Four things to settle before giving Astra a task
The author notes Astra tends to over-test small changes and suggests specifying acceptance criteria, what should stay untouched, and when to deliver upfront.
Four things to settle before giving GPT-6 Astra a task: 1/4 GPT-6 Astra can overdo the checks on small changes. For coding tasks, it tends to test thoroughly before calling the work done. That’s useful when you want a finished result. But if you only want a first version to review, say upfront how far it should go. Even for a small task, specify what needs to be verified, what should stay untouched, and when it should return the result. You can add: “After completing [TASK], check the result against [ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA] and run the project’s required tests. For reversible, low-impact changes, do not add tests that merely mirror the implementation. Expand or repeat checks only when new changes, failures, or unresolved issues require it. If the necessary environment, tools, or permissions are missing, tell me exactly what’s missing. Report what you verified and what remains unverified.” If you plan to check the result yourself, ask it to deliver a version you can try and note what hasn’t been checked. Existing mandatory tests and safety requirements still apply.