google · MichaelDoyle · Mar 2, 2026
diff --git a/docs/design/promptly.md b/docs/design/promptly.md
@@ -6587,7 +6587,6 @@ packages/chrome/
 | Handlebars braces | Orange | `{{`, `}}` |
 | Handlebars helper | Purple | `#if`, `#each`, `#role` |
 | Variable | Cyan | `{{ name }}` |
-| Dotprompt marker | Magenta | `<<<dotprompt:role>>>` |
 | Comment | Gray italic | `{{! comment }}` |
 
 | Component | Status | Location |

diff --git a/packages/codemirror/README.md b/packages/codemirror/README.md
@@ -4,8 +4,7 @@ CodeMirror 6 language support for Dotprompt (`.prompt`) files.
 
 ## Features
 
-- **Syntax Highlighting**: YAML frontmatter, Handlebars templates, Dotprompt
-  markers
+- **Syntax Highlighting**: YAML frontmatter, Handlebars templates
 - **Autocompletion**: Helpers, frontmatter fields, model names
 - **Theming**: Dark and light theme support
 

diff --git a/packages/codemirror/src/language.ts b/packages/codemirror/src/language.ts
@@ -155,11 +155,6 @@ export const dotpromptStreamParser = {
         return 'comment';
       }
 
-      // Dotprompt markers
-      if (stream.match(/<<<dotprompt:[^>]+>>>/)) {
-        return 'keyword';
-      }
-
       // Handlebars block start {{#helper
       if (stream.match(/\{\{#/)) {
         state.context = 'handlebars';

diff --git a/packages/emacs/README.md b/packages/emacs/README.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Provides a major mode for editing Dotprompt (`.prompt`) files with syntax highli
 
 ## Features
 
-- **Syntax Highlighting**: Handlebars helpers, partials, Dotprompt markers
+- **Syntax Highlighting**: Handlebars helpers, partials
 - **LSP Integration**: Diagnostics, formatting, hover via eglot or lsp-mode
 - **Format Buffer**: `C-c C-f` or `M-x dotprompt-format-buffer`
 - **Format on Save**: Optional automatic formatting

diff --git a/packages/emacs/dotprompt-mode.el b/packages/emacs/dotprompt-mode.el
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 ;;; Commentary:
 
 ;; Major mode for editing Dotprompt files (.prompt).
-;; Provides syntax highlighting for markers, helpers, and partials.
+;; Provides syntax highlighting for helpers and partials.
 ;; Includes LSP integration via eglot or lsp-mode for diagnostics,
 ;; formatting, and hover documentation when `promptly` is installed.
 ;;
@@ -69,9 +69,6 @@
    ;; YAML numeric values
    '(":\\s-+\\([0-9]+\\.?[0-9]*\\)$" 1 font-lock-constant-face)
 
-   ;; Dotprompt markers <<<dotprompt:role:system>>> etc.
-   '("<<<dotprompt:[^>]+>>>" . font-lock-preprocessor-face)
-
    ;; Handlebars block comments {{!-- ... --}}
    '("{{!--\\(.\\|\n\\)*?--}}" . font-lock-comment-face)
 

diff --git a/packages/jetbrains/README.md b/packages/jetbrains/README.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Language support for Dotprompt (`.prompt`) files in JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ IDE
 
 ## Features
 
-- **Syntax Highlighting**: YAML frontmatter, Handlebars templates, Dotprompt markers
+- **Syntax Highlighting**: YAML frontmatter, Handlebars templates
 - **LSP Integration**: Real-time diagnostics, formatting, and hover documentation (via LSP4IJ)
 - **Live Templates**: Type `role`, `if`, `each`, `json` + Tab for quick insertions
 - **Code Comments**: Block comment support using `{{! ... }}`
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ Language support for Dotprompt (`.prompt`) files in JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ IDE
 1. **Prerequisites**: Ensure you have Gradle and JDK 17+ installed
 
