Stop sequence
A stop sequence is a string that causes a model to stop generating as soon as it produces that string.
Stop sequences are used to cut off output cleanly at a known boundary — the end of one record, or the start of a hallucinated next turn. They act on the generated text, so they are a mechanical guarantee rather than an instruction the model may ignore.
Related terms
- Structured output
- Structured output is model output constrained to a machine-readable shape such as JSON, CSV, or a fixed schema, rather than free prose.
- Stop condition
- A stop condition is an instruction telling a model when to stop and ask for clarification instead of proceeding on assumptions.
More on prompt structure
See the full glossary, read the guides, or put it into practice in the prompt builder.