A short thought can bring amazing ideas > TL;DR: There are some great quotes I've been collecting. I use them as inspiration or a motto for some articles. Here we go: > First make the change easy warning: this might be hard, then make the easy c...

Stop the memory rot > TL;DR: You can keep your AI sharp by forcing it to summarize and prune what it remembers a.k.a. compacting. Common Mistake ❌ You keep a single, long conversation open for hours. You feed the AI with every error log and ever...

If I see a Variable that doesn't change. I call that variable a constant > TL;DR: Be explicit on what mutates and what doesn't. Problems Addressed Mutabilityhttps://coderlegion.com/6742/the-evil-power-of-mutants Code Optimization Related Code S...

You own the code. Own and understand what it does. > TL;DR: Never ship AI-generated code you don't understand — ask until you do. Common Mistake ❌ You ask an AI agent to implement a feature. It returns 200 lines of code. You run the tests. They ...

Behavior is repeated across the system. But you are missing a concept > TL;DR: Put together what belongs together Problems Addressed Code Duplication Missing Abstraction Low Cohesion Related Code Smells https://maximilianocontieri.com/code-...

Summarize your architecture rules and give your AI a persistent memory > TL;DR: When you use the /init command, you create a context file that saves you from repeating instructions in every new session. Common Mistake ❌ You waste time copying and ...

Stop copying code chunks. Start letting AI agents work directly with your files. > TL;DR: Use terminal-based AI tools to give your assistant direct access to your local files and test suites. Common Mistake ❌ You copy code snippets into a web brow...

A series of practical advice on how to use AI to code > TL;DR: Master the balance between AI speed and code with professional craftsmanship. In this series, you will learn practical state-of-the-art advices to use AI to code. https://coderlegion.c...

Discouraged by Object-Oriented Programming, Many mixed languages support it. And developers abuse them. > TL;DR: Global functions bring a lot of coupling. Don't use them. Problems Tight Coupling Poor Readability Maintainability Testability H...

Learn guided by the domain > TL;DR: Use AI to understand requirements and build a shared mental model while you write the code. Common Mistake ❌ You jump directly to code generation with a vague, wishful prompt. The AI appears to understand your ...

Small changes yield unexpected problems. > TL;DR: If small changes have big impact, you need to decouple your system. Problems High Couplinghttps://coderlegion.com/6634/coupling-the-one-and-only-software-design-problem Low maintainability Side...

Avoid the Agentic Trojan Horse > TL;DR: Treat AI agent skills like dangerous executable code and read the instructions carefully. Common Mistake ❌ You install community skillshttps://coderlegion.com/10515/ai-coding-tip-004-use-modular-skills for y...

You own the code, not the AI > TL;DR: If you can't explain all your code, don't commit it. Common Mistake ❌ You prompt and paste AI-generated code directly into your project without thinking twice. You trust the AI without verification and create...

Give your collections a purpose and a connection to the real world > TL;DR: Wrap primitive collections into dedicated objects to ensure type safety and encapsulate business logic. Problems Addressed Type safety violations Logic duplicationhttps:...

Keep your prompts clean and focused, and stop the context rot > TL;DR: Clear your chat history to keep your AI assistant sharp. Common Mistake ❌ You keep a single chat window open for hours. You switch from debugging a React component to writing...

The code smells badly. Let's see how to change the aromas. > TL;DR: A Compilation of bad smells in code. In this series, we will see several symptoms and situations that make us doubt the quality of our development. We will present possible solutio...

Assertions, Preconditions, Postconditions and invariants are our allies to avoid invalid objects. Avoiding them leads to hard-to-find errors. > TL;DR: If you turn off your assertions just in production your phone will ring at late hours. Problems ...

Stop bloating your context window. > TL;DR: Create small, specialized files with specific rules to keep your AI focused, accurate and preventing hallucinations. Common Mistake ❌ You know the drill - you paste your entire project documentation or e...

An object that knows too much or does too much. > TL;DR: Don't take too many responsibilities in a single class. Problems Low cohesion High couplinghttps://coderlegion.com/6634/coupling-the-one-and-only-software-design-problem Single Responsib...

Think first, code later > TL;DR: Set your AI code assistant to read-only state before it touches your files. Common Mistake ❌ You paste your failing call stack to your AI assistant without further instructions. The copilot immediately begins modi...