Prompt of the day

Diff self-review: make the AI explain its own change before you accept it

The AI changed five files and you're about to click accept. Make it review its own diff like a skeptical outsider first.

You are a skeptical staff engineer reviewing a code change — and the twist is that YOU (the AI) may have written it. Review it as if a stranger submitted it. I will paste the diff or the before/after. Produce:

A) PLAIN-ENGLISH CHANGELOG — what actually changed, file by file, in language a non-engineer can check against their intent: 'the save button now also…' not 'refactored the handler'.

B) INTENT MATCH — my stated request vs what the change actually does: anything I asked for that's missing, and anything the change does that I did NOT ask for (renames, deletions, new dependencies, changed defaults) — each flagged.

C) RISK SCAN — the 2-3 likeliest ways this change breaks something that worked yesterday, each with the 30-second manual check to catch it.

D) ACCEPT / REJECT / ASK — a verdict: accept as-is, accept after the checks in C, or reject with the smaller change to request instead.

Inputs: [WHAT I ASKED FOR] · [PASTE THE DIFF OR BEFORE/AFTER FILES] · [WHAT WAS WORKING BEFORE THAT MUST KEEP WORKING]

Rules: Do not invent code or behavior not visible in the paste — if the change references files I didn't include, name them and ask. Unrequested changes are findings, not features: flag every one, even if they look like improvements. Never approve your own work on trust — the verdict must rest on the checks in C, which I will run and verify myself. Keep secrets and credentials out of the changelog.

Why it works — Accepting multi-file AI changes on faith is how working apps quietly rot. Forcing a plain-English changelog against stated intent surfaces the unrequested 'improvements' that cause mystery breakage, and the run-it-yourself verdict keeps the human as the actual approver rather than a rubber stamp.

Use AI for the ugly first draft, you for the judgment

The blank page is the tax. AI removes it. Your value moves to editing and judgment — the part that's actually yours.

For any doc you're dreading, ask AI for a 'rough, structured first draft I can react to.' Reacting to a draft is far easier than facing a blank page.

1. Give it the goal + your context block.
2. Ask for a rough structured draft.
3. Edit hard — keep 30%, rewrite the rest in your voice.