Example Prompts from Cookie Project

Early planning prompts used during the Cookie project development.

Some of these are raw prompts typed directly into Claude Code. Others were refined with AI assistance first - you can tell which is which from the typos (or lack thereof).

1. Initial Mega-Plan Prompt (Jan 2) - Raw

The first prompt that kicked off the project, referencing a previous failed attempt and establishing requirements:

see a previous failed project in '/home/matt/souspad old'

we are going to make a new better version called cookie. it will be a tool
i can use on an old ipad to allow users to search for recipes, favorite them,
add them to lists. no logins but accounts can be made from the app itself.
see @reference/ios9-safari-compatibility.md which is a list of what is and
is not supported in safari on ios 9. we must adhere precisely to this spec
but also build a website that is beautiful, easy to use on an old ipad touch
screen and all with one finger. the previous one looks pretty rubbish with
nasty looking fonts and a broken UI. cookie is just for searching, favoruting
and making lists of recipes with the added ability to 'play' a recipe which
will give the user a full screen view of each step of the recipe including
pictures if there are any. cookie should integrate with openrouter
using a python sdk if one is available.
cookie can continue to be written in python and django just like souspad was.
review the souspad code in full and help me iterate on a markdown file plan
that we save to file in this project folder. again we want docker environment
and dev to be the same as prod, use only production grade tools no flask or
dev servers, we want all thesame code quality tools and we want the ability
for the ipad to send console logs and rendered screenshots of each page as
souspad does now including the mini server (that is ok to be flask etc).
ultrathink and lets make a brillient app for my kitchen cooking. review all
the old souschef code, make a plan to take what we need and lets build
something from the ground up that will work great and look beautiful on an
old ipad with safari on ios9.

2. Architecture Review Prompt (Jan 6) - AI-Refined

Requesting a comprehensive technical review before proceeding with implementation:

Task: Perform a comprehensive, root-and-branch technical review of the HTML,
CSS, and JavaScript codebase used by this iPad-targeted web app.

Context: The app must operate reliably both as a Progressive Web App (PWA)
and when loaded directly in Safari on iOS (targeting iOS 9). The goal is to
assess whether the current front-end architecture is robust, maintainable,
and fit for purpose across these modes - and to recommend any necessary
re-architecture.

Focus Areas:
- Architecture and Design Patterns: Evaluate the JS structure (modules,
  event handling, async operations) for reliability, clarity, and
  separation of concerns.
- Maintainability: Identify code smells, spaghetti logic, or duplicated
  patterns that could hinder long-term evolution. Suggest refactoring
  strategies or modern abstractions.
- Cross-Mode Reliability: Check assumptions about PWA service workers,
  offline behavior, caching, and Safari quirks (especially older WebKit APIs).
- User Interface Dynamics: Review how burger menus, dynamic content loading,
  transitions, SVG rendering, and emoji display behave under iOS 9 Safari
  constraints.
- Design Responsiveness: Assess how light/dark mode switching and theming
  are handled via CSS variables, media queries, or JS injections.
- Performance & Smoothness: Highlight any DOM, layout, or rendering pitfalls
  that might cause jank on iPad hardware and propose optimizations.

Deliverables:
- Structured critique of the current approach with examples.
- List of recommended architectural improvements (with rationale).
- Compatibility notes specific to Safari/iOS 9 and PWA dual-mode behavior.
- Suggested modernization plan balancing legacy support and maintainability.

Goal: Help me decide whether the current architecture can be refined or
should be redesigned for better performance, compatibility, and developer
experience on legacy iPads.

3. Figma Design Integration Prompt (Jan 6) - Raw

Bringing external designs into the workflow:

read all the documents in reference to pick up where we left off last time
with our work. i have the new designs for you to use via the figma mcp at
https://www.figma.com/design/Ly8VXCNPeesbVu2pDHFoJI/Cookie-Design?node-id=0-1
review everything ultrathink and update the plans to proceed with the UI
redesign based on what i have in figma. you can ask me to make any other
screens you need

Note: The Figma MCP didn't impress me. Honestly, I haven't been impressed with MCP in general - the protocol adds complexity without much payoff compared to simpler approaches. I'm finding that skills are a better pattern for extending Claude Code's capabilities. Maybe a future blog post on that.