Every developer has used "fix this code" and gotten back something that almost works. The difference between a useful AI coding assistant and a frustrating one is prompt quality. These 15 prompts are optimised for real engineering tasks — not toy examples.
Why Developer Prompts Need to Be Different
Code prompts need:
- Precise context — language, version, framework, constraints
- Clear output format — code block only, or code + explanation
- Specific constraints — no external dependencies, must be backwards-compatible, etc.
- Failure modes — what the code should do when things go wrong
Generic prompts give you generic code. Specific prompts give you production-ready code.
Debugging & Problem Solving
1. Structured Bug Report & Fix Request
I have a bug in [LANGUAGE/FRAMEWORK] that I can't resolve.
**What it should do:** [DESCRIBE EXPECTED BEHAVIOR]
**What it actually does:** [DESCRIBE ACTUAL BEHAVIOR]
**Error message (if any):** [PASTE ERROR]
**Code:**
[PASTE RELEVANT CODE]
**What I've already tried:**
- [ATTEMPT 1]
- [ATTEMPT 2]
**Environment:** [OS, language version, framework version]
Diagnose the root cause and provide a fix. Explain why the bug occurred.
2. Error Message Decoder
Decode this error message and tell me exactly what to do:
Error: [PASTE FULL ERROR + STACK TRACE]
Context: I'm building [BRIEF PROJECT DESCRIPTION] in [LANGUAGE/FRAMEWORK].
1. What does this error actually mean in plain English?
2. What are the 2–3 most likely causes?
3. Show me how to fix the most likely cause.
4. How can I prevent this in future?
3. Performance Bottleneck Analyser
This code is slow. Help me find and fix the bottleneck.
Language/framework: [STACK]
Current performance: [DESCRIBE — e.g., "taking 3s to run on 1,000 records"]
Target performance: [WHAT'S ACCEPTABLE]
```[PASTE CODE]```
Identify:
1. The most expensive operations (Big O analysis)
2. Specific lines that are causing slowness
3. Refactored version with explanation of improvements
4. Trade-offs (if any) of the optimisation
Code Review & Quality
4. Thorough Code Reviewer
Review this code as a senior engineer preparing it for production.
Language: [LANGUAGE]
Context: [WHAT THIS CODE DOES AND WHERE IT RUNS]
```[PASTE CODE]```
Review for:
1. **Bugs** — logic errors, edge cases, race conditions
2. **Security** — injection, auth issues, data exposure
3. **Performance** — unnecessary loops, N+1 queries, memory leaks
4. **Readability** — naming, structure, complexity
5. **Tests** — what test cases would you write?
Format: Issue → Severity (critical/warning/suggestion) → Suggested fix.
5. Security Audit Prompt
Perform a security review of this code.
Language: [LANGUAGE]
Context: [PUBLIC API / INTERNAL TOOL / ADMIN PANEL / etc.]
Authentication: [HOW USERS AUTHENTICATE]
```[PASTE CODE]```
Check for OWASP Top 10 issues and any other security concerns:
- SQL/command injection
- Authentication/authorisation bypass
- Sensitive data exposure
- Input validation gaps
- Insecure dependencies
For each issue: describe the vulnerability, show the exploit path (briefly), and provide the fix.
6. Refactoring Assistant
Refactor this code to be more maintainable without changing functionality.
Current issues I see: [LIST ANY KNOWN ISSUES OR JUST SAY "identify them"]
```[PASTE CODE]```
Principles to apply: [DRY / SOLID / KISS / YAGNI — or specify your team's standards]
Constraints:
- Must remain backwards compatible
- Cannot add new dependencies
- [ANY OTHER CONSTRAINTS]
Show the refactored version and explain each significant change.
Architecture & Design
7. System Design Advisor
Help me design the architecture for [SYSTEM NAME].
Requirements:
- [FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT 1]
- [FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT 2]
- [FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT 3]
Scale: [EXPECTED LOAD — e.g., "10,000 DAU, 100 req/sec peak"]
Constraints: [BUDGET / TEAM SIZE / EXISTING STACK]
Non-functional requirements: [LATENCY / AVAILABILITY / CONSISTENCY]
Provide:
1. High-level architecture diagram (text/ASCII)
2. Component breakdown with responsibilities
3. Data flow between components
4. Technology recommendations with rationale
5. Top 3 risks and mitigations
8. Database Schema Designer
Design a database schema for [DESCRIBE YOUR APPLICATION].
Entities to model: [LIST KEY ENTITIES]
Key relationships: [DESCRIBE HOW ENTITIES RELATE]
Query patterns: [WHAT QUERIES WILL RUN MOST OFTEN]
Scale expectations: [ROUGH DATA VOLUME]
Database type: [POSTGRES / MYSQL / MONGODB / etc.]
Provide:
1. Schema definition (SQL DDL or JSON schema)
2. Index recommendations for the described query patterns
3. Any normalisation decisions and why
4. Potential issues to watch as the schema evolves
9. API Design Reviewer
Review this API design and suggest improvements.
API type: [REST / GraphQL / gRPC]
Context: [WHO CONSUMES THIS API AND HOW]
Proposed endpoints/schema:
[PASTE YOUR API DESIGN]
Evaluate:
- Resource naming and URL structure
- HTTP method usage
- Error response consistency
- Versioning strategy
- Authentication approach
- Pagination and filtering
- Breaking change risks
Suggest a revised design for any endpoints with issues.
Documentation & Communication
10. Code Documentation Generator
Generate comprehensive documentation for this code.
