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Upstream block outputs are the hand-offs that carry results through the pipeline. For every connection between two blocks you make one decision: route the upstream output Inline or as a Knowledge Source. This decision, not the prompts, is where most Apps break.

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The routing decision

Ask two questions about the upstream output:
  1. Is it concise (1,000 words or fewer) AND useful as search context for the next block?
  2. Or is it long, or does the next block only need extracts of it?
Before you tune a single sentence of a prompt, confirm every hand-off between blocks is routed correctly.

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Designing the hand-off

Make upstream outputs consumable. Three practices keep the data clean as it travels.
1

Fix the shape of the upstream output

If Block 2 consumes Block 1’s output, specify Block 1’s headers and table columns verbatim in Block 1’s prompt, then reference those exact section names in Block 2’s prompt.
2

Put the inputs in a clearly labeled section at the end of the prompt

Keep the data out of your instructions. List every inline variable in a dedicated section at the very end of the prompt, each introduced with a clear label.
A clean separation between instructions and data is the surest way to stop the Mainframe from confusing the two, which is what causes “prompt bleed” on long inputs.
3

Refer to content, never to blocks

Write “using the extracted requirements”, never “using the output of Block 2”. At runtime the Mainframe sees content, not block numbers; block references are meaningless to it.
Prompt bleed is the most common failure on long inputs: the Mainframe mixes your data into your instructions and follows the wrong one. The fix is structural. Put every inline variable in a single labeled section at the very end of the prompt, kept clearly apart from the instructions above it.

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When the pipeline gets heavy

When a consolidation block must absorb several upstream outputs and the total approaches ~5,000 words, reach for one of three relief valves.

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Keeping blocks within budget

A few habits keep every block fast and faithful to its instructions:
  • Keep a single inline output short. Roughly a page or two (about 1,000 words) is the ceiling for one inline upstream variable. Past that, route it as a Knowledge Source.
  • Watch the combined load on a block. When several inline outputs feed the same block and together they run to more than a few pages, switch the heaviest ones to KS routing or summarize them first.
  • Stay around a dozen blocks. If the process looks like it needs more, merge the steps the Mainframe can handle in one pass rather than adding blocks.
  • Keep inputs to 5 to 7.
  • Let the symptom guide you. If a block runs slowly or starts losing detail, it is carrying too much: move data into Knowledge Sources instead of injecting it inline.

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Next

Prompting

The standard prompt template and the rules that matter most.