DEV Community

Yunus Emre Ak
Yunus Emre Ak

Posted on • Originally published at docs.yemreak.com

Stop Writing The Same Prompts - Makefiles Changed Everything

#claude #ai #vibecoding #cursor

Stop Writing The Same Prompts - Makefiles Changed Everything

Pattern Discovery

Every AI session starts the same:

  • "Remember to do X"
  • "Format commits like Y"
  • "Follow pattern Z"

Repeating. Every. Single. Time.

Then I found it: Makefiles are prompts that execute.

The Shift

Old Way (Manual Prompts) 

Me: "Look at my previous commits, learn the pattern, then commit"
AI: "Let me check..." 
Me: "Remember: action-oriented, learned: prefix, co-author"
AI: "Got it..."
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

New Way (Makefile Prompts) 

commit:
    @git log --grep="learned:" -n 5
    @git diff --cached --stat
    @echo "Pattern: learned: [discovery]"
    @echo "Format: action-oriented (delete, separate, hide)"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Now:

make commit
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

AI sees pattern. AI follows pattern. No prompting.

Why It Works

Makefiles = Terminal orchestration
AI = Terminal native
Result = Perfect match

The AI doesn't need instructions. It needs context that executes.

Real Example

My commit workflow:

commit:
    @echo "════════════════════════════════════════"
    @echo "COMMIT PROTOCOL"
    @echo "════════════════════════════════════════"
    @git status --short
    @git log --grep="^learned:" --oneline -n 5
    @for i in 0 1 2 3 4; do \
        git log --grep="^learned:" --skip=$$i -n 1 --format="%B" | head -6; \
        echo "────────────────────────────────────"; \
    done
    @git diff --cached --stat
    @echo "REMINDERS:"
    @echo "- Action-oriented (delete, separate, hide)"
    @echo "- What pattern emerged?"
    @echo "- Purpose over process"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

The AI sees:

  • Current state
  • Historical patterns
  • Expected format
  • Core principles

No prompting. Just execution.

The Philosophy

Prompts = Temporary instructions
Makefiles = Permanent patterns

Think about it:

  • Prompts disappear after use
  • Makefiles persist in the repo
  • Prompts need repeating
  • Makefiles self-document

Discovered Patterns 

# Logging with automatic cleanup
run:
    app 2>&1 | tee /dev/tty | sed 's/\[[0-9;]*m//g' > log

# Multi-platform builds
build:
    @if [ -d "ios" ]; then xcodebuild; fi
    @if [ -f "package.json" ]; then npm build; fi
    @if [ -f "Cargo.toml" ]; then cargo build; fi
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Each Makefile command = Encoded knowledge.

Core Insight

Stop writing prompts. Start writing makefiles.

The AI already knows terminal. Let it orchestrate.

Implementation

  1. Identify repeated AI instructions
  2. Convert to Makefile targets
  3. Let AI discover patterns from execution
  4. Never prompt again

The Result

My AI sessions now:

Me: make commit
AI: [Sees patterns, follows patterns]

Me: make deploy  
AI: [Knows the workflow]

Me: make test
AI: [Understands the context]
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

No prompts. Just commands.

Evolution Through Execution

Git history + Makefiles = Collective memory

The AI learns from:

  • What we did (git history)
  • How we do it (makefiles)
  • Why we did it (learned: commits)

Cultural evolution through code.

Final Pattern 

Prompts = What to think
Makefiles = How to act
Git = Why it matters
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Stop telling AI what to do.
Show it how things are done.

Makefiles are the way.

Read the original: Stop Writing The Same Prompts - Makefiles Changed Everything

Top comments (0)