Ahead of the Bot

Claude Code: give it a pass/fail check and let it iterate

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Claude Code team's #1 tip: hand the agent a test, build or linter it can run, so it fixes its own mistakes before you see them.

Grok API: send the encrypted reasoning back every turn

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On xAI's Responses API, append every output item (including encrypted reasoning) to the next request. Dropping it hurts quality and cache hits.

Use plan mode before multi-file changes in Claude Code

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Press Shift+Tab to enter plan mode: Claude reads and proposes a plan without editing files. Refine the plan, then let it execute.

Gemini: put your question after the long context, not before

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

With big documents or code, Google advises supplying all context first, then your specific instructions at the very end, bridged by a clear transition.

Cursor project rules must be .mdc files, or they're ignored

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Rules in .cursor/rules need the .mdc extension plus frontmatter. A plain .md file there is silently skipped; use AGENTS.md for plain markdown.

ChatGPT Projects: give each workstream its own instructions and memory

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Project instructions override your global custom instructions inside that project, and project-only memory keeps context from leaking across.

Keep CLAUDE.md short (under ~200 lines)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

CLAUDE.md loads into every session. Bloated files get ignored, so keep only always-relevant facts and move procedures into skills.

Midjourney: keep a consistent look with --sref and --sw

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Add --sref with an image URL or style code to reuse a look across images, and tune its strength with --sw (0-1000, default 100).

Use hooks for anything that must happen every time

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Instructions are suggestions; hooks are guarantees. Use Claude Code hooks to auto-lint after edits or block dangerous commands.

OpenAI API: tune reasoning effort and verbosity separately

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

reasoning_effort controls how hard the model thinks; verbosity controls how long the answer is. Adjust them instead of rewriting prompts.

Customize Audio Overviews: Brief, Critique or Debate instead of the default

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Google's notebook tool (formerly NotebookLM) can turn your sources into a 2-minute brief, a critique of your draft, or a debate, plus a custom focus prompt.

Gemini: include a few varied examples in your prompt

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Google recommends always including few-shot examples. Clear examples can even replace instructions for format and tone.

Run 3-5 coding agents in parallel with git worktrees

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Claude Code team's biggest productivity unlock: several sessions at once, each in its own git worktree so edits never collide.

Delegate noisy side tasks to subagents

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Codebase searches and log digs flood your context. A subagent does the work in isolation and hands back only the summary.

Structure complex Claude prompts with XML tags

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Wrap instructions, documents and examples in descriptive XML tags so Claude never confuses your data with your instructions.

Keep Cursor rules minimal; move occasional workflows to skills

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Every rule costs context in every chat. Cursor recommends short, specific rules (<500 lines) and skills for things you need only sometimes.

Grok API: set reasoning effort explicitly and leave sampling near 0.7/0.95

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

xAI recommends temperature 0.7 and top_p 0.95, explicit reasoning effort on every request, streaming, and long client timeouts.

Midjourney: dial literal vs. artistic with --stylize

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

--stylize (or --s) ranges 0-1000, default 100. Go low to follow your prompt closely, high for more artistic interpretation.

Treat production prompts like application code

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

OpenAI recommends versioning prompts in your repo, using typed variables, reviewing them in PRs and running evals on every change.

The three C's: concise, clear, consistent, plus a new chat per topic

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Google's prompting framework: persona, task, context, format. Write concisely and clearly, reuse the same terms, and start fresh chats for new topics.