# AI Coding Tip 031 - Stop Over-Prompting Reasoning Models

DevFeed: [AI Coding Tip 031 - Stop Over-Prompting Reasoning Models](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/ai-coding-tip-031-stop-over-prompting-reasoning-models-18221.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://maximilianocontieri.com/ai-coding-tip-031-stop-over-prompting-reasoning-models>)

Author: Maxi Contieri

Published: 2026-08-08T23:16:29Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Maximiliano Contieri - Software Design](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/maximiliano-contieri-software-design.md>)

Topics: [ai-coding](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai-coding.md>), [Prompt Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/prompt-engineering.md>), [Artificial Intelligence](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai.md>), [anthropic](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/anthropic.md>)

Tags: [ai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai.md>), [ai-coding](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai-coding.md>), [anthropic](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/anthropic.md>), [models](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/models.md>), [prompting](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/prompting.md>), [reasoning](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/reasoning.md>), [tokens](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/tokens.md>), [verification](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/verification.md>)

## AI overview

This article argues that modern reasoning models generally verify and pace themselves, so developers should remove redundant prompts such as "think step by step," "double-check your work," and blanket ALWAYS/NEVER rules. It recommends configuring explicit effort, scope, length, and autonomy settings, while using decision criteria instead of unnecessary absolute instructions.

## Source excerpt

TL;DR: Reasoning models already verify and pace themselves, so drop those prompts and set real effort, scope, length, autonomy. Common Mistake ❌ You still write prompts for a model that evolved and s