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Structured Data

NodeSet is a specialized prompt for rendering structured lists — scoring rubrics, evaluation criteria, taxonomies, classification labels. Instead of hardcoding numbered lists in strings, you define the data and let NodeSet handle formatting.

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Inline Data

The simplest approach is inline items: 
use Cognesy\Xprompt\NodeSet;

class ScoringCriteria extends NodeSet
{
    public array $items = [
        ['label' => 'Clarity', 'content' => 'Writing is clear and unambiguous'],
        ['label' => 'Evidence', 'content' => 'Claims are supported by sources'],
        ['label' => 'Structure', 'content' => 'Argument flows logically'],
    ];
}

echo ScoringCriteria::make();
// @doctest id="47af"
Output: 
1. **Clarity** -- Writing is clear and unambiguous

2. **Evidence** -- Claims are supported by sources

3. **Structure** -- Argument flows logically
// @doctest id="7e09"

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YAML Data Files

For larger datasets, load from a YAML file: 
class ReviewCriteria extends NodeSet
{
    public string $dataFile = 'criteria.yml';
    public ?string $templateDir = __DIR__ . '/data';
    public string $sortKey = 'priority';
}
// @doctest id="2de6"
The file data/criteria.yml: 
- id: clarity
  label: Clarity
  content: Writing is clear and unambiguous
  priority: 1
- id: evidence
  label: Evidence
  content: Claims are supported by sources
  priority: 2
  children:
    - id: citations
      content: All sources are properly cited
# @doctest id="e655"
Items are sorted by priority and children render as indented sub-items: 
1. **Clarity** -- Writing is clear and unambiguous

2. **Evidence** -- Claims are supported by sources
   - All sources are properly cited
// @doctest id="f523"
Note: YAML data files require symfony/yaml. Install it with composer require symfony/yaml.

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Custom Formatting

Override renderNode() to change how each item appears: 
class NumberedLabels extends NodeSet
{
    public array $items = [
        ['label' => 'Bug', 'content' => 'Functional defect'],
        ['label' => 'Style', 'content' => 'Code style issue'],
    ];

    public function renderNode(int $index, array $node, mixed ...$ctx): string
    {
        return "- [{$node['label']}] {$node['content']}";
    }
}
// @doctest id="8b27"
Output: 
- [Bug] Functional defect

- [Style] Code style issue
// @doctest id="459f"

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Dynamic Data

Override nodes() to generate items at runtime: 
class DynamicLabels extends NodeSet
{
    public function nodes(mixed ...$ctx): array
    {
        return array_map(
            fn(string $label) => ['label' => $label, 'content' => ''],
            $ctx['labels'] ?? [],
        );
    }
}

echo DynamicLabels::with(labels: ['Bug', 'Feature', 'Chore']);
// @doctest id="f8f9"

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Using in Composition

NodeSet is a regular Prompt, so it composes naturally: 
class ReviewSystem extends Prompt
{
    public function body(mixed ...$ctx): array
    {
        return [
            Persona::with(role: 'reviewer'),
            "## Scoring Criteria",
            ScoringCriteria::make(),
            "## Document\n\n" . $ctx['content'],
        ];
    }
}
// @doctest id="33b7"

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Next Steps