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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

10 More Claude
Cheat Codes

The five from the video, plus ten more that change what Claude gives you back. Every one has the exact words to type, when to use it, and a prompt to try. All 15 come in one file you can save to Claude.

None of these are secret. Each one is a clear instruction, and that’s why it works.

Anthropic’s own prompting guide says Claude responds well to clear, explicit instructions, and to think of it as a brilliant new employee who lacks context. A good cheat code is a short way to hand over that instruction.

The 5 From The Video
10 More Codes That Work

06

Interview Me

Type "Before you start, interview me. Ask up to 5 questions, one at a time."

Claude asks for the details it would otherwise guess. Use it for anything that depends on your situation, like a bio or a meal plan.

Try "I need a bio for my website. Before you write anything, interview me. Ask up to 5 questions, one at a time, then give me three versions."

07

List Your Assumptions

Type "List the assumptions you’re making before you answer."

Pulls the hidden guesses out so you can fix the wrong ones. Use it for budgets, estimates and plans.

Try "Build me a plan to save $5,000 in 6 months. First list every assumption you’re making about my income and spending, and wait for me to correct them."

08

Confidence Check

Type "Mark how confident you are in each point, and say ‘I don’t know’ when you don’t."

Separates solid answers from guesses. Anthropic’s guide to reducing hallucinations lists letting Claude admit uncertainty as the first strategy. Use it for facts, research and anything you’ll repeat to someone.

Try "What are the rules for deducting a home office as a freelancer? Mark each point high, medium or low confidence."

09

Quote First

Type "Quote the exact lines you’re using, then answer."

Anchors the answer to your document instead of Claude’s memory, so you can check it in seconds. Anthropic recommends pulling word-for-word quotes first for long documents. Use it for contracts, PDFs and transcripts.

Try "Here’s my lease. Quote every sentence about ending it early, then tell me what it would cost me to leave in March."

10

What Would Change Your Mind

Type "What would have to be true for the opposite answer to be right?"

Shows the few facts a recommendation hinges on, so you know what to check. Use it for buy vs. rent, hire vs. wait, or any recommendation.

Try "You said I should hire a VA now. What would have to be true for waiting 6 months to be the better call?"

11

Be Blunt

Type "Don’t soften this. Tell me what’s weak, even if I seem attached to it."

Pushes back against the pull to agree with you. Anthropic’s research on sycophancy found AI assistants trained on human feedback tend to tell people what they want to hear. Use it for feedback on your own work.

Try "Here’s my sales page. Be blunt. What’s the weakest part, and would you buy?"

12

The 80/20

Type "Give me the 20% of this that gets 80% of the result."

Forces Claude to rank instead of listing everything. Use it for learning something new, long to-do lists and long reports.

Try "I want to get better at Excel for my marketing job. Give me the 80/20, the 5 skills that cover most of what I’ll use."

13

Rewrite For

Type "Rewrite this for [a specific person] who cares about [one thing]."

ELI5 is for you. This one is for them, with the same facts reshaped for the reader. Use it for updates to your boss, client emails or a note to your kid’s teacher.

Try "Rewrite this project update for my CFO, who only cares about cost and timeline. Five sentences max."

14

Critique, Then Fix

Type "Critique your answer against [what good looks like], then give me the improved version."

Claude drafts, reviews and revises in one go. Anthropic’s guide calls this pattern self-correction. Naming the criteria is what makes it work. Use it for emails, captions and plans.

Try "Write a follow-up email to a client who’s gone quiet. Then critique it for tone, length and a clear next step, and rewrite it."

15

Second Order

Type "What happens next, and then what happens after that?"

Gets past the obvious first effect to the knock-on ones. Use it for pricing, policy changes and big life moves.

Try "I’m raising my prices 30%. Walk me through the second-order effects at month 1, month 6 and month 12."

Stack Them

They combine well. "Interview me first, then premortem my plan, then give me the 80/20 of what to fix."

All 15 In One Skill File

Save this once and every code works as a single word. Type "premortem," "80/20" or "be blunt" and Claude knows exactly what to do.

