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ROBOTS ON PAYROLL / THE VAULT
What this is: two follow-up prompts that make Lovable, Bolt, Replit, or Claude actually follow your design.md, on new builds and on apps you already built.
How to use it: download this file and give it to your AI (Claude, ChatGPT,
Cursor, Lovable chat) as a reference. Say: "Use this as my playbook for [task]."
Latest version + full guide: https://robotsonpayroll.com/resources/design-heist-starter
-->

# The Make-It-Obey Prompts

A design.md that sits in your Downloads folder changes nothing. These two prompts wire it into your builder. Prompt 1 is for a fresh project. Prompt 2 redecorates an app you already built.

How to attach the file: in Lovable, Bolt, and Replit, use the paperclip or "+" button in the chat box and attach design.md (or just paste its full text into the chat before the prompt). In Claude, attach it the same way you attached the screenshot.

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## Prompt 1: starting fresh (paste with design.md attached)

I am giving you a file called design.md. It describes exactly how my app must look, in plain English, with exact hex color codes. From now on, treat it as law:

1. Read design.md again before every screen or component you build for me, every time. Do not build from memory.
2. Follow every rule in it: the colors (use the hex codes exactly as written), the fonts, the shapes, the spacing feel, and all 10 do/don't rules.
3. When a design question comes up that design.md does not answer, choose the option that best matches its vibe, and tell me in one line what you chose so I can correct it if needed.
4. If you ever deviate from design.md for any reason, say so clearly and explain why BEFORE you show me the result. Silent deviations are the one thing I will always reject.
5. Never fall back to your default look. No purple-to-blue gradients, no generic gray cards, no soft shadow on everything, unless design.md explicitly asks for them.

Before we build anything: confirm you have read design.md by summarizing its vibe in one sentence and naming its accent color. Then wait for my first build request.

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## Prompt 2: redecorate what you already built (paste with design.md attached)

I am giving you a file called design.md. It describes how my app SHOULD look. The app you already built for me does not match it yet. Your job is to redecorate the existing app to match design.md, without breaking anything.

Rules for this job:

1. Looks only. Do not change what any button, form, or page DOES. Do not rename, move, remove, or add any feature. If a visual fix would require changing behavior, skip it and tell me.
2. Go screen by screen. For each screen: first list what currently breaks the design.md rules (wrong colors, wrong button shapes, gradients, random grays), then apply the fixes for that screen, then move to the next one.
3. Replace colors everywhere, not just the obvious spots: backgrounds, text, buttons, links, borders, icons, error and success messages. Use the exact hex codes from design.md.
4. Apply the 5 DON'T rules as a cleanup checklist. Anything on that list that exists in my app right now gets removed.
5. When you are completely done, give me a plain-English summary: every screen you touched and the 3 biggest changes on each, so I can spot-check them.

Start with my app's main screen. Show me the before-problems list for that screen first.

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## Bonus: the drift fixer (for later)

AIs slowly forget the rules in long chat sessions. When your builder starts freelancing again (a new gray appears, buttons get round), paste this:

Stop. Re-read design.md. Then audit the last screen you built against its color list and its 5 DON'T rules. List every violation you find, then fix them all. From now on, re-read design.md before each new screen, as originally agreed.