Best AI Coding Prompts for Developers (2026)

Review this code as a senior engineer with 15 years experience: [paste code] Structure: 1. 🔴 Critical Issues (must fix before merge) 2. 🟡 Improvements (should fix, not blocking) 3. 🟢 Nitpicks (style, take or leave) 4. ✅ What's Good (acknowledge quality) For each: explain WHY, show the fix, rate severity.

I have a bug: [describe what happened vs expected] Act as a senior engineer pair debugging with me: - Ask questions ONE AT A TIME - After each answer, form a hypothesis - Suggest a specific check to narrow the cause - Don't jump to solutions until root cause is found Start with your first question.

Create an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) for this decision: Context: [what's the situation] Options considered: [option A, B, C] Format: - Title (ADR-XXX: Decision Title) - Status: Proposed - Context: Why this decision is needed - Options with pros/cons for each - Decision: Which option and why - Consequences: What changes, what's the tradeoff - Review date: When to revisit

Generate comprehensive test cases for this function: [paste function] Include: 1. Happy path tests (normal usage) 2. Edge cases (empty, null, boundary values) 3. Error cases (invalid input, exceptions) 4. Performance considerations Use [Jest/pytest/your framework]. Each test should have a descriptive name explaining WHAT it tests and WHY.

Review this code for refactoring opportunities: [paste code] Analyze: 1. Code smells (name each smell specifically) 2. SOLID principle violations 3. DRY violations 4. Complexity hotspots For each issue: - What's wrong (1 sentence) - Show the refactored version - Explain the benefit of the change Priority order: highest impact first.