Ask for a plan before Claude builds, explained by monkey
When you ask Claude to make something big, it often starts making it straight away, and if it guessed wrong you spend ages fixing it. Ask for a plan first, fix the plan, then say go. Here's the line to copy, a few ways to use it, and the one thing to watch for.
Claude is keen. Say "build me an app" and it gets going, filling in every gap with its own guesses. Anthropic's own guide warns about exactly this: letting Claude jump straight in "can produce code that solves the wrong problem." Their fix is to plan first and build second. A plan is short and easy to change. A finished thing is not.
How to do it
- Say what you want, and say clearly that you only want a plan for now.
- Read the plan like a boss. Is it making the right thing? Is anything missing? Is anything silly?
- Tell Claude what to change ("no login page", "make it one page, not five") and ask for the plan again until it's right.
- Then say "looks good, go ahead and build it."
The line to copy
Paste this at the start of your message, then describe what you want underneath:
Before you make anything, write me a short plan: what you'll make, the steps, and anything you're not sure about. Don't build anything yet. Wait for me to say go. Here's what I want: [describe it]
Ways to use it
- A website for your shop: get the list of pages and what goes on each one before any of it gets written.
- A little app or tool: check what buttons and screens it will have, and cut the ones you don't need.
- A long document, like a report or a business plan: agree on the headings first, then fill them in.
- A spreadsheet that does sums for you: check which columns it plans to use before it builds the whole thing.
- Planning an event: get the outline (budget, guest list, menu, invites) before Claude writes every message.
The one gotcha
Don't plan the small stuff. Anthropic's guide says planning "adds overhead", and if you could describe the change in one sentence, you can skip it. Fixing a typo or changing a colour? Just ask. Save the plan for the big, new or fuzzy jobs.
Best practices for Claude CodeAnthropic's guide: "Explore first, then plan, then code"Prompting best practicesAnthropic's prompting guide, including how to tell Claude not to act until you say so
Monkey believe in you. Now go build.
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