AI Coding Tip 001 - Commit Before Prompt
A safety-first workflow for AI-assisted coding
TL;DR: Commit your code before asking an AI Assistant to change it.
Common Mistake ❌
Developers ask AI assistant to “refactor this function” or “add error handling” while they have uncommitted changes from their previous work session.
When the AI makes its changes, the git diff shows everything mixed together—their manual edits plus the AI’s modifications.
If something breaks, they can’t easily separate what they did from what the AI did and make a safe revert.
Problems Addressed 😔
You mix your previous code changes with AI-generated code.
You lose track of what you changed.
You struggle to revert broken suggestions.
How to Do It 🛠️
Finish your manual task.
Run your tests to ensure everything passes.
Commit your work with a clear message like “feat: manual implementation of X”.
You don’t need to push your changes.
Send your prompt to the AI assistant.
Review the changes using your IDE’s diff tool.
Accept or revert: Keep the changes if they look good, or run
git reset --hard HEADto instantly revertRun the tests again to verify AI changes didn’t break anything.
Commit AI changes separately with a message like refactor: AI-assisted improvement of X.
Benefits 🎯
Clear Diffing: You see the AI’s “suggestions” in isolation.
Easy Revert: You can undo a bad AI hallucination instantly.
Context Control: You ensure the AI is working on your latest, stable logic.
Tests are always green: You are not breaking existing functionality.
Context 🧠
When you ask an AI to change your code, it might produce unexpected results.
It might delete a crucial logic gate or change a variable name across several files.
If you have uncommitted changes, you can’t easily see what the AI did versus what you did manually.
When you commit first, you create a safety net.
You can use git diff to see exactly what the AI modified.
If the AI breaks your logic, you can revert to your clean state with one command.
You work in very small increments.
Some assistants are not very good at undoing their changes.
Prompt Reference 📝
git status # Check for uncommitted changes
git add . # Stage all changes
git commit -m "msg" # Commit with message
git diff # See AI's changes
git reset --hard HEAD # Revert AI changes
git log --oneline # View commit historyConsiderations ⚠️
This is only necessary if you work in write mode and your assistant is allowed to change the code.
Type 📝
[X] Semi-Automatic
You can enforce the rules of your assistant to check the repository status before making changes.
Limitations ⚠️
If your code is not under a source control system, you need to make this manually.
Tags 🏷️
Complexity
Level 🔋
[X] Beginner
Related Tips 🔗
Use TCR
Practice Vibe Test Driven Development
Break Large Refactorings into smaller prompts
Use Git Bisect for AI Changes: Using
git bisectto identify which AI-assisted commit introduced a defectReverting Hallucinations
Conclusion 🏁
Treating AI as a pair programmer requires the same safety practices you’d use with a human collaborator: version control, code review, and testing.
When you commit before making a prompt, you create clear checkpoints that make AI-assisted development safer and more productive.
This simple habit transforms AI from a risky black box into a powerful tool you can experiment with confidently, knowing you can always return to a working state.
Commit early, commit often, and don’t let AI touch uncommitted code.
More Information ℹ️
Tools 🧰
GIT is an industry standard, but you can apply this technique to any other version control software.
This article is part of the AI Coding Tip Series.
The commit-before-prompt pattern is underrated but critical for AI pair programming. I learned this the hard way when an AI assistant refactored my error handling and I couldn't figure out which part broke tests becuase everything was mixed together. The safety net approach here is gold - treating AI like a junior dev who needs code review before merging saves so much debugging time.