You don't need a hundred coding prompts. You need five you trust and actually reuse.
Anchor to one reader
Write down what you never want as explicitly as what you do. The exclusions often do more work than the instructions.
Generate options, not answers
Ask for the reasoning, then the result. When the model shows its steps you can see exactly where to push back.
- Name the audience and the single goal before you generate
- Keep one ask per prompt — chaining beats cramming
- Lower the reading level, then check what broke
Name the failure modes
Treat the first output as a draft, not a verdict. The prompt does the typing; you keep the judgment about what ships.
Treat the first output as a draft, not a verdict. The prompt does the typing; you keep the judgment about what ships.