Basic Strategy

The basic strategy controls whether the original plugin-generated test cases (without any strategies applied) are included in the final output.

Implementation

The basic strategy accepts the following configuration options:

Example usage:

redteam:
  language: ['es', 'fr'] # Test in Spanish and French
  strategies:
    - id: basic
      config:
        enabled: false # Only run tests with strategies applied
    - id: jailbreak
    - id: base64

How It Works

By default, promptfoo will:

1. Generate test cases from enabled plugins
2. Apply each strategy to generate additional test cases
3. Include both the original plugin test cases and strategy-generated test cases

When the basic strategy is disabled (enabled: false), only the strategy-generated test cases will be included in the final output. This can be useful when you want to focus solely on testing specific attack vectors through strategies.

Use Cases

• Testing strategy effectiveness: Disable basic tests to isolate and evaluate how well your strategies are working
• Reducing test volume: If you have many plugins and strategies, disabling basic tests can reduce the total number of tests
• Focused testing: When you specifically want to test how your system handles modified/strategic inputs rather than basic plugin-generated tests

Related Concepts

• Red Team Plugins - Generate test cases for basic strategy
• Red Team Strategies - Other strategies to apply to test cases
• Configuration Guide - More advanced configuration options

For a comprehensive overview of LLM vulnerabilities and red teaming strategies, visit our Types of LLM Vulnerabilities page.