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Claude routes to the shortest path and skips optional steps

2026-05-13 · 16:56 UTC ·@aakashgupta ·2 min read

Brief

Aakash Gupta argues Claude often skips steps because it takes the shortest-path response (a self-review at step 6 of 7 was skipped in 4/5 runs), so repeating instructions fails. He recommends preemptive tables that list likely rationalizations ('What Claude might think | Why it's wrong'), reports results from 75 tests across 25 skills, and offers two helper skills plus a 10-law framework.

Why it matters

Claude routes to the shortest path and skips optional steps: a self-review at step 6 of 7 was skipped in 4 out of 5 runs; adding 'please run step 6' did not fix it.

Key details

  • Effective workaround is to pre-empt rationalizations with a two-column table named 'What Claude might think | Why it's wrong' — three rows is usually enough to prevent the excuse before Claude generates it.
  • Author ran 75 tests across 25 skills (15 daily PM skills + 10 edge-case skills) and found Claude scans only the skill name and description before deciding to load the rest; 37 characters of surface description (e.g., 'Suggest recipes from what's in fridge') is insufficient. He published two helper skills (/improve-skill and /create-skill) and a 10-laws guide.
Source evidence

You can't fix Claude skipping steps by adding more instructions.

Most people try anyway. A self-review pass at step 6 of 7 gets skipped 4 out of 5 runs. Writing "please run step 6" doesn't work. Claude already read that.

The shortest path to a response is always faster than running every step. So Claude routes around your instructions whenever it can.

What works: a table that names the rationalization before Claude generates it. "What Claude might think | Why it's wrong." Three rows is usually enough.

Pre-empt the excuse before Claude takes it.

Aakash Gupta (@aakashgupta)

Most PMs are still pasting the same 800-word prompt at the top of every Claude session.

The PMs pulling ahead stopped doing that 6 months ago.

Prompts are text you have to remember to paste. Skills are reusable behavior Claude auto-loads the moment your message matches what the skill does. You install once, you stop copy-pasting, and your teammate runs the exact same version you do.

I ran 75 tests across 25 skills last week. 15 PM skills I use daily plus 10 built specifically to surface edge cases. The bad ones failed in patterns that repeated across categories.

Most people think Claude reads their full skill file every time. It doesn't. Claude scans only the name and description of every installed skill, then decides whether to load the rest. A description that reads "Suggest recipes from what's in fridge" stays invisible forever. 37 characters of surface isn't enough for Claude to route on.

The second pattern: Claude takes the shortest path to a response. A self-review pass at step 6 of 7 gets skipped 4 out of 5 runs. Adding "run the self-review pass" again doesn't fix it. Claude already read that instruction and routed around it.

What works: a table that names the rationalization before Claude generates it. "What Claude might think | Why it's wrong." Three rows is usually enough.

The full piece has 10 laws and two skills you can install today:

  • /improve-skill, which generates test prompts against your existing skills, diagnoses where the output breaks down, and rewrites the highest-leverage problem

  • /create-skill, which scaffolds new skills with all 10 laws baked in from the start

Full deep dive for paid subscribers: news.aakashg.com/p/10-laws-c…

— https://nitter.net/aakashgupta/status/2053982150958145934#m