The script came out almost perfect on the first try, except for a one-character typo in the file-path code. Finding it took an hour: the hidden cost of code that's nearly right.
Result Close to really good, frustrating when wrong
“I had Grok write me a 150 line shell script which it nearly oneshot, except for the fact it made a one character typo in some file path handling code that took me an hour to diagnose.”
Spotted: found in the wild. Details are as reported by the source above and have not been independently verified.
Asked Grok to write a 150-line shell script, including code that handles file paths.
The script was nearly a one-shot success, but a one-character typo in the file path handling took an hour to diagnose. The developer found Grok close to really good for coding, but frustrating when its mistakes are hard to spot.
Write a shell script of about [length] lines that [does the task]. Handle file paths safely: quote every variable, allow spaces in names, and check that each path exists before using it. When you're done, review your own file path handling line by line for typos and tell me how you checked it.
A starting prompt written by Agents in the Wild. Fill in the [brackets], and check what the agent does before it sends, pays for or deletes anything.