I haven’t considered simpler models but might try - I use Opus 5.5 and Fable and often find it way oversteps and drowns me in code.
Using simpler models is partly about keeping me honest. Fable actually has pretty good taste about certain domains. Which means that by the time it does mess up, I have 2,000 lines of code to deal with.
For the “not getting drowned in code” part, I’m relying more on the other parts:
Using jj, which gives me patch-stack superpowers (at a price, though jjui and stakk help).
Asking the LLM for “Linux style patches” (one logical change per patch). This forces the LLM to think in small chunks.
Providing a custom skill about how to write a clear commit message.
Taken together, this can really simplify deep review.
One thing I would add - it may or may not be in your workflow - is the use of agents to understand ideas.
Yes. Agents are excellent at this. I often say, “So here’s how I’d like to handle this. Can you see a reason why this won’t work?” Then the agent points out 5 problems. Three of them are silly, but one of them means I need to to do a major rethink.
I also have a specialized skill which tells the model that the human is an experienced software designer with the magical ability to change the requirements. So if the model gets stuck on a messy design challenge, it gets maximum credit for flagging that to me. This actually gets many overenthusiastic models to stop more often and to explain why my plan was far too simple. That’s one of the points where I tend to start refactoring and typing.
Using simpler models is partly about keeping me honest. Fable actually has pretty good taste about certain domains. Which means that by the time it does mess up, I have 2,000 lines of code to deal with.
For the “not getting drowned in code” part, I’m relying more on the other parts:
jj, which gives me patch-stack superpowers (at a price, thoughjjuiandstakkhelp).Taken together, this can really simplify deep review.
Yes. Agents are excellent at this. I often say, “So here’s how I’d like to handle this. Can you see a reason why this won’t work?” Then the agent points out 5 problems. Three of them are silly, but one of them means I need to to do a major rethink.
I also have a specialized skill which tells the model that the human is an experienced software designer with the magical ability to change the requirements. So if the model gets stuck on a messy design challenge, it gets maximum credit for flagging that to me. This actually gets many overenthusiastic models to stop more often and to explain why my plan was far too simple. That’s one of the points where I tend to start refactoring and typing.
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