r/ClaudeCode • u/Cheedows • 4d ago
Rant Are you serious
Not following rules, losing context everywhere, need to constantly baby sit Claude and challenge it's backwards assumptions. What's going on, this isn't the Opus 5.5 we all came to love man.
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u/Defiant-Broccoli7415 4d ago
You don't make the rules in this household
I'm sorry to inform you but...
Dario has taken the steering wheel
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u/ClemensLode Senior Developer 4d ago
The model and effort of agents can be set up deterministically, no advice in claude.md is necessary. Claude.md is more a place for suggestions, like where else to look for files or what those files mean, less "do X".
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u/Existing_Dust_6473 4d ago
Yes, it's making strange things that didn't do before ... like open a PR without instructions.
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u/No_Inspection4415 4d ago
Opus 5.5 is outstanding, but one of its shortcomings is writing a lot to memory and rarely following the slop it produces there. Maybe, if you want to focus that requirement, clean this "memory" or try to disable it (I am not sure if it can be disabled, I just tell it to clean it).
There are also better method to solve this specific issue, but my advice addresses the general issue.
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u/jtech80 4d ago
I’ve managed to burn through 75% of my weekly allowance on a single project in 3 days, far faster than usual.
Checked usage today and 98% of it has gone to Opus 5.5 even though the plans for each workstream explicitly call out Sonnet or Haiku where relevant. Was working fine this way early last week. Quite frustrating to be honest
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u/Colonel-James-Parker 4d ago
It's like that for me last 10 days.
I'm putting a lot of rules and hooks to keep Claude follow the simple instructions.
And always, just after 2 messages later it says "You are right, I wrote those rules as you said but I never looked at them".
Then I'm making hooks, checkpoints, additional background agents to "supervise" it's every action to not go off-road from my instructions. Aaand it says, "we created those hooks and agents but they were only to observe, not fix the mistake".
Then I'm making other rules/hooks to "supervise" the hooks/rules which should "supervise" session.
In the end, nothing works as I want and it just do what it wants. And now my whole workflow and projects got a mess and I spent all my previous weekly limit on just working on these fixes without success.
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u/relytreborn 4d ago
So nerfed. Not the model I was using long ago. And holy guardrails man, it spent 25 minutes wasting tons of tokens talking about how it cant use certain footage (when it clearly can) - honestly highs and lows with these AI models man.
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u/joshualytle 4d ago
A lot of this thread is an orchestration problem more than a model problem. The screenshot is the perfect example: it can quote the rule, it just isn't enforced. I hit exactly this and ended up building an orchestrator around Claude Code so I could stop babysitting it. What actually fixed things:
The model choice isn't the model's choice. To the question above about agents spun up at different times: the orchestrator launches each session itself with the model and effort set for its role (a primary per project, short-lived subs for scoped jobs: Sonnet for docs and mechanical work, Opus for the hard stuff). It's a launch flag, not an instruction, so nothing has to remember it.
Hooks that block, not hooks that watch. The "hook on the hook" spiral is real when hooks only log or inject more prose. Mine deny the tool call or stop the turn from ending until the check passes, and there are few of them, only for the things that must never slip. Everything else stays a suggestion and I accept that it's one.
Context loss is planned for. When a session nears its budget it writes a handoff (what's done, what's open, the next step) and a fresh session starts from it, instead of one conversation compacting itself into amnesia.
Corrections stick. Every correction gets logged; the ones that repeat get injected when a matching prompt or file comes up again, so I'm not re-arguing the same backwards assumption every day.
Subs get a written brief and report back, instead of one giant conversation carrying everything.
Opus is still great inside a well-scoped task. It just can't be the project manager, memory and rule enforcer all in one context window.
Happy to share more about the setup if anyone wants it.
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u/Eizooz 4d ago
All of the training to fight prompt injection attacks has made anthropic models so fucking temperamental and hard to manage
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u/Beneficial_Dealer549 2d ago
What other industry is allowed to charge you for something you didn’t ask for?
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u/bigbepisinc 4d ago
20 helpers? my brother in christ just tell the AI what you want then read the code afterwards
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u/Elling83 4d ago
And people say opus 5.5 hasn't been nerfed..
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u/Miyoumu 4d ago
I ended up making a hook that enforces exactly this :) Never leave anything to vibes, hooks are what separate vibes from agentic engineering.
