AIJanuary 6, 2026 · 2 min read

Prompts I'm Using Going Into 2026

A collection of prompts I use with Claude and Codex for code analysis, refactoring, and spec writing.

Here are the prompts I've been using heavily as we enter 2026.

Claude

Feature Analysis & Improvement

our {feature} doesn't work well. look at the one built in .ai/refs/OpenCut and analyze how it works... everything from the UI to the UX to the hooks and logic and shareable code. really anything surrounding that feature. Then look at our code and how we implement it. Find ways to improve our codebase to mimic that referenced codebase refs such that we have a better product.

Refactoring Opportunities

Now that you've read so much code, what are the biggest opportunities to refactor and improve the codebase? Give me an extended list of what makes sense.

Spec Interviews

read this @SPEC.md and interview me in detail using the AskUserQuestionTool about literally anything: technical implementation, UI & UX, concerns, tradeoffs, etc. but make sure the questions are not obvious be very in-depth and continue interviewing me continually until it's complete, then write the spec to the file

Codex

Spec Interviews

read this @SPEC.md and interview me in detail using the $ask-questions-if-underspecified about literally anything: technical implementation, UI & UX, concerns, tradeoffs, etc. but make sure the questions are not obvious be very in-depth and continue interviewing me continually until it's complete, then write the spec to the file