Designer LLM prompt templates
Six ready-to-use prompts. Paste one into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, attach a .ulc.json file, and you get back a clean spec sheet, an apples-to-apples comparison, a schedule-ready table, a VE sanity check, a trace of where every value came from, or a readout of what the product is documented for. Need a file to try them on? Grab a sample below.
Prompt 1
Render a .ulc file as a spec sheet
Read the attached `.ulc.json` file. Render it as a clean spec sheet with sections for product identity, electrical, optical / photometric, physical, and accessories. Call out any fields that are missing or flagged as unknown. If a SHA-256 source-file hash is present, note which source file each measured attribute traces back to.
Prompt 2
Compare two .ulc files
Read the two attached `.ulc.json` files. Compare them on CRI, CCT range, wattage, optical accessory options, mounting kit, IP rating, and dim-to-warm behavior. Flag any field where the products diverge materially or where one declares the field and the other does not. End with a one-paragraph recommendation framed around which product fits a [project type] application.
Prompt 3
Extract attributes for a luminaire-schedule line
Read the attached `.ulc.json` files. For each file, extract [CRI, CCT options, optical accessories, mounting kit, IP rating]. Return the result as a luminaire-schedule-ready table with one row per product and one column per attribute. Note any product missing any of the requested attributes.
Prompt 4
Sanity-check a VE package
Read the two attached `.ulc.json` files: the original specified product and the VE-proposed alternative. Compare them on CRI, CCT, wattage, optical distribution, mounting type, dimming method, and any field flagged as missing or unknown. Explicitly state whether the VE alternative matches the original design intent on each compared field. End with a flag list of fields where the VE alternative deviates materially.
Prompt 5
Pull the source-file provenance for an attribute
Read the attached `.ulc.json` file. For each measured attribute (CRI, CCT, wattage, photometric distribution, IP rating, optical accessories), identify which source file (PDF, IES, or LDT) the value traces back to via the per-field provenance + SHA-256 hash. Return the answer as a list mapping attribute to source file.
Prompt 6
Check what a product is documented for
Read the attached `.ulc.json` file. From `index.achievements`, report each theme (embodied carbon, circularity, material health, energy, dark sky, emergency) with its state: none, claimed, or documented. For each documented theme, name the qualifying programs and note that an evidence document is attached. For each claimed theme, note that no current evidence document backs it. Also report `index.restricted_substances_declared` and `index.conformance_level`. Do not infer qualifications the record does not carry.
Canonical example records
Eight reference records built from real manufacturer spec sheets: five across the four manufacturer authoring patterns, and three exit signs exercising the emergency product class. These are the files you drop into the prompts above.
Each record's conformance level and Product Achievements view are computed by the reference builder from the data the record carries, not self-declared. How conformance is graded → What achievements mean →
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ERCO Quintessence · recessed downlight
Single-SKU cutsheet model.
To reach Full: zonal lumens, measurement uncertainty and corrections, instrumentation depth, and TM-30 detail (accredited test report).
Downloaderco-quintessence-30416-023.ulc→ -
Selux Aya · exterior pole
Configurator with applicability blocks; 54,000 SKUs compressed into 21 records.
To reach Full: measurement uncertainty and corrections, a method-backed lumen-maintenance projection, and TM-30 detail (accredited test report).
Achievements: dark sky and material health claimed · RoHS declared.
Downloadselux-aya-pole-sr-ho-3000k.ulc→ -
Lumenpulse Lumenfacade · RGB façade
Per-IES model with provenance classes for measured, simulated, and extended-photometry records.
To reach Full: zonal lumens, measurement uncertainty and corrections, and a method-backed lumen-maintenance projection (accredited test report).
RoHS declared.
Downloadlumenpulse-lumenfacade-loi-12-rgb-30x60-ts0.ulc→ -
Lumenpulse Lumenfacade · RGBW façade
Per-IES color-mixing variant: CRI and TM-30 are waived, while the white point still carries a CCT.
To reach Full: zonal lumens, measurement uncertainty and corrections, and a method-backed lumen-maintenance projection (accredited test report).
RoHS declared.
Downloadlumenpulse-lumenfacade-loi-12-rgbw30k-10x60-ts2-5.ulc→ -
Vode Nexa · suspended linear pendant
Per-foot linear-scaling model.
