That’s exactly what I do. Grab some vinyl gloves, get into it and analyze everything. Test everything. Re-analyze everything. Merge, repeat.
It sucks ass.
What does help is to set boundaries and prompt very, VERY specifically. “Replace the exception driven behavior with result types, keep to the following packages, only make a plan and suggest a reasonable type. I want to achieve Y, I’m coming from Z. etc.”.
Then, don’t jump into it with the chat or agents. Start with plan and use a good model. Claude Sonnet is the cheapest I use. I tried others, but they caused more work than they achieved to save. Check the plan, switch to implementing. Check the result, run the tests, start a new baby step-task. Don’t try to revamp the whole application. That will not work. Never.
I’ve had the bests results with ignoring the plugins in IDEs, even in IntelliJ or Rider. Currently I use opencode exclusively.
But still, even with all of those precautions, check everything, analyze everything, re-evaluate everything. And don’t forget to commit regularly, so that you can easily revert bullshit changes. And don’t be afraid to revert them, it’s not worth your time.
It still sucks, but it can work this way.
It’s like mob programming with a highly educated idiot.
That’s exactly what I do. Grab some vinyl gloves, get into it and analyze everything. Test everything. Re-analyze everything. Merge, repeat.
It sucks ass.
What does help is to set boundaries and prompt very, VERY specifically. “Replace the exception driven behavior with result types, keep to the following packages, only make a plan and suggest a reasonable type. I want to achieve Y, I’m coming from Z. etc.”.
Then, don’t jump into it with the chat or agents. Start with plan and use a good model. Claude Sonnet is the cheapest I use. I tried others, but they caused more work than they achieved to save. Check the plan, switch to implementing. Check the result, run the tests, start a new baby step-task. Don’t try to revamp the whole application. That will not work. Never.
I’ve had the bests results with ignoring the plugins in IDEs, even in IntelliJ or Rider. Currently I use opencode exclusively.
But still, even with all of those precautions, check everything, analyze everything, re-evaluate everything. And don’t forget to commit regularly, so that you can easily revert bullshit changes. And don’t be afraid to revert them, it’s not worth your time.
It still sucks, but it can work this way.
It’s like mob programming with a highly educated idiot.