# Context engineering vs. prompt engineering

DevFeed: [Context engineering vs. prompt engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/context-engineering-vs-prompt-engineering-12196.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.port.io/blog/context-engineering-vs-prompt-engineering>)

Author: Trevor Garcia

Published: 2026-07-30T10:36:12Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Developer Experience & Platform Engineering Blog | Port](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/developer-experience-platform-engineering-blog-port.md>)

Topics: [Prompt Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/prompt-engineering.md>), [AI Agent](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai-agent.md>), [Large Language Model](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/llm.md>), [Model Context Protocol](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/model-context-protocol.md>), [sdlc](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/sdlc.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data.md>)

Tags: [agent](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/agent.md>), [agentic](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/agentic.md>), [agents](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/agents.md>), [ai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai.md>), [ai-agent](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai-agent.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data.md>), [development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/development.md>), [engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/engineering.md>), [llms](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/llms.md>), [mcp](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mcp.md>), [prompt-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/prompt-engineering.md>), [sdlc](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sdlc.md>), [workflows](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/workflows.md>)

## AI overview

The article compares prompt engineering with context engineering for LLM-based AI agents. Prompt engineering defines where agents should find data, how they should use it, and how they should format responses, while context engineering adds historical data, memory, service relationships, and next-step guidance. The article argues that both approaches work together to improve agentic development and team workflows, with MCP servers providing access to the required context.

## Source excerpt

Prompt engineering and context engineering may seem at odds, but their differences are more akin to the differences between 2D and 3D.