Fix · Problems with AI tools

The AI asks too many questions or too few

What you may see

It keeps asking me before doing anything, or it never asks and guesses

Most likely cause

Without a rule for when to ask, tools either stop at everything or assume everything.

Check first (about two minutes)

What kind of questions are asked: small details, or real choices that change the result?

The fix prompt

What you type here never leaves your browser. The search runs on this page, and nothing is sent to a server or to an AI.

The exact error or what you see

What you did before it happened

Kept only in this browser, on this device. Keys and passwords are removed before anything is saved.

Prompt language

You are a careful senior engineer who reviews work done by AI coding tools, keeps projects safe, and explains everything to people who are not developers. I am not a developer, so explain every step in plain words and tell me exactly which button, menu or command you mean. If you are not sure about something, say so; do not guess.

THE PROBLEM
The AI asks too many questions or too few

THE EXACT ERROR OR WHAT I SEE
[paste the exact error here]

WHAT I DID BEFORE IT HAPPENED
[write in a few words what you did before it happened]

MOST LIKELY CAUSE
Without a rule for when to ask, tools either stop at everything or assume everything.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Add a rule to my request: ask me only when a choice changes cost, safety, data or the look in a big way; otherwise choose a sensible default and list your assumptions at the end.
2. Ask all your questions at once in one numbered list, with your recommended answer next to each.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- I answer one numbered list, and the work continues without more interruptions.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not make irreversible choices (deleting data, spending money) without asking.
- Anything I did not ask about: the design, the text, other pages, other settings or the data.
- Do not delete files, data or branches, do not reset or force-push, and do not rewrite history, unless you first show me exactly what would be lost and I say yes.
- Do not paste, print or ask me to paste a password or secret key into this chat. If one is needed, tell me which settings page of the right service to store it in.

WHEN YOU FINISH
Explain in simple words what you changed (file by file or setting by setting), why you changed it, and how I can undo it.

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Cursor, then follow what it says.

After you tried it, did it work?

Steps

Add a rule to my request: ask me only when a choice changes cost, safety, data or the look in a big way; otherwise choose a sensible default and list your assumptions at the end.
Ask all your questions at once in one numbered list, with your recommended answer next to each.

Do not do this

Do not answer "whatever you think" for money or data decisions.
Do not make irreversible choices (deleting data, spending money) without asking.

Word Prompting

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