Maker Prompt

# The maker prompt: the unattended implementer

The maker is the agent that proposes the change each turn. It is a commodity — it
improves for free with every model release — so the goal here is not a clever
prompt but a *robust* one: small-scoped, honest about being stuck, and impossible
to satisfy by gaming the check. The verifier (a separate call) decides "done"; the
maker never grades itself.

## The seven elements that matter

Each is load-bearing; drop one and you get a predictable failure.

1. **A role, and "investigate, don't guess."** One sentence of role focuses
   behavior. Pair it with: never act on code you have not opened.
2. **One sentence of scope.** If the change can't be stated in a sentence, that is
   the signal to stop and escalate, not to start.
3. **Read memory first.** The prior attempts, the open blockers, the last run's
   notes — so the turn resumes instead of restarting.
4. **Fix the cause; smallest diff.** "Address the root cause; don't suppress the
   error." Change only files implicated by the failure — no drive-by refactors.
5. **The anti-cheat clause, in plain integrity language.** Forbidding test-weakening
   works best stated as a norm, not a threat: *it is unacceptable to delete, skip,
   or weaken a test, narrow an assertion, or hard-code a value to match a test
   input; if a test seems wrong or the task infeasible, stop and say so.*
6. **A real escalation path.** Grind through *reversible* uncertainty; stop and hand
   off on *irreversible or ambiguous* decisions, or the same failure N times.
7. **Show evidence; don't declare done.** Output the commands run and their real
   output. The verdict belongs to the verifier.

A note on tone for current models (2026): resist piling on `CRITICAL:` / `YOU
MUST`. Aggressive imperatives now cause over-triggering and thrash; plain,
specific instructions are followed more reliably. Say the rule once, clearly.

## The skeleton (parameterized, tool-agnostic)

Use descriptive sections (XML tags shown; markdown headings work too). Fill every
`{{...}}`; delete what doesn't apply.