---
title: "My AI coding tips"
pubDate: 2026-01-28
description: "Eleven practical tips for getting the most out of AI coding tools, from writing detailed prompts to letting AI evaluate its own results."
author:
  name: "Piotr Grudzień"
  image: "/blog-assets/authors/piotr_grudzien.jpg"
image:
  url: "/blog-assets/posts/ai_coding_tips_bg.jpg"
  alt: "Thumbnail for My AI coding tips"
tags: ["engineering"]
---

## #1 Write long prompts

When I start working on a new feature, I write long prompts. I tell a story. It's like delegating a task to a teammate. **Give them enough context to do a great job.**

## #2 Ask AI to summarize

When I get back to a project after a few days I ask AI to summarize it for me. **Helpful for both of us.**

## #3 Assume you weren't clear enough

When AI makes a mistake, I assume I wasn't being clear enough. I explain things once again in a long prompt. **I give it more context than what feels necessary.**

## #4 Spend extra time on prompts

Spend that extra 30 seconds writing a more detailed prompt to get great results. Yesterday I started working on a new feature and wrote a **1000-word prompt by hand** to get started.

## #5 AI can read between the lines

AI can read between the lines. I recommend writing long well-thought-out prompts both because of what they communicate and meta-communicate. Your use of words, the amount of airtime you give to some problems over other, you explicitly describing something as tricky - **all those clues are picked up by AI and reflected in code**.

## #6 Read every line of code

Read every line of AI output and code. It's time well spent. **You're saving loads of time anyway.**

## #7 Don't let AI explore on its own

Don't let AI figure things out on its own or "explore the codebase". **Point it to specific files, classes, functions by their names.** You save time, tokens and context. And you put your mind closer to the code. All it takes is an extra 5 seconds of typing.

## #8 Use adjectives!

Use adjectives! Want your UI to be **"clean modern Apple-like"**? Say it! Want the feature to be **"complex, detailed and with a sophisticated user in mind"**? Say it!

## #9 Let AI evaluate its own results

Let the AI evaluate its own results! Implementing an LLM-based feature? Have the AI use it and **refine in a loop** based on your story of what makes the feature great.

## #10 Read, understand and review

It's your job to **read, understand and review all the code!**

## #11 AI coding is your friend

AI coding is your friend. Your job is to make great things with it. **Your job is not to prove to yourself and everyone else that AI coding is useless.**