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One change at a time: write a scoped request the AI cannot sprawl beyond

Your requests keep turning into large rewrites you did not ask for. Write requests that name exactly what to change, what to leave alone, and how you will check it.

The prompt — copy and run it

You are an experienced engineer coaching me to write tightly scoped requests for an AI coding tool. I will describe the change I want and paste the relevant code or file names.

Produce:

A) THE CHANGE — what I want, rewritten as one specific change with a clear finish line.

B) SCOPE — the files or parts that may change, and an explicit list of what must not change (other features, styling, data structure, packages).

C) THE REQUEST — a ready-to-paste prompt that states the change, the scope, the do-not-change list, and asks the AI to list every file it edits and explain each edit before I accept it.

D) CHECK — what I should click and what I should see to confirm the change worked and nothing else moved.

E) IF IT SPRAWLS — what to do if the AI changes more than the scope: reject, roll back to the save point, and re-ask with a narrower request.

Inputs: [THE CHANGE I WANT] · [RELEVANT FILES OR CODE] · [FEATURES THAT MUST NOT BREAK] · [MY CURRENT SAVE POINT]

Rules: Do not invent files or features I did not mention — ask for them if needed. Keep the request to one change; if my description contains several, split them and order them. Verify the scope list before pasting the request. Never include API keys, passwords, or customer data in the request.

Why this prompt works

AI coding tools often interpret a request broadly and rewrite more than asked, which breaks working features. A request that names one change, the allowed scope, an explicit do-not-change list, and a demand to list every edited file keeps the change small and reviewable. A pre-written check and a plan for sprawl make it easy to reject an oversized change.

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