Fix · Problems with AI tools

The AI changed files I did not ask it to change

Blocks your work

What you may see

I asked for one small change and many files changed
My design or text changed somewhere else

Most likely cause

AI tools often "improve" nearby code when the request does not say exactly what is allowed to change.

Check first (about two minutes)

Run git status and git diff --stat: which files changed and how much?
Is your work saved (committed) from before the AI started? If yes, you can always go back.

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 changed files I did not ask it to change

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
AI tools often "improve" nearby code when the request does not say exactly what is allowed to change.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Do not change anything yet. List every changed file with a one-line description of what changed, and mark each as "asked for" or "not asked for".
2. For the "not asked for" files, show the exact difference and propose to put them back to their saved version (git restore <file>), and wait for my yes.
3. Keep only the change I asked for, then run the build and show me.
4. Give me a short rule text to add at the start of future requests so this does not repeat (what may change, what must not).
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- git diff --stat lists only the files for my request, and the app still builds and looks the same elsewhere.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not restore or delete anything before I confirm the list.
- 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

Do not change anything yet. List every changed file with a one-line description of what changed, and mark each as "asked for" or "not asked for".
For the "not asked for" files, show the exact difference and propose to put them back to their saved version (git restore <file>), and wait for my yes.
Keep only the change I asked for, then run the build and show me.
Give me a short rule text to add at the start of future requests so this does not repeat (what may change, what must not).

Do not do this

Do not accept a big batch of changes without reading the list of files.
Do not start the next request before saving the current good state.
Do not restore or delete anything before I confirm the list.

Try another entry