Seed data
Realistic fake records loaded into an app so you can see and test it before real data exists.
What it is
Seed data is pretend content: sample customers, orders, and messages that fill an empty app so you can see how it looks and behaves. It's how you review a dashboard before anyone has used it.
Good seed data is realistic: plausible names, believable amounts, a mix of statuses, some edge cases (a very long name, an empty field). "Test 1, Test 2" hides layout problems.
It's also useful to have a version with no data at all, to check the empty states.
How to ask for it
“I can't tell what it looks like because it's empty.”
“Add seed data: 12 realistic clients with a mix of active, paused, and churned statuses, 40 invoices across the last six months, one client with a very long company name, and a separate empty scenario.”
The weak prompt states the problem; "seed data" names the fix and the prompt sets quantity, realism, and edge cases.
You've seen this in
- PDemo workspaces in project tools
- NSample files in a new Notion account
- DExample data in a dashboard template