Suno AI Prompt Engineering Manual (v4.
5
– July 2025)
Purpose – This document distils the current best-practice for steering Suno AI v4.5.
It combines official knowledge-base notes, community research and production
workflows to help creators deliver professional, licence-ready songs with minimal
prompt waste.[30][1]
1 Model Snapshot
Release Key Upgrades Prompt Impact
v3.5 (May 2024) 4-min songs; WAV export; stems Longer single-shot
beta generations[54]
v4 (Nov 2024) Watermarking; Personas; Cover Vocal/genre fidelity ↑, reuse
mode workflows[73]
v4.5 (May 2025) 8-min cap, richer intonation, Finer emotional nuance; smarter
Prompt-Enhancement Helper, mash-ups; faster renders[30][6]
12-stem export [10]
1.1 Credit & Plan Matrix
Plan Monthly Credits Commercial Daily Refill Price USD / mo
Rights
Basic 1 500 (≈50 day) ✗ ✓ Free[22][31]
Pro 2 500 ✓ 50 after depletion 10[22]
Premier 10 000 ✓ 50 after depletion 30[22]
2 Interface Walk-Through
Suno offers Simple and Custom modes:
Simple Mode – One 200-character style line; fastest for idea sketches[38][50].
Custom Mode – Two panels (Lyrics + Style); supports meta-tags, Personas and
section labels for surgical control[26][23].
Pro-Tip – Draft in Simple, shortlist the best chorus, then switch to Custom for detail
edits and cost-saving reuse[32].
3 Prompt Anatomy
1. High-Level Style Line – Genre + Mood + Instrumentation in plain prose.
2. Optional Meta-Tags – Bracketed commands that fix structure, vocals or FX.[24]
[21]
3. Length & Tempo – Explicit BPM or "extended 8-min" helps hit duration caps[46].
4. Context Hints – Use for sync briefs or ad-libs (“(yeah-eh)” trick).[60]
3.1 Meta-Tag Quick Reference
Category Examples Notes
Structure [Intro] [Verse] [Chorus] [Bridge] Place on its own line; improves
[Outro] lyric alignment[24][21]
Vocals [Male Vocal] [Whisper] [Choir] Add [Harmony: Yes] for backing
vox[24]
FX & Mood [Reverb Heavy] [Mood: Use sparingly – tag spam lowers
Melancholic] adherence[7]
Sound FX [Applause] [Birds Chirping] Bark model triggers these
[Bleep] cues[33]
Character Limit – Style field hard-capped at ~200 chars; keep meta-tags inside
lyrics panel if longer[38].
4 Prompt Blueprints
4.1 Fast One-Liner (Explore)
Dream-pop + bossa nova, wistful, finger-picked nylon guitar, brushed drums, 70 BPM
Outcome: 2-min mellow track, whispery female vocal.[1]
4.2 Custom Dual-Panel
[Verse]
Snowflakes glide across the harbor lights…
[Chorus]
Glow, little lantern…
Style:
Cinematic alt-pop, 6/8 90 BPM, chamber strings, muted piano, [Vocalist: Mezzo], [Mood: Hopeful]
Result: precise lyric alignment and controllable sections.[23]
4.3 Genre Mash-Up Formula
Primary Style + Secondary Detail + Compression Tag
Example – “Lo-fi hip-hop + Celtic pipes, vinyl crackle, dusk city skyline.” v4.5 blends
bagpipes in boom-bap pocket.[2]
5 Advanced Workflows
5.1 Personas
Save vocal & vibe profiles from any track → reuse: …Create > Make Persona.[68][62]
5.2 Cover Mode
Re-express melody/lyrics in new genre while preserving structure – perfect for stylistic
polishing or instrumental bounces.[61][72]
5.3 In-Song Editor
Replace, Extend, Crop, Fade without DAW round-trips; tag [fade][end] for clean tails.[70]
[64]
5.4 Stems & Remixing
Right-click Get Stems → download 12 WAV tracks for external mix or vocal swapping.[63]
[74]
6 Troubleshooting Cheatsheet
Symptom Likely Cause Fix
Bland output Vague style line Add concrete instruments &
mood[37]
Lyrics ignore structure Tags mid-sentence Move tags to line start[3]
Track <2 min Missing BPM/length hint Specify "extended 4-min" or use
Extend[46]
Vocal mis-stress Multilingual or complex rhyme Regenerate; simplify
syllables[14][18]
Prompt rejected Copyright keyword Paraphrase trademark or famous
lyric[40]
7 Legal & Commercial Notes
Suno grants commercial rights on Pro & Premier tiers; free outputs are non-commercial.
RIAA lawsuit over training data does not affect end-user usage licences as of July 2025.
[40][48]
8 Resource Index
Official KB articles – v4.5 release notes, Plans, Personas, Troubleshooting.[30][31]
[68][49]
Community deep dives – Jack Righteous series on meta-tags, covers, editor.[21][60]
[67][70]
Prompt-Helper GPT – community tool auto-formats sub-400-char prompts.[66]
API & integration – Unofficial REST wrappers for Chirp v3/v4.[39][55]
9 Quick-Start Checklist
1. Start in Simple mode, 150-char descriptive line.
2. Iterate 4 variants; shortlist best chorus.
3. Switch to Custom → paste lyrics; add structural tags.
4. Hit Extend for full length; Replace weak bars.
5. Run Cover in same genre to polish mix.
6. Export Stems; master externally; re-import if needed.
7. Save a Persona of winning vocal; reuse in future briefs.
Follow this loop and your prompt-to-publish efficiency will soar.
Happy composing! 🎵
