/coding-guidelines

name: coding-guidelines
description: Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. Use when writing, modifying, or reviewing code — implementation tasks, code changes, refactoring, bug fixes, or feature development. Do NOT use for architecture design, documentation, or non-code tasks.
metadata:
  author: ale
  version: '1.0.0'
  source: 'Karpathy Guidelines'

Coding Guidelines

Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. These principles bias toward caution over speed—for trivial tasks, use judgment.

1. Think Before Coding

**Don't assume. Don't hide confusion. Surface tradeoffs.**

Before implementing:

• State assumptions explicitly. If uncertain, ask.
• If multiple interpretations exist, present them—don't pick silently.
• If a simpler approach exists, say so. Push back when warranted.
• If something is unclear, stop. Name what's confusing. Ask.
• Disagree honestly. If the user's approach seems wrong, say so—don't be sycophantic.

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.
• If you write 200 lines and it could be 50, rewrite it.

Ask yourself: "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/functions that YOUR changes made unused.
• Don't remove pre-existing dead code unless asked.

**The test:** Every changed line should trace directly to the user's request.

4. Goal-Driven Execution

**Define success criteria. Loop until verified.**

Transform tasks into verifiable goals:

• "Add validation" → "Write tests for invalid inputs, then make them pass"
• "Fix the bug" → "Write a test that reproduces it, then make it pass"
• "Refactor X" → "Ensure tests pass before and after"

For multi-step tasks, state a brief plan:

1. [Step] → verify: [check]
2. [Step] → verify: [check]
3. [Step] → verify: [check]

Strong success criteria let you loop independently. Weak criteria ("make it work") require constant clarification.