Use Projects to Stop Re-Explaining Yourself
Projects bundle related chats with shared instructions and files. Create one per codebase or product, drop in your stack description and conventions, and every conversation inside it starts with that context. It's the difference between a fresh stranger each time and a colleague who already knows your setup.
Iterate on Code in Canvas
Canvas opens code (and prose) in a side editor you can edit directly, with the model making targeted changes instead of regenerating the whole block. For refining a function over several rounds — "make it streaming", "now add retries" — it's far less error-prone than scrolling a long chat and copy-pasting the latest version.
Reach for the Codex Agent on Whole Tasks
Codex is OpenAI's software-engineering agent: point it at a repository and it can implement features, fix bugs, and run tests in an isolated environment, then hand you a diff or a pull request. Use it for self-contained tasks with clear acceptance criteria; keep architectural decisions for yourself.
Build a Custom GPT for Recurring Roles
If you repeatedly need the same persona — "review SQL for injection risks", "convert designs to Tailwind" — bake it into a custom GPT with fixed instructions and reference files. It encodes the prompt once so you (and your team) don't rewrite it every time.
Debug with the Full Picture
The most common debugging mistake is pasting an error with no context. Give the model the failing code, the complete stack trace, what you expected, and what actually happened. Ask it to list hypotheses ranked by likelihood before proposing a fix — you'll catch the real cause faster than with a single confident guess.
Don't paste secrets, customer data, or proprietary code into a consumer chat without checking your org's data policy. Use enterprise/team tiers or self-hosted options when the data is sensitive.
Ask for the Format You Want
State the output shape explicitly: a unified diff, a single code block, a table, a JSON object. Models honor format instructions reliably, and it saves you from reshaping the answer by hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between ChatGPT and Codex?
ChatGPT is the general assistant interface; Codex is OpenAI's coding agent that operates on a repository, runs tests in a sandbox, and returns diffs or pull requests for self-contained tasks.
When should I use Canvas instead of normal chat?
Use Canvas when you're iterating on the same piece of code or text over multiple rounds — it edits in place rather than regenerating, which avoids copy-paste drift.
Are custom GPTs worth it for a solo dev?
Yes, if you repeat a task. Encoding the instructions once removes prompt-writing overhead and makes results consistent.