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One thing per prompt

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One thing per prompt

A with five asks gets five mediocre answers. Break work into one focused step at a time, accept it, then move to the next.

beginner

Bad: “Fix the bug in checkout, also refactor the auth flow, also add tests for the cart, also update the README.”

Good: “Fix the bug in checkout.” (then, after reviewing: “Now refactor the auth flow.”)

Long compound produce muddled diffs that are impossible to review. Worse, when one part is wrong, you have to undo everything. One step at a time is slower per-line but faster overall — and the diffs stay reviewable.

Exception: when the steps are truly coupled (e.g. “rename this function AND update all callers”) you can bundle them. Use judgement.

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Pin the constraints, not the method

When you really do need to constrain Claude, pin the *requirements* (must run in under 200ms, must work offline, must not break the public ) — not the implementation choices Claude can pick freely.