diff --git a/workflows/sense-generator/roles/coder/index.ts b/workflows/sense-generator/roles/coder/index.ts
index 5c9966d..dc670a1 100644
--- a/workflows/sense-generator/roles/coder/index.ts
+++ b/workflows/sense-generator/roles/coder/index.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,8 @@
 import { createCursorRole } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
-import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
-import { join, dirname } from "node:path";
-import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { resolveDashScopeProvider, NERVE_ROOT, SENSES_DIR } from "../shared.js";
 import { coderMetaSchema } from "../types.js";
 import type { SenseMeta } from "../types.js";
-
-const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
-const PROMPT = readFileSync(join(__dirname, "prompt.md"), "utf-8");
+import { coderPrompt } from "./prompt.js";
 
 export async function buildCoderRole() {
   const provider = await resolveDashScopeProvider();
@@ -17,11 +12,7 @@ export async function buildCoderRole() {
   return createCursorRole<SenseMeta["coder"]>({
     cwd: NERVE_ROOT,
     mode: "default",
-    prompt: async (threadId) =>
-      PROMPT
-        .replace("{{threadId}}", threadId)
-        .replace("{{sensesDir}}", SENSES_DIR)
-        .replace("{{nerveRoot}}", NERVE_ROOT),
+    prompt: async (threadId) => coderPrompt({ threadId, sensesDir: SENSES_DIR, nerveRoot: NERVE_ROOT }),
     extract: { provider, schema: coderMetaSchema },
   });
 }
diff --git a/workflows/sense-generator/roles/coder/prompt.md b/workflows/sense-generator/roles/coder/prompt.md
deleted file mode 100644
index b8ac1dd..0000000
--- a/workflows/sense-generator/roles/coder/prompt.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-Read the workflow thread for the planner's sense design: `nerve thread {{threadId}}`
-
-Implement the sense. Create exactly:
-1. The sense directory under {{sensesDir}}/<sense-name>/
-2. index.js — export async function compute(db, _peers), import schema from "./schema.ts"
-3. schema.ts — drizzle-orm/sqlite-core
-4. migrations/0001_init.sql — must match schema.ts
-5. Update {{nerveRoot}}/nerve.yaml — add sense config + reflex entry
-
-Follow the patterns from existing senses. Create all files now.
diff --git a/workflows/sense-generator/roles/coder/prompt.ts b/workflows/sense-generator/roles/coder/prompt.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..676a10e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/workflows/sense-generator/roles/coder/prompt.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+export function coderPrompt(vars: {
+  threadId: string;
+  sensesDir: string;
+  nerveRoot: string;
+}): string {
+  return `Read the workflow thread for the planner's sense design: \`nerve thread ${vars.threadId}\`
+
+Implement the sense. Create exactly:
+1. The sense directory under ${vars.sensesDir}/<sense-name>/
+2. index.js — export async function compute(db, _peers), import schema from "./schema.ts"
+3. schema.ts — drizzle-orm/sqlite-core
+4. migrations/0001_init.sql — must match schema.ts
+5. Update ${vars.nerveRoot}/nerve.yaml — add sense config + reflex entry
+
+Follow the patterns from existing senses. Create all files now.`;
+}
diff --git a/workflows/sense-generator/roles/planner/index.ts b/workflows/sense-generator/roles/planner/index.ts
index b52cb84..ae0ee0e 100644
--- a/workflows/sense-generator/roles/planner/index.ts
+++ b/workflows/sense-generator/roles/planner/index.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,9 @@
 import { createCursorRole } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
-import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
-import { join, dirname } from "node:path";
-import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { resolveDashScopeProvider, buildSenseExamples, getNerveYaml, NERVE_ROOT } from "../shared.js";
 import { plannerMetaSchema } from "../types.js";
 import type { SenseMeta } from "../types.js";
+import { plannerPrompt } from "./prompt.js";
 
-const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
-const PROMPT = readFileSync(join(__dirname, "prompt.md"), "utf-8");
 const senseExamples = buildSenseExamples();
 const nerveYaml = getNerveYaml();
 
@@ -19,11 +15,7 @@ export async function buildPlannerRole() {
   return createCursorRole<SenseMeta["planner"]>({
     cwd: NERVE_ROOT,
     mode: "ask",
-    prompt: async (threadId) =>
-      PROMPT
-        .replace("{{threadId}}", threadId)
-        .replace("{{senseExamples}}", senseExamples)
-        .replace("{{nerveYaml}}", nerveYaml),
+    prompt: async (threadId) => plannerPrompt({ threadId, senseExamples, nerveYaml }),
     extract: { provider, schema: plannerMetaSchema },
   });
 }
diff --git a/workflows/sense-generator/roles/planner/prompt.md b/workflows/sense-generator/roles/planner/prompt.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 434e6ef..0000000
--- a/workflows/sense-generator/roles/planner/prompt.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-You are planning a new Nerve sense.
-
-Read the workflow thread for the user's request: `nerve thread {{threadId}}`
-
-Pick a good kebab-case name for this sense. Produce a PLAN (not code) in markdown:
-
-## Sense Design
-### Name — kebab-case
-### Fields — name, type (integer/real/text), description
-### Compute Logic — step-by-step, specific Node.js APIs or shell commands
-### Trigger Config — group, interval, throttle, timeout
-
-Reference senses:
-{{senseExamples}}
-
-Current nerve.yaml:
-```yaml
-{{nerveYaml}}
-```
-
-Output ONLY the plan. Be precise and implementation-ready.
diff --git a/workflows/sense-generator/roles/planner/prompt.ts b/workflows/sense-generator/roles/planner/prompt.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d7a2bfb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/workflows/sense-generator/roles/planner/prompt.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+export function plannerPrompt(vars: {
+  threadId: string;
+  senseExamples: string;
+  nerveYaml: string;
+}): string {
+  return `You are planning a new Nerve sense.
+
+Read the workflow thread for the user's request: \`nerve thread ${vars.threadId}\`
+
+Pick a good kebab-case name for this sense. Produce a PLAN (not code) in markdown:
+
+## Sense Design
+### Name — kebab-case
+### Fields — name, type (integer/real/text), description
+### Compute Logic — step-by-step, specific Node.js APIs or shell commands
+### Trigger Config — group, interval, throttle, timeout
+
+Reference senses:
+${vars.senseExamples}
+
+Current nerve.yaml:
+\`\`\`yaml
+${vars.nerveYaml}
+\`\`\`
+
+Output ONLY the plan. Be precise and implementation-ready.`;
+}