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Issue: Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates

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Re: Issue: Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates

#411

Post by muyuu »

stavros wrote: post #365
lambda wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess one of the things I don't understand: how you expect a stochastic model, sold as a proprietary SaaS, with a proprietary (though briefly leaked) client, is supposed to be predictable in its behavior. It seems like people are expecting LLM based coding to work in a predictable and controllable way. And, well, no, that's not how it works, and especially so when you're using a proprietary SaaS model where you can…

Same as how I expect a coin to come up heads 50% of the time.

If you get consistently nowhere near 50% then surely you know you're not throwing a fair coin? What would complaining to the coin provider achieve? Switch coins.

*typo

Re: Issue: Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates

#412

Post by stavros »

muyuu wrote: post #411
stavros wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same as how I expect a coin to come up heads 50% of the time.

If you get consistently nowhere near 50% then surely you know you're not throwing a fair coin? What would complaining to the coin provider achieve? Switch coins. *typo

Well I'm paying the coin to be near 50% and the coin's PM is listening to customers, so that's why.

Re: Issue: Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates

#413

Post by nimchimpsky »

berkanunal wrote: post #287
bcherny wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Run this: /effort high

Imagine if all service providers were behaving like this. > Ahh, sorry we broke your workflow. > We found that `log_level=error` was a sweet spot for most users. > To make it work as you expect it so, run `./bin/unpoop` it will set log_level=warn

[dead]

Re: Issue: Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates

#415

Post by merlindru »

dostick wrote: post #355
bcherny wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, exactly

Mentioning ULTRATHINK in prompt is the equivalent to /effort max?

Yes but only for the message that includes it. Whereas /effort max keeps it at max effort the entire convo, to my knowledge

Re: Issue: Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates

#416

Post by [deleted] »

nrds wrote: post #91
riskassessment wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stealthily degrade the model or stealthily constrain the model with a tighter harness? These coding tools like Claude Code were created to overcome the shortcomings of last year's models. Models have gotten better but the harnesses have not been rebuilt from scratch to reflect improved planning and tool use inherent to newer models. I do wonder how much all the engineering put into these coding tools may actually in…

I've been using pi.dev since December. The only significant change to the harness in that time which affects my usage is the availability of parallel tool calls. Yet Claude models have become unusable in the past month for many of the reasons observed here. Conclusion: it's not the harness. I tend to agree about the legacy workarounds being actively harmful though. I tried out Zed agent for a while and I was SHOCKED…

[deleted]

Re: Issue: Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates

#417

Post by zamalek »

> Ignores instructions

> Claims "simplest fixes" that are incorrect

> Does the opposite of requested activities

> Claims completion against instructions

I thought it was just me. I'm continuously interrupting it with "no, that's not what I said" - being ignored sometimes 3 times; is Claude at the intellectual level of a teenager now?

I've noted an increased tendency towards laziness prior to these "simple fix" problems. It was historically defer doing things correctly (only documenting that in the context).

Re: Issue: Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates

#418

Post by gherkinnn »

Rings true. 4.5 Opus and 4.6 Opus have been amazing to work with. Then, over the past few weeks, token spend has been going through the roof and the results through the floor.

Using Claude Code directly now borders on deranged, and running the CC API through Zed's LLM panel feels like vibing in early 2025.

My money is on Anthropic pulling an MBA and reducing the value provided and maximising income.

Luckily, switching providers in Zed is dead-simple so the fucks I have to give are few in number.

Re: Issue: Claude Code is unusable for complex engineering tasks with Feb updates

#419

Post by dev_l1x_be »

murkt wrote: post #392
bcherny wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you submit a /bug we get a way to see the contents of the conversation. We don't see anything else in your codebase.

Was there a change in Claude Code system prompt at that time that nudges Claude into simplistic thinking? Here is a gist that tries to patch the system prompt to make Claude behave better https://gist.github.com/roman01la/483d1db15043018096ac3babf5... I haven’t personally tried it yet. I do certainly battle Claude quite a lot with “no I don’t want quick-n-easy wrong solution just because it’s two lines of code, I wan…

Holy sweet LLM, this gist is crazy. Why did they do this to themselves? I am going to try this at home, it might actually fix Claude.
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