Prompters Anonymous Install

Hi. My name is , and I haven't written a for-loop since 2024.

Prompters Anonymous is a 12-step program for developers who let AI do their thinking. You don't have to quit. You just have to come back, one step at a time.

Install the plugin Read the 12 steps

Free and open source. A plugin for Claude Code. Your history stays on your computer.

A brass chip that says Recovering Prompter, one line at a time
How it works

Not cold turkey. A taper.

Quitting AI overnight doesn't work, and it isn't the goal. AI is a great rubber duck. It catches bugs. It's a good second opinion. Prompters Anonymous is a plugin for Claude Code. It adds a little friction to how you already work, then a little more, one step at a time.

  • Everyone starts at step 1. If you're installing this, there's a reason. Step 1 asks nothing of you except to notice. No judgment.
  • It works inside your normal flow. No exercises. No separate app. You keep building your real project. Claude just asks a bit more of you.
  • You always know where you stand. Your step and your progress sit in a line just above the prompt, the whole time.
  • It tells you when you're ready. When you've got the hang of a step, Claude says so. Moving up is always your choice.
  • Bad days are allowed. Tired? Deadline? /pa rough-day eases off one step until tomorrow. Step back down any time you need to. Your progress is never wiped.
Hi, I'm a prompter. Day 12 · Step 2 · Guess first.

> why is this test failing?

╭─ Step 2 of 12 · Guess first ─────────────────╮
│ Before I dig in, what's your hunch?          │
│ A wrong guess counts too.                    │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────╯

› the date mock is probably wrong

✓ Close! It was the time zone on that date
  mock. Nice instinct.
Step 2 · Guess first · ▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░ 6/10
> _

What it feels like

> add caching to the product page

╭─ Step 5 of 12 · Alternatives ────────────╮
│ Happy to build it. First, give me two    │
│ ways you could do it, and one downside   │
│ of each.                                 │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────╯

› _
╭─ Step 10 of 12 · Tests first ────────────╮
│ I can't edit cart.test.ts. That one's    │
│ yours. Write the tests for the discount  │
│ rule, and I'll write the code that       │
│ passes them.                             │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────╯

› _
The 12 steps

One more piece of the work, every step.

Each step hands back one more piece of the work, and keeps everything from the steps before it. Each phase has its own chip metal. Go at your own pace.

  1. Steps 1–3 · aluminum

    Admit it

    AI still does the work. You start noticing the habit, guessing before you ask, and explaining what changed.

    1. 1Admit it
    2. 2Guess first
    3. 3Explain it back
  2. Steps 4–8 · copper

    Own the thinking

    The big one. You take back architecture, alternatives, edge cases, states, and performance. AI still types. You decide.

    1. 4Architecture
    2. 5Alternatives
    3. 6Edge cases
    4. 7States and recovery
    5. 8Performance and maintainability
  3. Steps 9–11 · silver

    Own the typing

    You wire things up. You write the tests. You write a whole module.

    1. 9Wiring
    2. 10Tests first
    3. 11One module
  4. Step 12 · brass

    Free

    Build one small, complete feature with AI turned off. After that, you set your own rules.

    1. 12Graduation
Aluminum chip, phase 1 Copper chip, phase 2 Silver chip, phase 3 Brass chip, step 12 Graduation chip: Handwritten

See all 12 steps in full ↗

FAQ

Questions.

Is this a joke?

Half. The jokes are real jokes. The program is a real program. Programmers losing the ability to solve hard problems isn't funny, so we'd rather laugh about it while fixing it.

Do I have to stop using AI?

No. You keep using Claude Code every day. The plugin changes how you use it, a little at a time. At the end, you can build a feature without AI. After that, how you use it is up to you.

Will this slow me down?

A bit, at first. That's the point, and it's small. Step 2 costs you one sentence per question. If you have a deadline, /pa rough-day eases off until tomorrow.

What does it track? Where does that go?

It keeps your step, how your guesses and explanations went, and a count of what kinds of things you ask AI for: planning, code, debugging. It never stores the text of your prompts. The only words it keeps are the ones you type to it yourself, like why you started. All of it stays on your computer. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Does it work with Cursor, Copilot, or ChatGPT?

Not yet. It's built on Claude Code's plugin system, because that lets each step actually hold you to it. The 12 steps themselves work anywhere. Read them and follow them on your own if you use another tool.

Are you connected to Alcoholics Anonymous or Anthropic?

No. This is an independent project. It borrows the shape of the 12 steps with respect. AA has helped millions of people. If you're struggling with alcohol or another addiction, please reach out to AA or a local support service. That's a real problem, not a joke.

Install

Take the first step.

You need Claude Code, version 2.1.290 or newer. Run these three commands in it, in order.

  1. Add the marketplace

    A marketplace is a list of plugins you can install. Ours lives on GitHub, so you can read every line first.

    /plugin marketplace add tommyshellberg/prompters-anonymous

  2. Install the plugin

    /plugin install pa@promptersanon

  3. Run setup

    A short welcome. Claude asks why you're here, then starts you at step 1.

    /pa setup

After that, /pa shows where you stand. /pa up and /pa down move between steps, and /pa rough-day eases off until tomorrow. Free and open source. Your history stays on your own computer. Read the code on GitHub ↗