 2. **Build the plugin**:
+
    ```bash
    cd packages/jetbrains
    gradle buildPlugin
@@ -49,8 +50,8 @@ bazel build //packages/jetbrains:dotprompt-intellij
 
 This produces `bazel-bin/packages/jetbrains/dotprompt-intellij.jar`.
 
-> **Note**: For full plugin packaging (with plugin.xml, icons, LSP4IJ integration), 
-> use the Gradle build. The Bazel target is useful for incremental compilation 
+> **Note**: For full plugin packaging (with plugin.xml, icons, LSP4IJ integration),
+> use the Gradle build. The Bazel target is useful for incremental compilation
 > during development and IDE integration.
 
 ### Install promptly for LSP Features
@@ -80,10 +81,10 @@ Type these abbreviations and press Tab to expand:
 
 | Abbreviation | Expands To |
 |--------------|------------|
-| `role` | Role block with customizable role name |
-| `system` | System role block |
-| `user` | User role block |
-| `model` | Model role block |
+| `role` | Role marker with customizable role name |
+| `system` | System role marker |
+| `user` | User role marker |
+| `model` | Model role marker |
 | `if` | Handlebars if block |
 | `ifelse` | Handlebars if-else block |
 | `unless` | Handlebars unless block |
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ Type these abbreviations and press Tab to expand:
 | `json` | JSON serialization helper |
 | `media` | Media embedding helper |
 | `history` | History insertion |
-| `section` | Named section block |
+| `section` | Named section marker |
 | `partial` | Partial template inclusion |
 | `comment` | Handlebars comment |
 | `prompt` | Complete prompt template |
@@ -121,6 +122,7 @@ Go to **Settings/Preferences** → **Languages & Frameworks** → **Dotprompt**:
 ### Auto-Detection
 
 The plugin automatically finds `promptly` in:
+
 1. User-configured path (Settings)
 2. System PATH
 3. `~/.cargo/bin/promptly`

diff --git a/packages/jetbrains/src/main/kotlin/com/google/dotprompt/DotpromptLexer.kt b/packages/jetbrains/src/main/kotlin/com/google/dotprompt/DotpromptLexer.kt
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ import com.intellij.psi.tree.IElementType
  * This lexer recognizes:
  * - YAML frontmatter delimiters (---)
  * - Handlebars expressions ({{ ... }})
- * - Dotprompt markers (<<<dotprompt:...>>>)
  * - Comments ({{! ... }})
  */
 class DotpromptLexer : LexerBase() {
@@ -85,14 +84,6 @@ class DotpromptLexer : LexerBase() {
             return
         }
 
-        // Check for Dotprompt marker
-        if (lookingAt("<<<dotprompt:")) {
-            val end = findEndOfMarker()
-            tokenEnd = end
-            tokenType = DotpromptTokenTypes.MARKER
-            return
-        }
-
         // Check for Handlebars comment
         if (lookingAt("{{!")) {
             val end = findEndOfHandlebars()
@@ -141,17 +132,6 @@ class DotpromptLexer : LexerBase() {
         return true
     }
 
-    private fun findEndOfMarker(): Int {
-        var pos = tokenStart
-        while (pos < bufferEnd - 2) {
-            if (buffer[pos] == '>' && buffer[pos + 1] == '>' && buffer[pos + 2] == '>') {
-                return pos + 3
-            }
-            pos++
-        }
-        return bufferEnd
-    }
-
     private fun findEndOfHandlebars(): Int {
         var pos = tokenStart
         while (pos < bufferEnd - 1) {
@@ -175,8 +155,8 @@ class DotpromptLexer : LexerBase() {
         var pos = tokenStart + 1
         while (pos < bufferEnd) {
             if (lookingAtPos(pos, "---") || 
-                lookingAtPos(pos, "{{") || 
-                lookingAtPos(pos, "<<<dotprompt:")) {
+                lookingAtPos(pos, "{{") ||
+                lookingAtPos(pos, "}}")) {
                 return pos
             }
             if (buffer[pos] == '\n' && state == STATE_FRONTMATTER) {

diff --git a/packages/jetbrains/src/main/kotlin/com/google/dotprompt/DotpromptSyntaxHighlighter.kt b/packages/jetbrains/src/main/kotlin/com/google/dotprompt/DotpromptSyntaxHighlighter.kt
@@ -53,9 +53,6 @@ class DotpromptSyntaxHighlighter : SyntaxHighlighterBase() {
             DotpromptTokenTypes.YAML_VALUE -> YAML_VALUE_KEYS
             DotpromptTokenTypes.HANDLEBARS_OPEN -> HANDLEBARS_BRACE_KEYS
             DotpromptTokenTypes.HANDLEBARS_CLOSE -> HANDLEBARS_BRACE_KEYS
-            DotpromptTokenTypes.HANDLEBARS_HELPER -> HANDLEBARS_HELPER_KEYS
-            DotpromptTokenTypes.HANDLEBARS_VARIABLE -> HANDLEBARS_VARIABLE_KEYS
-            DotpromptTokenTypes.MARKER -> MARKER_KEYS
             DotpromptTokenTypes.COMMENT -> COMMENT_KEYS