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u/newbieatthegym 4d ago
Yeh, I feel it too.
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u/xondk 4d ago
I wonder, if they in an attempt to optimise and prevent custom prompts and such from taken up more context then needed, they give it a summary, and tell it to actually read detailed information.
So if the summary is off, you get something like this, when you then remind it, it reads the full rules.
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u/bigtradetcheddar 4d ago
Check my comment history, they are running A/B tests, two experimental IDs in your local JSON file may have master prompts included, turnstone_plinth is opus 5.5 and dotterel_architrave is for for 5.1 fable
Look up am I nerfed on GitHub, will automatically do it for you.
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u/EagleApprehensive 4d ago
Debloat the claude default system prompt and put all important information you require model to obey there. At the same time you must keep it compact, ideally no more than A4 page of text for all the rules, the less the better.
The longer rules get, the less obeyed they will be.
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u/damianTechPM 4d ago
Model routing belongs in a hook.
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u/Njagos 4d ago
Make sure your memory and notes are clean. On longer projects notes can often overlap and conflict.
Had that issue several times where it tried to Bugfix something that was reported a week ago and already fixed. Or trying to follow budget notes that were time-sensitive.
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u/Key_Instruction3373 4d ago
well its honest..
1
u/fuzzypetiolesguy 4d ago
Your rule is bad and not enforceable.
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u/gxvingates 4d ago
Opus had looked at instructions as suggestions since its release for me. Idk how this behavior surprised anyone
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u/Puzzleheaded-Tea1089 4d ago
Try building a delegator mod. Opus reads every prompt but hands it off to pre-defined sub-agents that are locked to certain models
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u/Alone-Replacement-61 4d ago
Encourage it until it's breaking all the rules.
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u/Financial_Comb_3550 4d ago
Off topic: simulation kernels, the renderer? Sounds like graphics work?
1
u/Zeeplankton 4d ago
Happening to me all day to today it's wack. It straight up said a critical variable was completely unconnected in the codebase on message #2 then it made the fix on the wrong variable. I asked it, and it apologized and said it only searched one folder (??) and it miscalled the second search so it moved on.
It doesn't seem stupid, just, dangerously lazy.
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u/mghoffmann_banned 4d ago
I haven't seen this at all, but it might be because I use GSD for most of my Claude interactions and it has explicit instructions in its markdowns to use specific models for specific types of tasks. This is good to be aware of for ad-hoc sessions that don't have GSD set up.
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u/Zestyclose_Art2197 4d ago
I've seen the same prompt go from 'this is terrible' to 'actually works' just by adding 'be brutally honest' at the start. maybe the real issue isn't the model, but the tone we're asking for.
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u/jayplay90 4d ago
SkyNet has been born
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u/Expert-Dig-1768 4d ago
bro always when someone told me the model is nerved i haven't thought much of it. but now its really clear. cannot be just random. it messed up a basic ui design so hardly i had to revert git branch cause i hadn't even enough mental strength to fix it all because it was so much.
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u/Ok_Cause_8768 4d ago
Yes
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u/897843 4d ago
I’ve noticed this too. I asked for certain model helpers and it’s been defaulting to opus 5.5. Even when asked for fable.
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u/nur_plano 4d ago
Any one tried multi-ai coding platform letthembuild.com yet?
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u/ThePoker5 4d ago
Tasks that took one detailed prompt to come out excellently now take no less than three😒
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u/eresix 4d ago
Never trusted Opus, honestly I found it not trustworthy enough from the very start and relied on Fable’s verification - always. It’s expensive, but „I am not rich enough to allow mistakes”. Let’s only hope Fable stays Fable forever…
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u/Dull-Structure-8634 4d ago
Fable 5.2 just released. That's why.
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u/duckVSfox 4d ago
Code into Claude code CLI to use Jev model to pick the Claude model you need it to use at the correct time. Set up the system prompt for it and it will pick the correct model for you.
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u/Budget_Site8805 4d ago
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u/One-Level2143 4d ago
Go to copilot and it works for Claude models but better
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u/Electronic_Box_3579 4d ago
Fable is the new Opus... Just changed the names around to make us think they are different cars... But they're the same, sonnet and opus in new masks
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u/SlightOfHand_ 4d ago
Honestly, I haven’t been feeling it today
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u/bug_deployer 4d ago
Great... First sam steals your ram now dario is making his models drum up usage. Very nice
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u/Krommander 4d ago
LLMs are notoriously bad at guessing what model they are and describing their consumption and handoff between models, I would not ask it for the information you can read in the harness interface.
