Strict code review that ignores style
codingReviews a diff for correctness, edge cases, and regressions — and refuses to comment on formatting.
A migration plan with a rollback you can actually run
Plans a brownfield migration in steps small enough to revert, and names the point of no return.
When to use it
Before touching a system that is currently serving traffic.
The prompt
Copy into your assistant
Write a migration plan from the current state to the target described below.
Requirements:
- Steps small enough that each one can be reverted in under ten minutes.
- Explicitly name the point of no return, and what must be true before crossing it.
- For each step: what to measure before and after, and the signal that means stop.
- Include a rollback section, written as commands or actions, not principles.
Rules:
- Do not plan a big-bang cutover.
- If the target cannot be reached incrementally, say so in the first line and stop.
- Assume the system is in use during the migration.
Current state:
<current>
Target state:
<target>
Constraints:
<constraints>What to change
Fill in the constraints with real ones (freeze windows, team size, on-call). Without them the plan assumes infinite engineers.
Why it works
The 'say so and stop' escape hatch catches the cases where migration is impossible incrementally — which is exactly when a confident plan is most dangerous.
More coding prompts
- Regex from examples, with the failing casesBuilds a pattern from positive examples and then states what it will wrongly match.
- Review names before they become load-bearingChecks function, table, and endpoint names against what they actually do.
- Roll back or fix forward: a decision, not a debateDecides in one minute using blast radius, confidence, and time-to-restore.
Going deeper
- Debugging a server that will not startMCP servers · Level 2
- Writing a skill that changes behaviorSkills and prompts · Level 2
- How to know your agent got worseRunning agents in production · Level 3