Guide · Developers

Prompt optimization for developers

· 2 min read

Quick answer

For coding prompts, the details are the point: file names, error text, tests and the things that must not change. Trim the wording around them, never the details. Typo keeps code, paths, flags and identifiers byte for byte, and it stays out of terminals and code editors.

What a good coding prompt contains

  1. The goal, and the files or functions involved.
  2. Hard limits: what must not change and what is not allowed.
  3. The expected result and the tests that prove it.
  4. Whether you want code or only an analysis.
  5. Exact error text, commands and code, unchanged.

What Typo trims, and what it never touches

Typo removes greetings, polite wrappers, filler words and wordy phrases. It keeps inline code, code blocks, file paths like src/api/routes.ts, flags like --dry-run, names like getUserById, version numbers and quoted error messages exactly as written. Lines that look like code are kept whole.

Example at level 4: Filler wordsEstimated tokens: 62 → 48 (−23%)
You typeHi! I would like you to take a look at the login issue in `auth/session.ts`. Please be careful not to change the public API and please do not remove any existing tests. It basically fails with "TypeError: token is undefined". Thanks!
Sent to the AITake a look at the login issue in `auth/session.ts`. Be careful not to change the public API and do not remove any existing tests. It fails with "TypeError: token is undefined".
Open this example in the Platform Lab →

Where Typo works for developers

Typo stays out of terminals and code editors on purpose, so it never edits code you type. It works in AI chat apps and on AI chat sites, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot chat. For a terminal agent like Claude Code, draft the prompt in the Platform Lab or a chat field and paste it.

If you are learning

Ask for the cause, the fix and a test, and paste the full error. Stay at level 1 to 3 so nothing unfamiliar gets reworded.

Which level

Level 3 for most coding prompts. Level 4 or 5 for long descriptions without code. Avoid levels 8 to 10 for specifications: removing articles and linking words can blur who does what.

Official sources

Reviewed 8 November 2026. Links go to each provider's own documentation. Typo is not affiliated with any of these companies, and provider terms can change.

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Typo Token Language

Fewer tokens. Same meaning.

Download Typo free. The token language is included and works in your AI tools as you type.

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