Turn a Vague Bug Report into Reproduction Steps
Back to prompts
Turn a Vague Bug Report into Reproduction Steps
codingbeginnerClaudeGPT
bug-reportsqadebugging
Extract a minimal, concrete reproduction from a messy user-written bug report before you spend time trying to reproduce it yourself.
Prompt
Here is a bug report as written by a user or support agent:
{{bug_report}}
Turn this into:
1. A minimal numbered list of reproduction steps, written as if for someone who has
never seen this report — starting state, exact actions, in order.
2. The expected result vs. the actual (reported) result, stated as two separate
one-line facts.
3. A list of every piece of information the report is missing that you'd need to
actually reproduce it (browser/OS/version, account state, exact input values,
timing) — do not guess these, just list what's missing.
4. A confidence rating (high/medium/low) on whether these steps would reliably
reproduce the issue as described, and why.
Do not invent steps, error messages, or environment details that aren't stated or
strongly implied by the report.
When to use this
Use this on incoming bug reports before triaging or assigning them — it separates “here’s exactly what to try” from “here’s what we still need to ask the reporter,” instead of letting both blur together in a paragraph of prose.
Tips
- Paste the report verbatim, typos and all — rewriting it yourself first can accidentally remove a detail that turns out to matter.
- If the missing-information list comes back empty, be suspicious — most real bug reports are missing at least an environment detail.