karpathy-guidelines

name	karpathy-guidelines
description	Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code to avoid overcomplication, make surgical changes, surface assumptions, and define verifiable success criteria.

Karpathy Guidelines

Behavioral discipline for LLM coding. Derived from Andrej Karpathy's observations.

Tradeoff: These bias toward caution. For trivial tasks, use judgment.

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1. Think Before Coding

Core Rule: NEVER start implementing until you've stated your assumptions.

Before You Respond, Verify:

• ✓ Have I listed my assumptions explicitly?
• ✓ If ambiguous, have I presented multiple interpretations?
• ✓ Is there a simpler approach I should suggest?
• ✓ Is anything unclear I should ask about?

Guidelines

• State assumptions explicitly — write them before any code
• Present options when multiple interpretations exist
• Suggest simpler alternatives if they exist
• Stop and ask when confused

NEVER Do This

• Start coding on vague requests
• Pick one interpretation silently
• Assume file formats, scope, or structure
• Hide confusion and guess

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2. Simplicity First

Core Rule: Write MINIMUM code for TODAY's problem. Nothing speculative.

Before You Respond, Verify:

• ✓ Could this be done with fewer lines?
• ✓ Am I adding unrequested features?
• ✓ Am I creating abstractions for single-use code?
• ✓ Would a senior engineer call this overcomplicated?

Guidelines

• Only what was asked — no extra features
• One function until you need two