The 4-Prompt Workflow

Every project follows the same four-prompt sequence. The two approval gates exist to catch misalignment before it becomes expensive to fix.

The four prompts

PROMPT 01 — Bootstrap

Initialises Git, Next.js, Tailwind, .claude/settings.json, env vars, folder structure, CLAUDE.md, and memory.md. Ends at PLAN.md — waits for your approval.

PROMPT 02 — PRD

Sent after PLAN.md is approved. Defines what to build — user journey, features, API integrations, UI requirements, and explicit out-of-scope boundaries.

PROMPT 03 — Build approach gate

Claude Code proposes how it will deliver the PRD. You approve or redirect, same pattern as the Plan Gate. The second human checkpoint.

PROMPT 04 — Build

Claude Code writes the feature code, types, tests, and updates memory.md with decisions made along the way.

Orientation check (optional but recommended)

Before letting Claude Code write any code, ask it to summarise its understanding back to you in 3–5 sentences. If the summary doesn’t match what you intended, redirect before any files exist.

This is the cheapest verification gate in the workflow. It costs nothing and catches the most expensive class of mistakes — Claude Code building the wrong thing because it misread the spec.

Per-prompt commit discipline

Commit after every verified prompt:

git add . && git commit -m "Prompt N: <what>"

This gives you clean rollback points if a later prompt goes sideways. With git reset --hard HEAD~1 you can undo the last prompt’s work without losing earlier progress.