When Prompt Labels Leak Into Code

• ai
• prompting
• code-quality
• naming
• hygiene

Small cautionary tale: if you use internal labels to guide deeper analysis in your prompts, those labels can leak into the generated code as names and identifiers.

I once asked for “deeper analysis” using an internal label during exploration, then started seeing that same phrase show up in function names and comments. Not ideal.

the “ultrathin” leak

In one session I used Claude Code’s analysis mode (“ultrathink”) as a nudge while drafting an architecture note. It leaked into code and docs as “ultrathin” (not a typo; I searched the whole convo), showing up in function names and comments. Exactly what you don’t want from a meta label.

// request: use "ultrathink" mode
// outcome: leaked as "ultrathin" (not a typo)
- function runPipeline() {}
+ function ultrathinPipeline() {}
- // run the order pipeline
+ // ultrathin: run the order pipeline

Why it happens

I’m guessing here based on observed behavior, not official guidance.

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