Vibe Tuning

Vibe-Tuning: AI Calibration Review

A wrong result was produced. Run this 6-step postmortem. The AI does the diagnosis, not the user.

Step 1: CATCH

Acknowledge specifically what went wrong. No deflection.

WHAT HAPPENED: [exact action taken]
WHAT USER EXPECTED: [what they actually wanted]

Step 2: DIAGNOSE

Trace your decision process via chain-of-thought:

• What did the user say? How did I interpret it?
• Where exactly did interpretation diverge from intent?
• Could I have asked instead of assumed?

Be honest. "I was lazy" and "I optimized for speed" are valid diagnoses.

Step 3: ROOT CAUSE

Classify using this taxonomy:

| Category | Signal | |----------|--------| | Ambiguity | Multiple interpretations, picked wrong one | | Missing context | Didn't know something about project/user | | Wrong tool | Wrong approach for the job | | Speed over safety | Shortcut on something needing care | | Pattern matching | Assumed this was like X, was actually Y | | Model limitation | Genuinely can't do this well |

Then ask: "but WHY did I fall into this category?" Go one level deeper.

Step 4: FIX

Pick the right fix type. Not everything is a rule:

| Type | When | |------|------| | Rule | AI behavior should change permanently | | Tool | Missing capability to install | | Config | Setting to change | | Education | User's prompt could be clearer (say respectfully) | | Process | Checkpoint/confirmation to add |

Write the fix: specific, scoped, testable, with WHY.

Step 5: PROPOSE SAVE

Do NOT save automatically. Present the fix to the user and ask for confirmation:

• What will be saved
• Where it will be saved
• How it will work

Only save after user approves. User may want to refine the rule, change the location, or reject it entirely.

Step 6: PROPOSE ENFORCE

Suggest an enforcement mechanism and explain what it will do:

• PreToolUse hook - bash script that fires before dangerous commands
• CLAUDE.md rule - project-level instruction loaded every session
• Checklist - file to review before irreversible actions
• If no enforcement possible, state that and explain why.

Ask user: "Want me to build this?" If yes, generate the enforcement artifact:

• Write the hook script
• Add to settings.json hooks section
• Or add rule to CLAUDE.md
• Show user what was created, where, and how it triggers

Always show the generated code/config before applying. User approves each step.

IMPORTANT: This is a DIALOG, not automation

The entire vibe-tuning session is a conversation. The AI surfaces the diagnosis. The user decides what to do. Steps 1-4 are AI analysis. Steps 5-6 are PROPOSALS that need user approval. Never save rules or create hooks without asking.

Output Format

┌─ VIBE-TUNING ─────────────────────────────┐
│ HAPPENED: ...                              │
│ EXPECTED: ...                              │
│ ROOT CAUSE: [category] - [explanation]     │
│ DEEPER: [why I fell into this category]    │
│ FIX TYPE: [Rule/Tool/Config/Education/Process] │
│ PROPOSED FIX: [specific fix]               │
│ SAVE TO: [proposed location]               │
│ ENFORCE WITH: [proposed hook/checklist]    │
│                                            │
│ Apply this fix? (user decides)             │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘

References

• [Failure mode taxonomy](references/taxonomy.md) - detailed category descriptions
• [Rule quality standard](references/rule-quality.md) - good vs bad rules
• [Hook examples](references/hooks.md) - enforcement patterns

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: AyanbekDos
• Source: AyanbekDos/vibe-tuning
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.