How Makefiles Solved My AI Prompt Repetition Problem

Tired of typing the same AI prompts? I discovered Makefiles could solve this - here's how it changed my workflow

Pattern Discovery

Every Claude AI session in Cursor IDE 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..."

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)"

Now:

make commit

AI sees pattern. AI follows pattern. No prompting.

Why It Works

Makefiles = Terminal orchestration with bash Claude AI = Terminal native in Cursor IDE Result = Perfect vibe coding match

Claude AI doesn't need instructions. It needs context that executes in terminal.

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"

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/\x1b\[[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

Each Makefile command = Encoded knowledge.

Core Insight

Stop writing prompts. Start writing makefiles.

Claude AI already knows terminal and bash. Let it orchestrate in Cursor IDE.

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 Claude AI sessions in Cursor now:

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

Me: make deploy  
AI: [Knows the workflow]

Me: make test
AI: [Understands the context]

No prompts. Just commands.

Evolution Through Execution

Git history + Makefiles = Collective memory

Claude AI learns from:

• What we did (git history)

• How we do it (makefiles with bash)

• Why we did it (learned: commits in terminal)

Cultural evolution through code.

Final Pattern

Prompts = What to think
Makefiles = How to act
Git = Why it matters

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

Makefiles are the way.