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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

#341

Post by JamesSwift »

samtheprogram wrote: post #157

I noticed Claude Sonnet 4.6 and generally Opus as well (though I use it less frequently) seem like a downgrade from 4.5. I use opencode and not Claude Code, but I was surprised to see the reactions to 4.6 be mixed for folks rather than clear downgrade. I'm regularly switching back to 4.5 and preferring it. I'm not excited for when it gets sunset later this year if 4.6 isn't fixed or superseded by then.

Opus 4.6 was definitely a mixed bag for me. Overall Id probably prefer 4.5 but only just barely and I stay on 4.6 just for the "default" nature of it. But if 4.5 is unchanged vs what Ive had on 4.6 lately then 100% I would move back to it. Ill have to test that

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

#342

Post by aerhardt »

I've subscribed today to use Claude Cowork. Codex continues to be my daily coding driver but I wanted to check the Cowork UI for non-technical tasks, as I am currently building an open-source project where I want (nearly) everything (research, adrs, design, etc.) to be a file.

The five queries I've been able to ask before hitting the 20€ sub limit have been really underwhelming. The research I asked for was not exhaustive and often off-topic.

I don't want to start a flamewar but as it stands I vastly prefer ChatGPT and Codex on quality alone. I really want Anthropic and as many labs as possible to do well though.

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

#343

Post by [deleted] »

toenail wrote: post #59
phillipcarter wrote: post #11

Maybe it's because I spend a lot of time breaking up tasks beforehand to be highly specific and narrow, but I really don't run into issues like this at all. A trivial example: whenever CC suggests doing more than one thing in a planning mode, just have it focus on each task and subtask separately, bounding each one by a commit. Each commit is a push/deploy as well, leading to a shitload of pushes and deployments, but…

I thought everybody does this.. having a model create anything that isn't highly focused only leads to technical debt. I have used models to create complex software, but I do architecture and code reviews, and they are very necessary.

[deleted]

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

#344

Post by monatron »

johndough wrote: post #331
bcherny wrote: post #209

Hey all, Boris from the Claude Code team here. I just responded on the issue, and cross-posting here for input. --- Hi, thanks for the detailed analysis. Before I keep going, I wanted to say I appreciate the depth of thinking & care that went into this. There's a lot here, I will try to break it down a bit. These are the two core things happening: > `redact-thinking-2026-02-12` This beta header hides thinking from th…

I think it is hilarious that there are four different ways to set settings (settings.json config file, environment variable, slash commands and magical chat keywords). That kind of consistency has also been my own experience with LLMs.

To be fair, I can think of reasons why you would want to be able to set them in various ways.

- settings.json - set for machine, project

- env var - set for an environment/shell/sandbox

- slash command - set for a session

- magical keyword - set for a turn

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

#345

Post by throwup238 »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #286
tills13 wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

4.4 expletives per word is insane. Their prompts must look like ** ** ** ** implement ** ** ** ** no ** ** ** ** ** mistakes

Jeez, how fast we get used to alien tech. You could introduce teleportation boots to humanity and within a few weeks we'd be complaining that sometimes we still have to walk the last 20 meters.

And that’s how the teleporting rascal scooter takes over the world.

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

#346

Post by vecter »

wonnage wrote: post #328
vecter wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From this reply, it seems that it has nothing to do with `/effort`: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/42796#issue... I hope you take this seriously. I'm considering moving my company off of Claude Code immediately. Closing the GH issue without first engaging with the OP is just a slap in the face, especially given how much hard work they've done on your behalf.

The OP “bug report” is a wall of AI slop generated from looking at its own chat transcripts

Do you disagree with any of the data or conclusions?

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

#347

Post by bethekind »

desireco42 wrote: post #128

I've been using OpenCode and Codex and was just fine. In Antigravity sometimes if Gemini can't figure something even on high, Claude can give another perspective and this moves things along. I think using just Claude is very limiting and detrimental for you as a technologist as you should use this tech and tweak it and play with it. They want to be like Apple, shut up and give us your money. I've been using Pi as age…

1 client, 1 agent? Interesting

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

#348

Post by aforwardslash »

twalichiewicz wrote: post #152
talim wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What wording do you use for this, if you don't mind? This thread is a revelation, I have sworn that I've seen it do this "wait... the simplest fix is to [use some horrible hack that disregards the spec]" much more often lately so I'm glad it's not just me. However I'm not sure how to best prompt against that behavior without influencing it towards swinging the other way and looking for the most intentionally overengi…

My own experience has been that you really just have to be diligent about clearing your cache between tasks, establishing a protocol for research/planning, and for especially complicated implementations reading line-by-line what the system is thinking and interrupting the moment it seems to be going bad. If it's really far off the mark, revert back to where you originally sent the prompt and try to steer it more, if…

That is generically my experience as well. Claude half-assing work or skipping stuff because "takes too much time" is something I've been experiencing since I started using it (May 2025). Forcing it to create and review and implementation plan, and then reviewing the implementation cross-referenced with the plan almost always produces consistent results in my case.

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

#349

Post by areoform »

bcherny wrote: post #209

Hey all, Boris from the Claude Code team here. I just responded on the issue, and cross-posting here for input. --- Hi, thanks for the detailed analysis. Before I keep going, I wanted to say I appreciate the depth of thinking & care that went into this. There's a lot here, I will try to break it down a bit. These are the two core things happening: > `redact-thinking-2026-02-12` This beta header hides thinking from th…

Hey Boris, thanks for the awesomeness that's Claude! You've genuinely changed the life of quite a few young people across the world. :)

not sure if the team is aware of this, but Claude code (cc from here on) fails to install / initiate on Windows 10; precise version, Windows 10.0.19045 build 19045. It fails mid setup, and sometimes fails to throw up a log. It simply calls it quits and terminates.

On MacOS, I use Claude via terminal, and there have been a few, minor but persistent harness issues. For example, cc isn't able to use Claude for Chrome. It has worked once and only once, and never again. Currently, it fails without a descriptive log or issue. It simply states permission has been denied.

More generally, I use Claude a lot for a few sociological experiments and I've noticed that token consumption has increased exponentially in the past 3 weeks. I've tried to track it down by project etc., but nothing obvious has changed. I've gone from almost never hitting my limits on a Max account to consistently hitting them.

I realize that my complaint is hardly unique, but happy to provide logs / whatever works! :)

And yeah, thanks again for Claude! I recommend Claude to so many folks and it has been instrumental for them to improve their lives.

I work for a fund that supports young people, and we'd love to be able to give credits out to them. I tried to reach out via the website etc. but wasn't able to get in touch with anyone. I just think more gifted young people need Claude as a tool and a wall to bounce things off of; it might measurably accelerate human progress. (that's partly the experiment!)

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

#350

Post by JamesSwift »

bcherny wrote: post #243
DennisL123 wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Happy to have my mind changed, yet I am not 100% convinced closing the issue as completed captures the feedback.

From the contents of the issue, this seems like a fairly clear default effort issue. Would love your input if there's something specific that you think is unaddressed.

I commented on the GH issue, but Ive had effort set to 'high' for however long its been available and had a marked decline since... checks notes... about 23 March according to slack messages I sent to the team to see if I was alone (I wasnt).

EDIT: actually the first glaring issue I remember was on 20 March where it hallucinated a full sha from a short sha while updating my github actions version pinning. That follows a pattern of it making really egregious assumptions about things without first validating or checking. Ive also had it answer with hallucinated information instead of looking online first (to a higher degree than Ive been used to after using these models daily for the past ~6 months)

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