$ ls -la drwxr-xr-x docs/ $ run script
◆ Bash

Automate routine tasks

This is real work, not a feature someone invented — it comes from real job ads and real questions people asked. Below are four ready AI prompts: get it done, make it easy for the next person to say yes to, work out the right move when you are stuck, and stop it coming back.

4prompts

The same task, four prompts

today's deadline · the next reviewer · the stuck moment · the pattern
AExecute — do the immediate taskCreate a cron job that runs every Monday at 3 AM to back up the '/var/www/html' directory to…+
Create a cron job that runs every Monday at 3 AM to back up the '/var/www/html' directory to '/mnt/backups/web_backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz'.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
BImprove — make it easier to acceptBefore I automate the daily log rotation for the application server, make it more resilient.…+
Before I automate the daily log rotation for the application server, make it more resilient. Ensure it only rotates logs if the disk space is above 80% usage, and send an email alert to 'admin@example.com' if the rotation fails for any reason.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
CDecide — diagnose the stuck momentMy automated deployment script for the staging environment is failing about 30% of the time,…+
My automated deployment script is failing intermittently, but I can't pinpoint why.
My automated deployment script for the staging environment is failing about 30% of the time, seemingly at random points, and just exiting without a clear error message. It works fine when I run it manually. I'm afraid to push it to production like this. What's the best way to debug these intermittent failures, and what logging or error handling should I add to make it more transparent?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
DBecome — change the patternI'm constantly interrupted by requests for manual data exports, server restarts, or file…+
I keep getting pulled into manual, repetitive tasks that should be automated.
I'm constantly interrupted by requests for manual data exports, server restarts, or file transfers that I know could be automated. It eats into my project time and feels like I'm not moving forward. What habit should I change to identify and prioritize these automatable tasks more effectively, so I can offload them and focus on bigger problems?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?

Questions people actually ask

honest answers, no sign-up

Every task here was seen in the real world. Someone doing the job named it, a real job ad asked for it, or a lot of people asked about it online.

If nothing real showed a task, it is not on the page. That is the whole rule.

They are the same job approached four ways, because what you need depends on where you are.

Get it done today. Make it easy for the next person to say yes to. Work out the right move when you are stuck. Learn the pattern so the job stops coming back.

For most of these jobs it can carry the heavy thinking - draft it, sort it, check it, rehearse it with you.

It cannot sit in your chair, take the blame when a number is wrong, or notice what nobody wrote down. Let it do the first 80%. Keep the last 20% that is truly yours.

No. Copy any prompt and paste it into the AI you already use. No account, no score, no wall in the way.

Any of them. The prompts describe the work rather than naming a product, so they are not tied to one assistant.

That is also why they keep working when you switch.

Change it freely. Every prompt is a starting line, not a rule.

Put in your real numbers, your real names and your real deadline. The more you make it yours, the better the answer comes back.

The tasks come from real job ads, published job data and the questions people ask in public forums.

The steps come from Bash's own documentation, with practitioner sources for the traps the manual does not mention.

Push once. Ask it to sharpen the weakest part and to say what it assumed.

Most wrong answers come from a missing detail rather than a bad prompt - tell it the thing it could not know.