To reach Standard: a MacAdam SDCM step (from the datasheet, per ANSI C78.377). To reach Full: zonal lumens, measurement uncertainty and corrections, a method-backed lumen-maintenance projection, and TM-30 detail (accredited test report).
Achievements: material health claimed.
Downloadvode-nexa-suspended-807-so-3500k-90cri-hl-black-48in.ulc→ -
Cooper Sure-Lites LPX · exit sign, self-powered
The sign profile authored from a spec sheet with no IES file: illumination mode, legend color, a UL 924 listing, and an integral-battery emergency block (NiCd, 90-minute, self-diagnostic).
To reach Standard: legend height (datasheet, NFPA 101 / IBC) and input power (datasheet, UL 924), the two figures the LPX sheet does not publish. To reach Full: a test-report-backed sign-face luminance (UL 924).
Achievements: emergency and energy claimed.
Downloadcooper-sure-lites-lpx7sd.ulc→ -
Cooper Sure-Lites ES · exit sign, AC-only
An edge-lit AC-only sign: 6-inch letters, single face, 3.8 W published input power. The battery requirements correctly skip because its power source is AC-only.
To reach Full: a test-report-backed sign-face luminance (test report, UL 924).
Achievements: emergency claimed.
Downloadcooper-sure-lites-es61src.ulc→ -
Cooper AtLite AUX · exit sign, self-powered
A self-powered NYC-compliant edge-lit sign with 8-inch letters; its UL 924 listing is backed by two attached UL Certificates of Compliance.
To reach Full: a test-report-backed sign-face luminance (test report, UL 924).
Achievements: emergency documented (certificates attached).
Downloadcooper-atlite-auxswhsd.ulc→
How records are authored: the four patterns and the product classes →
JSON Schema
The ULC schema, written to JSON Schema Draft 2020-12, served at /schema/ulc.json with the application/schema+json content type.
Point any Draft 2020-12 library at this file to validate records; the taxonomy schema it references is served beside it at /schema/taxonomy.json. The schema's $id is versionless by design: each record declares the release it conforms to in its own ulc_version field, and the schema surface is additive-only across minor releases, so older records stay valid.
ulc.json
ulc.json →
Go reference validator
The canonical reference implementation: ulc, a single-file Go binary that validates records against the schema, verifies source-file hashes, regenerates the index block with its two computed views (the conformance level and Product Achievements), and converts a manufacturer workbook into validated records with ulc from-sheet. Released via GitHub Releases on the spec repository.
Pick the binary for your platform. Each download is accompanied by the full SHA-256 checksum for integrity verification.
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macOS · Apple Silicon (arm64)
ulc_1.0.1_darwin_arm64.tar.gz1.6 MiB
Download →SHA-256: 1b7783c76d6114396729c4b67385811483fe8fe5fcf09bcc6833c04b139a0ca7
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macOS · Intel (amd64)
ulc_1.0.1_darwin_amd64.tar.gz1.6 MiB
Download →SHA-256: a930cffac4af50ba4126cd54bac5699db155710f13c3cdae47f9904bb1efbc31
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Linux · arm64
ulc_1.0.1_linux_arm64.tar.gz1.5 MiB
Download →SHA-256: 22b77bde6ceed3bccb27dc13912a079de3ed97ec66b14478627da537be9789ba
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Linux · amd64
ulc_1.0.1_linux_amd64.tar.gz1.6 MiB
Download →SHA-256: f737b3db6e800491fc607ee7358e8a406f6d1faa1ea07c7e009ec76f53d28303
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Windows · arm64
ulc_1.0.1_windows_arm64.zip1.5 MiB
Download →SHA-256: 3d8d87b9daab0dabdb165fadffb6f924541986fd34007f5ee73aef8820f253ba
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Windows · amd64
ulc_1.0.1_windows_amd64.zip1.7 MiB
Download →SHA-256: 2f7c62390d3545b98b3dd13dc18b2b7822a420cfff7c6d181d5ddd5ef8db86f9
Install instructions
macOS / Linux: Extract the archive: tar -xzf ulc_<version>_<platform>_<arch>.tar.gz. Move the ulc binary onto your PATH, for example /usr/local/bin/ulc. Run ulc --version to confirm.
Windows: Download the .zip and extract ulc.exe. Add the containing directory to your PATH environment variable. Open a new terminal and run ulc --version to confirm.
Previous releases
The five most-recent stable releases are listed below with version, release date, and a link to the release notes on GitHub. For the full release history, see the Releases page on the spec repository.