STEP 1: COPY THE ERROR MESSAGE

Grab the complete error message from your console or terminal. Include any line numbers or file names.

Example error: “TypeError: Cannot read property ‘map’ of undefined at App.js:15”

STEP 2: PASTE YOUR RELEVANT CODE

Copy the section of code where the error occurs. Include a few lines before and after for context. You don’t need to paste your entire file – just the relevant function or component.

STEP 3: ASK AI TO EXPLAIN AND FIX

Paste both the error and code into ChatGPT or Claude with a simple request.

Example prompt: “I’m getting this error: [paste error] Here’s my code: [paste code] What’s wrong and how do I fix it?”

The AI will:

1. Explain what the error means in plain English

2. Point out exactly what’s causing it in your code

3. Show you the corrected code

4. Explain why the fix works

EXAMPLE RESPONSE “The error means you’re trying to use .map() on undefined. In your code, you initialized ‘users’ with useState() but didn’t give it an initial value. When the component first renders, users is undefined.Fix it by initializing with an empty array: const [users, setUsers] = useState([]); This way, users starts as an empty array instead of undefined, so .map() won’t crash.”

TIPS – Include the full error message (not just the first line) – Copy at least 5-10 lines of code for context – Mention what you’re trying to accomplish – Works for any language: Python, JavaScript, Java, etc.