Working With AI Tools•Working With AI Tools•10 min lesson

Chain-of-Thought — Making AI Think Step by Step

Use chain-of-thought prompting to get AI to reason through complex coding problems.

ai-toolsprompt-engineeringchain-of-thoughtreasoning

Copy-ready prompt

**Use this for tasks with real logic, architecture, or debugging complexity:**
"I need help with [problem].
Before writing code, work in three phases.

Phase 1: Think
- Explain the problem in plain English
- Identify the main rules, dependencies, and edge cases
- Point out anything ambiguous or risky

Phase 2: Plan
- Propose the implementation approach
- List files or systems likely to change
- Explain how you will verify correctness

Phase 3: Code
- Do not start this phase until I approve phases 1 and 2

Keep these constraints in mind: [constraints].
Tell me what I must test manually after implementation."

Prompt FAQ

Questions to answer before you paste it

When should I use the Chain-of-Thought — Making AI Think Step by Step prompt?

Use chain-of-thought prompting to get AI to reason through complex coding problems. Use it when you need a safer starting point than a blank prompt and you want the agent to stay inside explicit constraints.

Should I paste this prompt exactly as written?

No. Treat it as a safe starter. Replace the task, files, constraints, and verification details with your actual context before you run it.

What should I do after the agent answers?

Read the diff, run the checks, and stop after one reviewable step. If you need deeper context, open the lesson that explains the reasoning behind the prompt.

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