> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://vlyai-1c28d863.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Common prompting mistakes

> The ten most common ways prompts go wrong, with fixes.

The patterns that consistently produce poor results, and how to fix each.

## 1. Vague qualifiers

> "Make it modern."

**Fix**: be specific. "Use rounded corners (12px), more whitespace (16px gaps), and lighter fonts (Inter 400 for body)."

## 2. Multiple unrelated changes

> "Fix the date picker, add a settings page, and refactor auth."

**Fix**: three prompts, not one.

## 3. Implementation hand-holding

> "Use Zustand for state in the new feature."

**Fix**: trust the agent. Only specify implementation when you have a strong reason.

## 4. Prompting from memory

> "Add a button next to the avatar in the header."

**Fix**: open the preview, verify the avatar is where you remember.

## 5. Missing scope

> "Add notifications."

**Fix**: where, what triggers, what they look like, what they do on click.

## 6. Asking for the impossible

> "Make it work offline."

**Fix**: be specific about the offline model. Read-only? Cached? Sync on reconnect?

## 7. Re-prompting on broken state

If revision N broke something, don't prompt revision N+1 to "also fix that." Roll back to N-1, re-prompt cleanly.

## 8. Skipping Plan mode for big changes

Plan mode catches misreads cheaply. Use it for any prompt that affects the schema or adds a page.

## 9. Not reading the agent's restatement

The agent restates the prompt in Plan mode. If the restatement is wrong, the prompt is wrong.

## 10. Fighting the agent on the same correction

If you keep correcting the same thing ("use named functions"), put it in [custom instructions](/building/custom-instructions). Stop wasting prompts on it.

## Related

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Fundamentals" icon="message-square" href="/prompting/fundamentals">
    The principles.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Five-layer method" icon="layers" href="/prompting/the-five-layer-method">
    The framework.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Debugging prompts" icon="bug" href="/prompting/debugging-prompts">
    When prompts go wrong.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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