What should I do when an AI coder keeps going in circles and reintroducing the same bug?

When an AI coder gets stuck in a loop, it is usually because it has lost the "context" of the error or is prioritizing one instruction at the expense of another. Here is how to break the cycle:

1. Halt and reset the context If you keep iterating in the same chat window, the AI may be suffering from "context saturation," where it focuses on the recent, incorrect attempts rather than the original goal. Open a brand-new chat session, paste your current (broken) code, and provide a clear summary: "I am trying to achieve [Goal]. Previous attempts have failed because [describe the specific bug]. Let’s restart this approach."

2. Provide a "Hard Constraint" AI models often optimize for brevity or "code style" over logical correctness. Tell the AI explicitly: "Do not change [X] or [Y] sections of the code, as those are confirmed working. Focus only on fixing [Z]." This prevents it from rewriting code that didn't need to be touched.

3. Ask for a diagnostic first Instead of asking it to "fix the bug," ask it to explain why the bug is happening. Say: "Before you write any code, analyze why [the bug] is occurring. Walk me through the logical flow of the function and identify exactly which line is causing the conflict." If the AI cannot explain the bug, it cannot fix it.

4. Introduce a "Golden Rule" (The Test Case) If you haven't already, provide a unit test or a specific input/output scenario. Tell the AI: "My code must satisfy this test case: [Input] should result in [Output]. If your proposed fix does not result in this output, do not provide the code."

5. Step back If the AI is struggling with a complex architectural problem, break it down. Ask it to write a simplified version of the logic first, or have it write comments explaining its intended logic before it writes the actual code.

When to stop If you have tried these steps and it still reverts to the same bug, the AI may be hitting a limitation in its underlying logic for that specific task. At that point, it is usually faster to manually fix the code yourself, then paste the corrected version back into the chat and say: "This is the working logic. Please use this as the baseline moving forward."