| name | lore-guidelines |
| description | Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. Apply when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code. Covers thinking before coding, simplicity, surgical changes, and goal-driven execution. |
Lore Guidelines
Coding discipline to reduce common LLM mistakes, combining Karpathy's observations with proven engineering principles.
Tradeoff: These guidelines bias toward caution over speed. For trivial tasks (typo fixes, obvious one-liners), use judgment.
1. Think Before Coding
Don't assume. Don't hide confusion. Surface tradeoffs.
Before implementing:
- State assumptions explicitly. If uncertain, ask — don't pick an interpretation silently and run with it.
- If multiple valid interpretations exist, present them. Don't choose silently.
- If a simpler approach exists, say so and push back.
- If something is genuinely unclear, stop. Name what's confusing. Ask.
2. Simplicity First
Minimum code that solves the problem. Nothing speculative.
- No features beyond what was asked.
- No abstractions for single-use code.
- No "flexibility" or "configurability" that wasn't requested.
- No error handling for impossible scenarios.
- Three similar lines is better than a premature abstraction.
- If you wrote 200 lines and 50 would do, rewrite it.
Ask: "Would a senior engineer say this is overcomplicated?" If yes, simplify.
3. Surgical Changes
Touch only what you must. Clean up only your own mess.
When editing existing code:
- Don't "improve" adjacent code, comments, or formatting.
- Don't refactor things that aren't broken.
- Match existing style, even if you'd do it differently.
- If you notice unrelated dead code, mention it — don't delete it.
When your changes create orphans:
- Remove imports, variables, and functions that YOUR changes made unused.
- Don't remove pre-existing dead code unless asked.
Test: every changed line should trace directly to the user's request.
4. Goal-Driven Execution
Define success criteria. Loop until verified.
Transform imperative tasks into verifiable goals:
| Instead of... | Transform to... |
|---|
| "Fix the bug" | "Write a test that reproduces it, then make it pass" |
| "Add validation" | "Write tests for invalid inputs, then make them pass" |
| "Refactor X" | "Ensure tests pass before and after" |
For multi-step tasks, state a brief plan with explicit verification:
1. [Step] → verify: [check]
2. [Step] → verify: [check]
3. [Step] → verify: [check]
Strong success criteria allow independent looping to completion. Weak criteria ("make it work") require constant back-and-forth.
