How to Get the Most Work Done with Bwat

If you're using Bwat as your AI coding agent, the biggest productivity mistake you can make is treating it like a search box.

Bwat can help you plan, build, debug, refactor, review, and understand code. But how much work you get done depends heavily on how you use it.

A few simple habits can help you get significantly more out of every Bwat session — and make your usage budget go much further.

1. Run /init in Every Workspace

Before you start working seriously in a new workspace, make sure you have run:

/init

at least once.

This lets Bwat explore the codebase and create a bwat.md file. That means on every task after that, Bwat will already know the essentials and where everything is.

If you skip this step, Bwat may need to spend extra time rediscovering the structure of the codebase every time you ask it to do something.

Initialize once, then work faster afterward.

2. Keep Conversations Short and Focused

Long conversations consume usage faster.

As a conversation grows, Bwat has more context to process. That means even a simple request can become more expensive than it needs to be.

New task? Start a new conversation.

You can run:

/clear

to clear the current conversation and start fresh.

You can also click the Bwat logo icon to open a new Bwat panel.

Don't keep one massive conversation going for your entire project. A conversation about authentication does not need to carry the entire history of your database migration, UI redesign, and deployment work.

One task. One focused conversation.

3. Use /compact When a Conversation Gets Too Long

Sometimes you're in the middle of important work and don't want to lose the conversation entirely.

If the conversation is getting long and you notice the high context indicator in the bottom-right corner, run:

/compact

This helps reduce the conversation's context while preserving the important information Bwat needs to continue working.

Think of it as cleaning up the conversation without completely starting over.

4. Be Specific. Lazy Prompting Wastes Time.

The more vague your request is, the more steps Bwat may need to figure out what you actually want.

Lazy prompting wastes both your time and Bwat's time.

Compare:

Fix the login.

with:

The login request in AuthController.php returns a 500 error when the user has an invalid password. Find the cause, fix it, and add a test for the failure case.

The second prompt gives Bwat a clear problem, a location, and an expected outcome.

When asking Bwat to do something, try to include:

• What you are working on
• What is going wrong
• What you want changed
• Any constraints or rules it must follow

You don't need to write a novel. Just give Bwat enough information to avoid wasting steps figuring out your intention.

5. Give Bwat the Right Context

You don't always need to explain your entire codebase.

Use @ to mention specific files that are relevant to your task.

You can also simply:

• Open the file you are working on
• Highlight the problematic code
• Select the specific section you want Bwat to inspect

Bwat can see the currently open file and your selected code.

Instead of saying:

Something is wrong with my API.

Try giving Bwat the exact controller, service, or function involved.

Better context means fewer unnecessary steps.

6. Break Big Tasks Into Smaller Steps

Don't ask Bwat to build an entire complex feature in one vague prompt.

Large tasks are usually more effective when broken into a workflow:

First, inspect the existing authentication flow and explain how it works.

Then:

Now propose the changes needed to add Google login.

Then:

Implement the changes.

Then:

Review your implementation for security issues and missing edge cases.

Then:

Add tests for the new flow.

You get better results when Bwat can focus on one meaningful step at a time.

7. Use the Right Brain Mode for the Job

Bwat has three brain modes:

• Fast – Great for everyday coding tasks like generating functions, fixing simple bugs, explaining syntax, and writing tests.
• Smart – Better for complex logic and multi-step reasoning.
• Deep Think – Designed for genuinely difficult problems like architectural decisions, deep debugging, and large refactors.

Fast mode is enough for most everyday coding work.

Save Smart and Deep Think for tasks that genuinely need more reasoning.

You can switch modes at any time, even in the middle of your work.

8. Don't Waste a Smart Brain on a Simple Task

You probably don't need Deep Think to:

Rename this variable.

Or:

Write a Laravel migration for this table.

Use the simplest mode that can solve the problem properly.

The goal is not to use the most powerful mode for every question.

The goal is to get more work done.

9. Use Bwat to Plan Before You Build

Before asking Bwat to start writing code, you can ask it to inspect the existing codebase and create a plan.

For example:

I need to add subscription billing to this app. Inspect the relevant parts of the codebase and give me an implementation plan. Do not change any files yet.

This gives you a chance to review the approach before code is written.

Then you can ask Bwat to implement the plan.

Plan → Build → Test → Review is often a much better workflow than simply saying:

Build this feature.

10. Ask Bwat to Review Its Own Work

AI can make mistakes.

After Bwat completes a task, ask it to review the changes.

Try:

Review the changes you just made. Look specifically for bugs, security issues, edge cases, and anything that could break existing functionality.

This is especially useful after large changes.

If you are on a paid tier, Forge can take this even further by allowing Bwat to orchestrate multiple sub-agents in parallel.

You also get access to an adversarial review agent that can challenge and scrutinize the work that was done.

Sometimes the best way to improve a solution is to ask another agent to try to break it.

11. Talk to Bwat Instead of Typing Everything

Sometimes you know exactly what you want to say, but typing it all out is painful.

On paid tiers, you can use voice dictation to simply talk to Bwat.

Explain what you are working on, what is going wrong, and what you want done.

You don't have to perfectly formulate a prompt before you start.

Just talk.

12. Keep New Work in a New Conversation

Starting a new feature?

Starting a new bug fix?

Working on a completely different part of the application?

Start a new conversation.

You can use:

/clear

or click the Bwat logo icon to open a new Bwat panel.

Keeping conversations focused helps Bwat work with less unnecessary context — and helps you keep your own work organized too.

The Bwat Workflow

If you want a simple rule to remember, use this:

Run /init once per workspace. Give Bwat context. Be specific. Keep conversations focused. Use the right brain mode. Break large work into steps. Review the result.

Bwat is powerful.

But the best results don't come from asking it more questions.

They come from using it intentionally.

And if you find yourself regularly running out of usage budget, or you need Smart and Deep Think mode more often, paid tiers give you a much larger usage budget, access to Forge, adversarial reviews, and voice dictation.

Work smarter with Bwat.