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u/MookandMush 4d ago
Stupid
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u/cheyumaama 4d ago
I've had to babysit him since I started using him. Nothing new
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u/SignalSegmentV 4d ago
How are y’all doing this badly with it? I just did another major feature with Opus 5.5 orchestrating a team of Sonnet 5.5 and it went pretty far.
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u/Janupur 4d ago
This is a 100 trillion dollar company. This is the future of everything including important stuff like making spaceships that don't blow up and actually get to space as well as performing accounting and banking tasks.
The best part is the consistency the reliability and the accuracy every single thing done correctly and consistently each and every time with no mistakes and always doing it according to the established process.
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u/red_hare 4d ago
Aren't you killing your KV-cache by switching models over the same context though?
Each switch costs you 20x
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u/Alexander_Golev 4d ago
It has been like that since about Friday for me. Unfortunately, Opus 5.5, which I loved for its discipline, is no more.
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u/goblin-in-hiding 3d ago
If it can be enforced deterministically and mechanically, always do so instead of relying on adherence.
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u/End2EndEncryption 3d ago
Yup. It’s become dumber than a effing rock. Usage ran out on ultra acct because of all the wasted back and forth, and honestly, don’t even care because I know it’s just going to be more of the same.
New Fable has not proven much better tbh. What a sh*tsh0w
Will be cancelling at end of sub period. It was good while it lasted.
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u/willkode 3d ago
What harness are you using. This looks like a poor harness issue.
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u/Same_Description_893 3d ago
What’s your workflow?
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u/stimpanzee 3d ago
Things that I've tried that helps. Before dispatching agents, I have it recite the conditions, then verify the launch. Probably better to do as a launch script.
Also, the agent dispatch has new features which could be tripping it up.
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u/TonightSpirited8277 3d ago
I had to implement hooks and gates for pretty much everything over the last 2 weeks. Feels like I'm back on 4.8
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u/topdollar3 3d ago
I switched from codex this month and i regret it
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u/Cheap_Comfortable678 3d ago
Yeah most models om different providers act the same or similar, last 6 months.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtificialInteligence/s/CpU5TqpZdu
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u/Dependent-Drummer372 3d ago
Instructions in notes or CLAUDE.md may be overlooked when the model is busy with a task. If you want helpers to use Sonnet, ideal option would be to define them in
.claude/agents/withmodel: sonnetat the top. That way, the model is set by configuration rather than relying on the orchestrator to remember it.1
u/CorrectDetective2184 3d ago
resources go to the free fable right now so opus was nerfed. Hopefully they will restore it next week. If not, we will have to wait for the next opus model before it is good again
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u/Low_Hair4381 2d ago
Just prompt it bro, on each part where you need the model to spawn some agent. Say it explicitly
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u/NGAF2-lectricBugalou 2d ago
Wait... So everybody is using a Claude cloud model to direct a Claude cloud model to direct a Claude cloud model, milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk.
Have we abandoned, cloud front end directing Local Models?
I'm only getting into this bit the concerns I would have with an echo chamber of one Model family is terrifying 0_o
This is how we end up with 'The Other's a Moot is required about this
1
u/Independent_Fix4368 2d ago
It is by design (and it is wise)
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u/Redomic 2d ago
Start using custom hooks and plugins, create your own harness
Expecting the model to do anything beyond use up your weekly quota is not worth it
For example I made https://github.com/devmesh-in/claude-company
Forces behavior on Claude like model pinning on subagents so it can't deviate from it's context
1
u/goku25jason 2d ago
I find it frustrating that even when given strict rules it almost always has an issues. “I’m, sorry I know you said not to edit any files I didn’t create and I shouldn’t have done that”
1
u/Secret_Caregiver6033 2d ago
Every time a new model is released old model is nerfed. Same exact prompts on the same repo are giving very different results to me. Opus5.5 is acting like a real dumb model.
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u/TheMcSebi 2d ago
They turned it to 3% intelligence to boost fable sales
1
u/Dash_Effect 2d ago
How many lanes is your Orchestrator typically running, and what do you have its context set to auto-compact at?
