◆ MATLAB

Get all files under a specific directory

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 taskI need a list of all '.mat' files in the 'project_data/experiment_A' directory, so I can load…+
I need a list of all '.mat' files in the 'project_data/experiment_A' directory, so I can load them for analysis.
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 start processing, get all the '.csv' files from both the 'raw_data' and…+
Before I start processing, get all the '.csv' files from both the 'raw_data' and 'processed_data' subdirectories under 'experiment_B'. Make sure the list is sorted by modification date, newest first, as I often need to work with the most recent files.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
CDecide — diagnose the stuck momentI'm looking for log files from the last three months, but some are named 'log_YYYYMMDD.txt' and…+
I'm trying to find a specific set of log files, but the naming convention is inconsistent.
I'm looking for log files from the last three months, but some are named 'log_YYYYMMDD.txt' and others 'data_log_DDMMYYYY.txt', and they're scattered across several subdirectories under 'server_logs'. My manager, Sarah, needs a summary by end of day, and I'm afraid I'll miss something critical. What's the most robust way to gather all text files modified in the last 90 days from this directory and its subfolders, regardless of their exact naming pattern, so I don't miss any relevant data?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
DBecome — change the patternI often spend too much time manually navigating through complex directory structures to find…+
I frequently struggle to find the right data files when I need them.
I often spend too much time manually navigating through complex directory structures to find specific data files for my analysis. This delays my progress and makes me lose focus. What habit should I change to create a more efficient and reliable way to programmatically locate and access files based on their type, date, or partial name, especially when dealing with nested folders?
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 MATLAB'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.