             DotpromptTokenTypes.HEADER_COMMENT -> COMMENT_KEYS
             else -> EMPTY_KEYS
@@ -81,18 +78,6 @@ class DotpromptSyntaxHighlighter : SyntaxHighlighterBase() {
             "DOTPROMPT_HANDLEBARS_BRACE",
             DefaultLanguageHighlighterColors.BRACES
         )
-        private val HANDLEBARS_HELPER = TextAttributesKey.createTextAttributesKey(
-            "DOTPROMPT_HANDLEBARS_HELPER",
-            DefaultLanguageHighlighterColors.FUNCTION_CALL
-        )
-        private val HANDLEBARS_VARIABLE = TextAttributesKey.createTextAttributesKey(
-            "DOTPROMPT_HANDLEBARS_VARIABLE",
-            DefaultLanguageHighlighterColors.IDENTIFIER
-        )
-        private val MARKER = TextAttributesKey.createTextAttributesKey(
-            "DOTPROMPT_MARKER",
-            DefaultLanguageHighlighterColors.METADATA
-        )
         private val COMMENT = TextAttributesKey.createTextAttributesKey(
             "DOTPROMPT_COMMENT",
             DefaultLanguageHighlighterColors.LINE_COMMENT
@@ -102,9 +87,6 @@ class DotpromptSyntaxHighlighter : SyntaxHighlighterBase() {
         private val YAML_KEY_KEYS = arrayOf(YAML_KEY)
         private val YAML_VALUE_KEYS = arrayOf(YAML_VALUE)
         private val HANDLEBARS_BRACE_KEYS = arrayOf(HANDLEBARS_BRACE)
-        private val HANDLEBARS_HELPER_KEYS = arrayOf(HANDLEBARS_HELPER)
-        private val HANDLEBARS_VARIABLE_KEYS = arrayOf(HANDLEBARS_VARIABLE)
-        private val MARKER_KEYS = arrayOf(MARKER)
         private val COMMENT_KEYS = arrayOf(COMMENT)
     }
 }
diff --git a/packages/jetbrains/src/main/kotlin/com/google/dotprompt/DotpromptTokenTypes.kt b/packages/jetbrains/src/main/kotlin/com/google/dotprompt/DotpromptTokenTypes.kt
@@ -27,9 +27,6 @@ object DotpromptTokenTypes {
     @JvmField val YAML_VALUE = IElementType("YAML_VALUE", DotpromptLanguage.INSTANCE)
     @JvmField val HANDLEBARS_OPEN = IElementType("HANDLEBARS_OPEN", DotpromptLanguage.INSTANCE)
     @JvmField val HANDLEBARS_CLOSE = IElementType("HANDLEBARS_CLOSE", DotpromptLanguage.INSTANCE)
-    @JvmField val HANDLEBARS_HELPER = IElementType("HANDLEBARS_HELPER", DotpromptLanguage.INSTANCE)
-    @JvmField val HANDLEBARS_VARIABLE = IElementType("HANDLEBARS_VARIABLE", DotpromptLanguage.INSTANCE)
-    @JvmField val MARKER = IElementType("MARKER", DotpromptLanguage.INSTANCE)
     @JvmField val COMMENT = IElementType("COMMENT", DotpromptLanguage.INSTANCE)
     @JvmField val HEADER_COMMENT = IElementType("HEADER_COMMENT", DotpromptLanguage.INSTANCE)
     @JvmField val TEXT = IElementType("TEXT", DotpromptLanguage.INSTANCE)

diff --git a/packages/jetbrains/src/main/resources/liveTemplates/Dotprompt.xml b/packages/jetbrains/src/main/resources/liveTemplates/Dotprompt.xml
@@ -17,31 +17,27 @@
  SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 -->
 <templateSet group="Dotprompt">
-    <!-- Role blocks -->
-    <template name="role" value="{{#role &quot;$ROLE$&quot;}}&#10;$CONTENT$&#10;{{/role}}" description="Handlebars role block" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
+    <!-- Role markers -->
+    <template name="role" value="{{role &quot;$ROLE$&quot;}}&#10;$0" description="Handlebars role marker" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
         <variable name="ROLE" expression="" defaultValue="&quot;user&quot;" alwaysStopAt="true"/>
-        <variable name="CONTENT" expression="" defaultValue="" alwaysStopAt="true"/>
         <context>
             <option name="OTHER" value="true"/>
         </context>
     </template>
 
-    <template name="system" value="{{#role &quot;system&quot;}}&#10;$CONTENT$&#10;{{/role}}" description="System role block" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
-        <variable name="CONTENT" expression="" defaultValue="" alwaysStopAt="true"/>
+    <template name="system" value="{{role &quot;system&quot;}}&#10;$0" description="System role marker" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
         <context>
             <option name="OTHER" value="true"/>
         </context>
     </template>
 
-    <template name="user" value="{{#role &quot;user&quot;}}&#10;$CONTENT$&#10;{{/role}}" description="User role block" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
-        <variable name="CONTENT" expression="" defaultValue="" alwaysStopAt="true"/>
+    <template name="user" value="{{role &quot;user&quot;}}&#10;$0" description="User role marker" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
