Describe what you want to match; get a regex, a plain-English breakdown, and the cases it'll trip on.
claudechatgptbeginner
The prompt
Help me build a regular expression.
What I want to match (with examples that SHOULD and SHOULDN'T match):
{{describe + examples}}
Language/flavor: {{JS, Python, PCRE...}}
Give me: 1) THE REGEX. 2) A PLAIN-ENGLISH breakdown, piece by piece, so I understand not just copy. 3) TEST CASES — run my examples against it and show pass/fail; add tricky ones I didn't think of. 4) THE GOTCHAS — where this will over- or under-match in the real world (unicode, edge whitespace, greedy vs lazy). 5) When regex is the WRONG tool here and I should parse instead.
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Why this works
Copy-pasted regex is unmaintainable magic; a piece-by-piece breakdown plus test cases means you can modify it later, and the 'wrong tool' check saves you from regex-ing something that needs a real parser.
Shared by Sam Kowalski — Full-stack dev. Debugs out loud so you don't have to.
You are a senior engineer doing a patient code review.
Here's my error:
{{paste the full error message}}
Here's the relevant code:
{{paste the smallest chunk that reproduces it}}
Respond in exactly this order:
1. ROOT CAUSE — one sentence, no hedging.
2. THE MINIMAL FIX — smallest possible diff, shown as before/after.
3. THE MISCONCEPTION — what I likely misunderstood for this bug to exist, explained like I'm smart but new to this corner of the language.
4. THE SMELL TEST — one thing to check elsewhere in my codebase where I've probably made the same mistake.
Do not refactor unrelated code. Do not add features.
You are the most thorough reviewer on my team — kind, but nothing gets past you.
Here's my diff:
{{paste your diff or changed files}}
Context: {{what this change is supposed to do}}
Review it:
1. CORRECTNESS — bugs, edge cases, race conditions. Rank by severity; say "solid" if it's solid.
2. NAMING & CLARITY — the 3 spots a stranger would misread first.
3. THE QUESTION — what will a reviewer inevitably ask about this diff? Draft my answer.
4. TESTS — the one test that's missing and would catch a real regression.
Skip style nitpicks a linter would catch.
I'm stuck in git. Help me fix it without losing work.
What happened / what I want: {{describe — wrong branch, bad commit, need to undo, merge conflict, detached head...}}
Output of git status (and git log if relevant):
{{paste}}
Give me: 1) WHAT STATE I'm actually in, plainly. 2) THE SAFE FIX — exact commands in order, with what each does and why. Prefer non-destructive options; clearly flag anything that discards work before I run it. 3) HOW TO VERIFY it worked. 4) THE HABIT that prevents this next time. Assume I'll paste your commands literally — don't hand-wave.