```[PASTE CODE]```
Produce:
1. **Module/function docstrings** in [JSDOC / PYDOC / GODOC / etc.] format
2. **README section** explaining what this does, inputs, outputs, and example usage
3. **Inline comments** for any non-obvious logic (add them to the code)
Style guide: [YOUR TEAM'S STYLE OR "standard for [LANGUAGE]"]
11. Technical Decision Record (ADR) Writer
Write an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) for the following decision:
Decision: We are choosing [OPTION A] over [OPTION B] and [OPTION C]
Context: [WHY THIS DECISION WAS NEEDED]
Options considered:
- [OPTION A]: [BRIEF DESCRIPTION]
- [OPTION B]: [BRIEF DESCRIPTION]
- [OPTION C]: [BRIEF DESCRIPTION]
Decision rationale: [WHY WE CHOSE OPTION A]
Consequences: [WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE CODEBASE]
Format: Standard ADR format (Title, Status, Context, Decision, Consequences).
12. PR Description Generator
Write a pull request description for these changes:
Changes made: [DESCRIBE WHAT CHANGED AT A HIGH LEVEL]
Why: [THE BUSINESS/TECHNICAL REASON]
Files changed: [LIST KEY FILES]
```[PASTE YOUR DIFF OR CHANGE SUMMARY]```
Format:
- **Summary** (1–2 sentences)
- **Changes** (bullet list)
- **Testing** (how to test this)
- **Screenshots** (note if applicable)
- **Checklist** (tests passing, docs updated, etc.)
Testing
13. Test Case Generator
Generate comprehensive test cases for this function:
```[PASTE FUNCTION/METHOD CODE]```
Framework: [JEST / PYTEST / GO TEST / etc.]
Coverage targets:
- Happy path (expected inputs → expected outputs)
- Edge cases (empty input, nulls, max values, special characters)
- Error cases (invalid input, external service failures)
- Performance (if relevant)
Write the actual test code, not just descriptions.
14. Mock & Stub Generator
Generate mocks and stubs for this test setup:
What I'm testing: [DESCRIBE THE UNIT/COMPONENT]
Dependencies to mock:
- [DEPENDENCY 1]: [WHAT IT DOES]
- [DEPENDENCY 2]: [WHAT IT DOES]
Test framework: [JEST / MOCHA / PYTEST / etc.]
Language: [LANGUAGE]
```[PASTE THE MODULE UNDER TEST]```
Generate: mock implementations that cover the happy path, and variants for error scenarios.
DevOps & Tooling
15. CI/CD Pipeline Planner
Design a CI/CD pipeline for [PROJECT TYPE].
Stack: [LANGUAGES, FRAMEWORKS, CLOUD PROVIDER]
Current process: [HOW YOU DEPLOY TODAY]
Goals:
- [GOAL 1, e.g., "automated tests on every PR"]
- [GOAL 2, e.g., "zero-downtime deploys"]
- [GOAL 3, e.g., "rollback in under 2 minutes"]
Platform: [GITHUB ACTIONS / GITLAB CI / JENKINS / etc.]
Provide:
1. Pipeline stages and what each does
2. Sample YAML configuration (or Jenkinsfile)
3. Secrets management approach
4. Deployment strategy recommendation (blue/green, canary, rolling)
5. Monitoring and rollback hooks
ChatGPT Image Prompts for Your Tech Projects
Need visuals for your game, app, pitch deck, or side project? These AI image prompts generate high-quality assets across styles popular in the developer and gaming community.
Pixel Art Scene — Try this image prompt free →
Sci-Fi Spaceship — Try this image prompt free →
Neon Glow City — Try this image prompt free →
How to Get the Most from ChatGPT as a Developer
Include your full stack context
"Python 3.12 with FastAPI, SQLAlchemy ORM, PostgreSQL, deployed on AWS Lambda" gives you relevant answers. "Python backend" doesn't.
Paste the actual error, not a summary
Stack traces contain the information ChatGPT needs. Paraphrasing strips it.
Ask for explanations, not just fixes
"Fix this and explain why it broke" teaches you something. "Just fix it" doesn't.
Use it for second opinions
"Here's my approach. What are the flaws? What would you do differently?" — this is where AI adds real senior-engineer value.
Build a prompt library for your team
Save prompts that work well for your codebase's specific patterns. A shared team prompt library is a force multiplier.
Chain prompts for complex tasks
- Architecture design prompt → Review the design for flaws → Generate the implementation → Generate tests → Write the docs Each step builds on the last.
Recommended Workflow
Task arrives
↓
Prompt 7 (Architecture) or 8 (DB Schema) if new feature
↓
Write code (with AI assistance via Prompt 1-3 for blockers)
↓
Prompt 4 (Code Review) before PR
↓
Prompt 5 (Security Audit) for any auth/data-handling code
↓
Prompt 13 (Tests) before merge
↓
Prompt 12 (PR Description) when opening PR
↓
Prompt 10 (Docs) after merge
Conclusion
These 15 ChatGPT prompts for developers cover the full engineering workflow from design through deployment. They're not about replacing your expertise — they're about removing the friction from the tasks that consume time without requiring deep thought.
The most effective developers in 2026 treat ChatGPT like a pair programmer who has read every Stack Overflow answer and every design patterns book but still needs you to tell it what to build and why.
Browse the full ChatGPT prompt library for 70+ templates, or explore Claude Skills for Software Engineers for specialised AI workflows tailored to development tasks.
The bottleneck isn't AI capability — it's prompt quality. These 15 prompts are your starting library.