> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ideogram.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ideogram.ai/prompting/prompting.md).

# Prompting Basics

How Ideogram reads a prompt, when to use plain language or JSON, and what Magic Prompt does.

A prompt is the text you give Ideogram to describe the image you want. It can be one line or a full paragraph, plain or poetic. This guide covers the Ideogram models in the Image app: Ideogram 4.5, Ideogram 4.0 and Ideogram 3.0.

## How Ideogram reads a prompt

Ideogram reads your words literally and tries to show every one of them. It does not guess at what you meant the way a person would.

> A tall man in a red coat walking through a snowy forest.

From this prompt Ideogram will try to draw the height, the red coat, the walking, the snow and the forest. Leave out a detail and the model picks one for you. Add a word you don't need and it may show up in the image.

A few habits follow from this:

* **Write in sentences.** Tag lists like `man, forest, fire, dramatic, painting` can work, but full sentences tell the model how things relate: who holds what, what sits behind what.
* **Describe what can be seen.** "A sunset over the ocean with orange and pink light on the water" gives the model more to draw than "a beautiful scene." [Prompt Structure](/prompting/prompt-structure.md) covers this in depth.
* **Put the main idea first.** Words near the start of the prompt tend to carry more weight.
* **Say what you want, not what you don't.** "An empty street" works better than "a street with no people."

There is no hidden syntax. Ideogram doesn't read weights like `::1` or `(important)` or flags like `--ar` and `--style` as commands; it treats them as words. Set aspect ratio, seed and quality in the Image app settings instead.

You can write in any language. English gives the most reliable results, most of all when the image includes text. Magic Prompt can translate your prompt into English for you.

## Plain language or JSON

Ideogram 4.5 and 4.0 accept either a plain-language prompt or a structured JSON prompt. Plain language is the place to start, and it is all Ideogram 3.0 accepts. JSON lets you set exact layout, text placement and hex colors when a sentence can't pin them down. See [JSON Prompting](/prompting/json-prompting.md).

## Magic Prompt

Magic Prompt rewrites and expands a short prompt before Ideogram generates the image. On Ideogram 4.5 and 4.0 it turns your plain text into a structured JSON prompt, so you get much of the control of JSON without writing it. Turn it off when you want Ideogram to keep your exact wording. On every Ideogram model it's an on/off toggle. See the [Magic Prompt setting](/create/image-settings.md#magic-prompt) for where to find it.

## Start here

1. Pick a model: Ideogram 4.5, 4.0 or 3.0. See [available models](/create/models.md).
2. Write one sentence that says what kind of image it is and what it shows, such as `A watercolor painting of a fox curled up in snow under a pine tree.`
3. Put any text you want in the image in quotation marks, near the start.
4. Generate, look at the results, then add detail only where the image missed.
5. Change one thing at a time so you can tell what made the difference.

## Next pages

1. [Prompt Structure](/prompting/prompt-structure.md)
2. [Text in Images](/prompting/text-in-images.md)
3. [JSON Prompting](/prompting/json-prompting.md)
4. [Refine and Iterate](/prompting/refine-and-iterate.md)
5. [Fix Common Problems](/prompting/fix-common-problems.md)
6. [Vocabulary Reference](/prompting/vocabulary.md)