Common Mistakes Tracker

Common Mistakes Tracker

Purpose

Maintain a living log of mistakes per project and technology stack. Every time Claude falls into a technical trap, the mistake gets recorded here so it never repeats.

This follows Anthropic's internal practice of maintaining a "common mistakes zone" that the model reads before starting work.

How It Works

Recording a Mistake

When a mistake is identified (by user correction, failed test, or explicit request):

1. Identify the project name or technology
2. Read the existing mistakes log: mistakes-log.json in this directory
3. Add the new entry with:
   • category: The tech/framework/language involved
   • mistake: What went wrong (concise)
   • correct_approach: What should have been done
   • context: When this typically happens
   • date: When it was recorded
4. Write the updated log back

Using the Mistakes Log

At the START of any coding task:

1. Read mistakes-log.json
2. Filter for entries matching the current technology/framework
3. Keep these in mind as active constraints while coding
4. If about to do something that matches a recorded mistake - STOP and use the correct approach instead

Mistakes Log Format

The file mistakes-log.json in this directory stores all entries as:

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "category": "react",
    "mistake": "Used useEffect for derived state instead of useMemo",
    "correct_approach": "Use useMemo for values computed from props/state, useEffect only for side effects",
    "context": "When computing filtered/sorted lists from state",
    "date": "2026-03-22",
    "project": "my-app"
  }
]

Key Principles

• Be SPECIFIC. Not "don't write bad code" but "don't use any type in TypeScript interfaces for API responses"
• Include the CONTEXT - when does this mistake typically happen?
• The correct approach should be copy-paste ready when possible
• Review and prune outdated entries when frameworks/projects change
• Cross-project mistakes (like git habits) use category "general"

Categories to Watch

• Language-specific pitfalls (JS, Python, TypeScript quirks)
• Framework misuse (React, Next.js, Vue patterns done wrong)
• Architecture mistakes (wrong file structure, circular deps)
• Build/deploy errors (wrong configs, missing env vars)
• Hebrew/RTL specific issues (bidi text, font problems)
• Git workflow errors (wrong branch, force push accidents)