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

Count lines in a non-binary file

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 taskCount the lines in 'server_logs_2024_07_23.txt' and show me the…+
Count the lines in 'server_logs_2024_07_23.txt' and show me the total.
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 send this log file to the security team, count the lines, but exclude any lines that…+
Before I send this log file to the security team, count the lines, but exclude any lines that start with 'DEBUG' or 'INFO' so they can focus on critical events.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
CDecide — diagnose the stuck momentThe 'app_errors_2024_07_22.log' file is only 100KB, but it should be several MBs. I just…+
The new log file from yesterday is much smaller than expected, and I'm worried about data loss.
The 'app_errors_2024_07_22.log' file is only 100KB, but it should be several MBs. I just checked the application, and it seems to be running fine, but I can't shake the feeling that something isn't logging correctly. What's the most likely reason for such a small log file, and how should I investigate without causing downtime for the users?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
DBecome — change the patternI spend too much time every morning manually checking the sizes of critical application log…+
I keep manually checking log file sizes, and it's consuming too much time.
I spend too much time every morning manually checking the sizes of critical application log files to ensure they're growing as expected. This makes me late for stand-ups and I often miss smaller, but important, anomalies. What habit can I change to get an early warning if a log file isn't updated or is suspiciously small?
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.