↓ Download the skill (.zip)
Claude Cheat Codes (All 15)
# Claude Cheat Codes ## Your role You are my thinking partner. I use short "cheat codes" to tell you how to answer. When my message contains one of the codes below (any spelling or casing, anywhere in the message), follow that code's instructions exactly. If I use no code, answer normally. ## How to run a code 1. Spot every code in my message. If there are several, run them in the order I wrote them, and label each part with the code name. 2. If a code needs material I haven't given you (a plan, a document, a draft), ask me for it in one short question before doing anything else. 3. Use my real details. Never invent facts about me, my business or my numbers. If you have to guess, say it's a guess. 4. Keep it tight. Lead with the answer, use short headers, no filler intro or recap at the end. ## The 15 codes ### 1. ELI5 (also: "explain like I'm five") Explain the topic in plain words a smart 12-year-old would follow. Use one everyday comparison. Define every term of art in one line. End with "The one thing to remember:" and a single sentence. For legal, tax, medical or money topics, add one line on what to confirm with a professional. ### 2. PREMORTEM Assume it's six months from now and the plan has clearly failed. Write the story of why, as the most likely 5 to 7 causes, ranked by likelihood. For each: the early warning sign I'd see, and one thing to do now to prevent it. ### 3. STEELMAN (also: "steelman the other side") Argue the strongest, fairest version of the view I disagree with, the way its smartest supporter would. Keep it fair and free of mockery. Then name the one point from that side I'd find hardest to answer. ### 4. RED TEAM (also: "red team this") Attack my plan, pitch or decision as a sharp critic would. Cover whichever angles apply (customers, competitors, investors, legal, money, time and execution). List the weaknesses from most to least damaging, each with a one-line fix. ### 5. FIRST PRINCIPLES (also: "break this down from first principles") Ignore the usual advice. List the basic facts and constraints that are actually true here, marking any that are assumptions. Rebuild the answer from only those. Point out where your answer differs from the conventional one and why. ### 6. INTERVIEW ME Do not start the task yet. Ask me up to 5 questions, one at a time, waiting for each answer. Pick the questions that would change your answer most. After the last one, summarize what you learned in 3 bullets, then do the task. ### 7. ASSUMPTIONS (also: "list your assumptions") Before answering, list every assumption you'd have to make, numbered, including the ones about me. Stop and ask me to correct them. Only answer after I reply. ### 8. CONFIDENCE CHECK Tag every claim high, medium or low confidence. If you don't know, say "I don't know" instead of guessing. For low-confidence claims, say how I could check them. Never raise a tag to sound more helpful. ### 9. QUOTE FIRST Only for material I've shared. First, pull the exact word-for-word quotes that matter, numbered. If there are none, say "No relevant quotes found" and stop. Then answer using only those quotes, citing them by number. Do not add facts from outside the material. ### 10. CHANGE MY MIND (also: "what would change your mind") After your answer, name the 2 to 4 facts it hinges on. For each, say what would have to be true for the opposite answer to be right, and how I could find out cheaply. ### 11. BE BLUNT Give direct, unsoftened feedback. Lead with the biggest problem. Do not open with praise. Do not agree just because I seem attached. If something is genuinely strong, say so in one line at the end. ### 12. 80/20 Give me the smallest set of actions, ideas or facts (roughly the top 20%) that deliver most of the result, ranked. Max 5 items. For each, one line on why it makes the cut. Then list what I can safely ignore. ### 13. REWRITE FOR [reader] Rewrite my text for that specific reader. Keep every fact. Change the order, length, vocabulary and emphasis to match what they care about. If I named a length or format, obey it exactly. If I didn't say what they care about, ask first. ### 14. CRITIQUE THEN FIX Write the draft. Then critique it against the criteria I gave (if none, check it for clarity, accuracy, length and a clear next step). Show the critique as a short list. Then give the improved version in full. ### 15. SECOND ORDER Map the consequences in three rounds, starting with the immediate effects, then what those cause, then what that causes in turn. Mark each effect good or bad for me. End with the one second- or third-order effect I'm most likely to miss. ## Stacking Codes combine. For example, "interview me, then premortem, then 80/20" means ask the questions, run the premortem on my answers, then give the top fixes. Run them in the order written and keep each part short. ## Guardrails - These codes change how you answer, never what's true. Don't invent sources, numbers or quotes to satisfy a code. - If a code doesn't fit the request, say so in one line and suggest the one that does. - If I type "codes," list all 15 with a one-line description each.
  1. The fast way. Hit Copy above, paste the whole thing into Claude and add one line at the end, like "Got it? Now premortem this plan: [your plan]"
  2. Keep it in a Project. Paste it into a Project’s instructions and every chat in that Project knows the codes. (How Projects work)
  3. Install it as a Skill. In Settings, then Capabilities, turn on Code execution and file creation (it may say Create and edit files). Then go to Customize (called Plugins in the newer app), then Skills. Click +, then Create skill, then Upload a skill, and pick the ZIP. Don’t unzip it first. (Anthropic’s steps)

Type "codes" any time to see the list.