Fix · Problems with AI tools

The AI keeps going in circles (same fix, same error)

Blocks your work

What you may see

It apologises, tries again, and the same error returns
Each attempt makes the code longer and messier

Most likely cause

The tool no longer has the real cause; its context is full of failed tries, and every new try builds on them.

Check first (about two minutes)

Count how many times the same error came back (three or more means stop).
Is there a saved good version from before the loop began?

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 keeps going in circles (same fix, same error)

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
The tool no longer has the real cause; its context is full of failed tries, and every new try builds on them.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Stop making changes. Summarise in 5 lines: what I wanted, the exact error, what has been tried, and what each try changed.
2. Go back to the last version that worked (show me the command and wait for my yes), so that we start from a clean state.
3. List three different possible causes (not variations of the old fix) with one quick test for each, and run the tests one at a time.
4. Apply the smallest fix for the cause the tests confirm.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- The original error is gone, no new error appeared, and the diff is small.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not add more code on top of the failed attempts.
- 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

Stop making changes. Summarise in 5 lines: what I wanted, the exact error, what has been tried, and what each try changed.
Go back to the last version that worked (show me the command and wait for my yes), so that we start from a clean state.
List three different possible causes (not variations of the old fix) with one quick test for each, and run the tests one at a time.
Apply the smallest fix for the cause the tests confirm.

Do not do this

Do not keep pressing "try again" more than twice.
Do not paste the same error into a new chat without the summary.
Do not add more code on top of the failed attempts.

Try another entry