> ## 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.

# Iterating effectively

> Patterns for momentum across long prompt sessions. Same content as Building → iterating, focused on the prompting craft.

For the operational mindset, see [Building → Iterating effectively](/building/iterating). This page focuses on the prompting craft.

## Three habits

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Read the live preview between prompts" icon="eye">
    Never prompt from memory. Open the preview, see what's there, then write.
  </Card>

  <Card title="One change at a time" icon="minus">
    Five small prompts beat one big one.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Verify before moving on" icon="check-circle">
    Click around. Confirm the change is what you wanted, *and* that it didn't break anything else.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## When you're stuck

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Re-prompted twice; result still wrong" icon="alert-triangle">
    Switch to Plan mode for the next attempt. The plan reveals the misread.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Agent keeps over-editing" icon="alert-triangle">
    Add explicit constraints ("don't change anything outside `components/Tasks/`").
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Same correction repeated three times" icon="alert-triangle">
    Add it to [custom instructions](/building/custom-instructions). One-time setup; works on every future prompt.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Building → iterating" icon="repeat" href="/building/iterating">
    The operational view.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Debugging prompts" icon="bug" href="/prompting/debugging-prompts">
    What to do when the result misses.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Common mistakes" icon="triangle-alert" href="/prompting/common-mistakes">
    Patterns to avoid.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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