Ship One Thing at a Time

An agent can write tests, refactor code, update docs, and add logging in a single session. The natural urge is to ask it to do all of that at once. Resist.

A single, focused change is:

• Easier to review
• Easier to test
• Easier to roll back
• Easier to explain in a commit message
• Less likely to introduce subtle bugs

A giant change is the opposite in every dimension. It also exhausts context windows and increases token costs.

1. Define one outcome. "Add input validation to the signup form." Not "improve the signup flow."
2. Let the agent do that one thing.
3. Review, test, and commit.
4. Move to the next thing.

This feels slower at first. It is faster in total because you spend less time debugging mixed changes.

There are times to batch: related micro-fixes, formatting, renaming. But batch intentionally, not by default.

• The commit message has more than one "and"
• The diff touches more than three files for a "small" task
• You cannot revert one part without reverting another
• The agent's summary is longer than the code change