         <context>
             <option name="OTHER" value="true"/>
         </context>
     </template>
 
-    <template name="model" value="{{#role &quot;model&quot;}}&#10;$CONTENT$&#10;{{/role}}" description="Model role block" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
-        <variable name="CONTENT" expression="" defaultValue="" alwaysStopAt="true"/>
+    <template name="model" value="{{role &quot;model&quot;}}&#10;$0" description="Model role marker" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
         <context>
             <option name="OTHER" value="true"/>
         </context>
@@ -129,9 +125,8 @@
         </context>
     </template>
 
-    <template name="section" value="{{#section &quot;$NAME$&quot;}}&#10;$CONTENT$&#10;{{/section}}" description="Named section block" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
+    <template name="section" value="{{section &quot;$NAME$&quot;}}&#10;$0" description="Named section marker" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
         <variable name="NAME" expression="" defaultValue="" alwaysStopAt="true"/>
-        <variable name="CONTENT" expression="" defaultValue="" alwaysStopAt="true"/>
         <context>
             <option name="OTHER" value="true"/>
         </context>
@@ -154,7 +149,7 @@
     </template>
 
     <!-- Full template -->
-    <template name="prompt" value="---&#10;model: $MODEL$&#10;config:&#10;  temperature: $TEMPERATURE$&#10;input:&#10;  schema:&#10;    $VARIABLE$: string&#10;---&#10;&#10;{{#role &quot;system&quot;}}&#10;$SYSTEM_PROMPT$&#10;{{/role}}&#10;&#10;{{#role &quot;user&quot;}}&#10;$USER_PROMPT$&#10;{{/role}}" description="Complete prompt template" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
+    <template name="prompt" value="---&#10;model: $MODEL$&#10;config:&#10;  temperature: $TEMPERATURE$&#10;input:&#10;  schema:&#10;    $VARIABLE$: string&#10;---&#10;&#10;{{role &quot;system&quot;}}&#10;$SYSTEM_PROMPT$&#10;&#10;{{role &quot;user&quot;}}&#10;$USER_PROMPT$" description="Complete prompt template" toReformat="false" toShortenFQNames="true">
         <variable name="MODEL" expression="" defaultValue="&quot;gemini-2.5-flash&quot;" alwaysStopAt="true"/>
         <variable name="TEMPERATURE" expression="" defaultValue="&quot;0.7&quot;" alwaysStopAt="true"/>
         <variable name="VARIABLE" expression="" defaultValue="&quot;name&quot;" alwaysStopAt="true"/>

diff --git a/packages/monaco/README.md b/packages/monaco/README.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Monaco Editor language support for Dotprompt (`.prompt`) files.
 
 ## Features
 
-- **Syntax Highlighting**: YAML frontmatter, Handlebars templates, Dotprompt markers
+- **Syntax Highlighting**: YAML frontmatter, Handlebars templates
 - **Autocompletion**: Helpers, frontmatter fields, model names, role snippets
 - **Hover Documentation**: Helper and frontmatter field documentation
 - **Bracket Matching**: Auto-closing for `{{ }}`, `{{# }}`, etc.
@@ -38,13 +38,11 @@ config:
   temperature: 0.7
 ---
 
-{{#role "system"}}
+{{role "system"}}
 You are a helpful assistant.
-{{/role}}
 
-{{#role "user"}}
-Hello, {{ name }}!
-{{/role}}`,
+{{role "user"}}
+Hello, {{ name }}!`,
   language: 'dotprompt',
   theme: 'vs-dark',
 });
@@ -167,8 +165,8 @@ The completion provider offers:
 
 | Context | Completions |
 |---------|-------------|
-| `{{` | Handlebars helpers, Dotprompt helpers |
-| `{{#` | Block helpers (if, each, role, section) |
+| `{{` | Handlebars helpers, Dotprompt helpers (role, section, json, etc.) |
+| `{{#` | Block helpers (if, each, with, ifEquals) |
 | `{{>` | Partial template reference |
 | `model:` | Model names (Gemini, GPT, Claude) |
 | Frontmatter | Field names (model, config, input, output) |
@@ -182,11 +180,11 @@ Token types available for theming:
 | `delimiter.frontmatter` | `---` delimiters |
 | `delimiter.handlebars` | `{{` and `}}` |
 | `delimiter.handlebars.block` | `{{#` and `{{/` |
-| `keyword.handlebars` | if, each, with, etc. |
-| `keyword.dotprompt` | role, json, history, etc. |
-| `keyword.yaml` | YAML frontmatter keys |
-| `keyword.marker` | `<<<dotprompt:...>>>` |
-| `variable` | Template variables |
+| keyword.handlebars | if, each, with, etc. |
+| keyword.dotprompt | role, json, history, etc. |
+| keyword.yaml | YAML frontmatter keys |
+| variable | Template variables |
+
 | `variable.partial` | Partial names |
 | `variable.special` | @index, @first, etc. |
 | `comment.block` | `{{! comment }}` |