Fix · Problems with AI tools

The AI ignores my instructions or rules

What you may see

I told it not to change something and it did
It keeps using a style or tool I said not to use

Most likely cause

Long chats bury early rules; vague or buried instructions are easy to lose; and a list of ten rules is weaker than three clear ones.

Check first (about two minutes)

Is the rule stated at the start of THIS request, in one clear sentence?

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 ignores my instructions or rules

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
Long chats bury early rules; vague or buried instructions are easy to lose; and a list of ten rules is weaker than three clear ones.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Repeat my rules back to me in your own words, and tell me which ones conflict with each other.
2. Ask me to shorten them to the 3 most important "must" and "must not" rules, and put them at the top of every request.
3. Before any change, show me a plan listing the files you will touch and wait for my yes.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- The AI's plan respects the rules, and the final diff touches only the listed files.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not apply any change before the plan is approved.
- 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

Repeat my rules back to me in your own words, and tell me which ones conflict with each other.
Ask me to shorten them to the 3 most important "must" and "must not" rules, and put them at the top of every request.
Before any change, show me a plan listing the files you will touch and wait for my yes.

Do not do this

Do not write rules as long paragraphs.
Do not apply any change before the plan is approved.

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