When It Breaks, Claude Fixes It

You don't debug. You describe.

By the end of this lesson

You'll stop fearing errors — they're just the next thing you hand to Claude.

Things will break. A button won't work, the page looks wrong, a scary red error appears. This is completely normal — even for pros. The difference: you don't fix it yourself. You tell Claude what's wrong, in plain words.

How you 'debug' now

you ▸ the delete button doesn't do anything when I click it. fix it.
claude ▸ found it — the click wasn't wired up. fixed and tested. try again. ✓

you ▸ [paste the red error text] — what's this and can you fix it?
claude ▸ that just means X. fixed it. ✓

ℹWhere the error even is

Errors show up in the terminal where Claude runs — or your web tool just looks broken. To copy from the terminal: select the text and press Cmd/Ctrl+C. Can't select it? Just describe what you see in plain words — that works just as well. A double-clicked page that misbehaves silently, with no error anywhere? 'I clicked X and Y happened' IS the error report — that's all Claude needs.

!When fixes keep failing (the honest protocol)

Sometimes Claude says 'fixed!' three times and it still doesn't work. That's the moment skeptics quit — don't. Three pro moves, in order: (1) break the loop — say 'stop. List three possible causes of this, then try the simplest one.' (2) Start a FRESH conversation in the same folder — type /exit, run claude again, and say 'read this folder, then explain in plain words what's wrong with the delete button'. A confused conversation is often the problem, not your tool. (3) The cheapest superpower of vibe-coding: start a fresh folder and re-describe the tool, including what you learned ('…and make sure the delete button actually works'). Rebuilding costs minutes — BUT if your tool already holds real data, first ask Claude 'export all my data to a file', then 'import my data' in the new version. (Same move before moving or renaming the folder.) Pros do all three constantly.

✓The loop is the skill

Describe what's wrong → Claude fixes → you check → repeat. Copy-paste the error if there is one; describe the symptom if there isn't. You are the director, not the mechanic. And the day your tool holds data you'd hate to lose — ask Claude: 'add an export/backup button'. One click, your data in a file, peace of mind.

checkpoint

Identity shift

You built a real tool and fixed it when it broke — by talking. Claim the moment. From here, it's just more of the same, bigger.

Author

Evgeny Arsentyev

PhD · Chief Product Officer at a healthtech company

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