences where clarity allows
  • Cut throat-clearing (“This recipe will help you…”)
  • Remove anything Hazel already knows about ecommerce in general

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Use markdown structure

Hazel reads markdown, so use it:
  • ## headings for sections (Starting the analysis, Cohort analysis, Data gotchas, Artifact)
  • Tables for decision matrices
  • Code fences for SQL patterns or exact question formats
  • Bold for must-follow rules

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Patterns that work

Across the cookbook, the recipes that perform best share a common shape:
1

Opening framing

One paragraph on what the analysis actually answers and the most common trap.
2

Recon step

What to check before asking or proceeding.
3

Core method

The specific approach, with defaults.
4

Data gotchas

Inclusions, exclusions, timing issues, survivorship traps.
5

Default positions

A table of debates and where this recipe lands.
6

Artifact spec

What the final chart or table should look like.
Not every recipe needs every section — but use this as a checklist when you’re stuck.

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Iterate in the open

Recipes are versioned, so there’s no cost to shipping an imperfect first draft. Install it, try it on a few real questions, edit, try again. The version number ticks up each save so you can see how your thinking has evolved.
Start a recipe as Personal scope while you iterate. Once it reliably produces the answer you want, re-create it at Organization scope so your team gets the tuned version from day one.
Next up: Browse the prompt library for ready-to-use questions, or head back to Recipes overview.