Rule reference · Output specification

Missing length guidance

  • missing_length_guidance
  • info in this example
  • Output specification
  • stage · Output format analysis

Fires when: Content or summary task without a length limit.

Summaries and generated copy expand to fill the space the model thinks is appropriate, which is usually longer than you wanted and varies from run to run.

Give a limit in the unit that matters to the reader: words for copy, bullets for summaries, sentences for replies.

Example that triggers it

Summarize the article below as bullet points.

<article>
{{article}}
</article>

info No length limit for generated content.

Why it matters. Length is the most common reason generated content has to be regenerated.

Fix. Add a limit, e.g. "under 120 words" or "5 bullet points".

Quality 97/100 · 19 tokens · 1 findings

Fixed version

Summarize the article below in 5 bullet points.

<article>
{{article}}
</article>

Quality 100/100 (+3) · 21 tokens · 0 findings

Resolved by the fix

  • missing_length_guidance: No length limit for generated content.
Open the example in the workspaceOpen the fixed version

Scores, token counts (GPT-4.1 tokenizer), and findings on this page are computed by the engine when the site is built.

How it affects the score

Each finding subtracts a fixed penalty from 100: critical 30, warning 10, info 3. This rule counts against the Output specification dimension. See the scoring model for the full formula.

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