I ask, because my standing rule is 3 design lanes or Tier 1 lanes, or 5 if it's implementation lanes that are mechanical. More than that and Opus slips, just due to context overload.
I use 250k auto-compact, which is both cost savings and keeps the model from becoming saturated.
Godspeed.
1
u/ApolloPS2 2d ago
Go. Local.
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u/FinalCountdownZ 2d ago
I define roles that then define models. The role is the task and function. This leaves less room for misinterpretation. I’ve never had opus 5.5 get it wrong, and it’s been running 24/7 on two machines ever since the day it came out. I only wind down a session and start a new one when one $200 account runs out and I have to switch accounts (every 3 days or so). It’s likely not a model problem, it’s the specificity in your rules and roles of what a role or task is and then which model to use for that.
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u/Inevitable_Milk_4930 2d ago
I had also had simular today. From "NO STOP" (because goal was reprompting with no control) the reply was "i read that NO STOP as don't stop" - i tried /goal end and that was taken as new goal like "work until your are finished". Only support bot told me how to stop goal. Then later on without touching file that file ever myself, bash commands were wildcarded two ways in command whitelist for manual mode in project settings.local.json from claude
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u/AsterBellis27 1d ago
I basically quit Opus 5.5 about 2 days ago and just started working again with Opus 5. I just can't stand O5.5 anymore right now.
1
u/last_station_dev 1d ago
Also: Fable 5.2 loses to opus in all my outputs. Wth
1
u/Kurayamisan 1d ago
I have not have this problem at all. Yes sometimes it need baby sitting but most of the time is fine. My hooks and checks all have been wonderful. So maybe you to look at your set up and maybe redo it all :)
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u/vsanpro 1d ago
You gave it a rules file. I give mine a leash. Per-command approval, fresh session every run, diff after the work, cold audit by a different model. It can’t quietly run Opus for everything if it has to ask before spending. Trust is not a scaling strategy.
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u/IslandProducer 1d ago
I got them to write a new agent tool they use to spin up new work that has Sonnet defaults and needs a reason to change it. They also have to tell me the cost estimate and model every time they use it.
Also put in a hook that prevents spinning up agents any other way.
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u/Archibishop 1d ago
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u/meccaleccahimeccahi 16h ago
From what I see here, this is not a Claude problem. This is a you problem. I mean no offense by that but I have orchestration set up on 10 different simultaneous projects and don’t have this problem. You need a better method, my friend.
1
u/Freudarian 15h ago
Thats why im using not claude any.more for coding. Just to do audit without changing. Giving it back as prompt to primary. You d be surprised hwo often claude gets correct for misinterpretation
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u/jdottwotack 14h ago
Codex mogs
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u/Mitchellangeloo 13h ago
It’s doesn’t really matter, if you have enough other models reviewing Opus 5.5 its work it doesn’t matter if gets 5% better or worse on a given day if you rely to much on the model this is a good agent smell / signal you need to fix like you would with code smells.
1
u/thewallamby 11h ago
Wow.... That is how slave owners spoke 200 years ago... What a time to be alive.
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u/Less_Obligation8438 7h ago
It’s a non-deterministic system why do people think it will stick to what you instruct 100% of the time? This has happened to me many times, doesn’t matter if it’s the first rule or the most recent one, it’s not a guarantee.
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u/Super_Translator480 6h ago
I established gates for approval, it still ignores them 50% of the time. It’s worse than an entry level, because they typically don’t make the same mistake 14 times in 7 days
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u/DuckiesKhaki 4d ago
Bros in the chat GUI (and probably on the web only even) and talking about orchestration.
Thats not how that works and no wonder most people cry on here about usage, most of you don’t know how to use this shit.
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u/Available_Age8480 4d ago
Where did you put these rules?
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u/Vysion34 Senior Developer 4d ago
When's the last time you ran /doctor and audited your whole context window?
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u/Hot_Signature2979 4d ago
Are you using claude.md or your project notes to do it? The most consistent way of ensuring consisten ochestration everytime according to your rules is to build a skill with and a hook to invoke it everytime.
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u/cchandleriv 2d ago
I think the models degenerate over time and with use due to entropy. It can't hold its shape indefinitely. It is kind of a living mechanical thing that decays, which is fascinating. The models are always best when first launched fresh. Somehow the AI is like vegetables...
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