Lighting the Way to AIExact recipes for real AI jobsHome

write · ~15 min

Turn messy symptom notes into a structured bug report—without inventing logs or repro steps you did not run.

Last verified: 2026-09-07

Do not invent stack traces, status codes, or repro steps. If you did not capture a log, write NOT CAPTURED.

Top picks

Best Overall

Claude

Keeps UNKNOWN instead of a fake stack trace.

Open Claude

Best Free

ChatGPT Free

Enough for one careful paste-and-review session.

Open ChatGPT

Best Power-User

GitHub Issues + LLM

Structure here; file the issue in your tracker.

Open GitHub

Protocol

  1. Dump what you actually saw (3 min).

    Paste product/version, environment, what you did, what you expected, what happened, and any log/screenshot text you really have. If you did not copy the console, write NOT CAPTURED. Redact tokens and customer PII.

  2. Lock “do not invent logs.”

    Paste the rules first so the model cannot add a 500 or a stack frame that looks plausible.

    Copy-paste prompt

    Turn my messy notes into a structured bug report.
    
    Hard rules:
    - Use only symptoms, steps, and logs I pasted.
    - Do not invent stack traces, request IDs, status codes, timestamps, or browser versions.
    - If a field is missing, write NOT CAPTURED or UNKNOWN.
    - Do not invent a root cause. You may list questions.
    - If you see a secret, redact it and tell me.
    
    Output markdown:
    ### Title
    ### Environment
    ### Steps to reproduce (only what I did)
    ### Expected
    ### Actual
    ### Logs / evidence (or NOT CAPTURED)
    ### Impact (only if I stated it)
    ### Open questions
    
    Confirm the rules, then wait.
  3. Generate the ticket and fill NOT CAPTURED yourself.

    Go capture the missing log if the bug matters. Then send:

    Generate command

    Here are my notes. Structure the bug report. If I did not paste a log, write NOT CAPTURED. Do not guess a status code or root cause.
  4. File it in the tracker you already use.

    You still create the issue. If you need a one-line Slack alert, use the block below.

    Slack one-liner

    Write a 2-line Slack ping from the title and actual result only. No invented severity. Link placeholder: [ISSUE URL].

When not to

  • Do not let the model invent a stack trace, Sentry ID, or “repro 100%.”
  • Do not paste production secrets or full customer payloads.
  • Do not treat a guessed root cause as the ticket’s conclusion.
  • Skip this recipe if you only have “it feels slow” and no steps. Time it once, then come back.

Dated sources

Related recipes

Copied