Issue #231Wednesday, August 19, 2026

The Daily
Vibe

One lesson, one term, one build prompt, one app check — a small fresh slice of the school, same for everyone, new every day. Show up daily and keep your streak alive.

Lesson of the dayCRS-05 · 11 min

Reasoning Models vs CoT Prompts

From Prompt Engineering Mastery · Reasoning Techniques. Extended-thinking models do CoT natively — what that retires, what it doesn't, and how to split work between fast and thinking modes.

Term of the day01

Function Calling

AI that can use tools

A structured way for LLMs to request execution of external functions. You define tools with JSON Schema descriptions, the model outputs a structured JSON object specifying which function to call with what arguments, your code executes it, and the result goes back to the model. Not the same as agents -- function calling is the mechanism, agents are the loop.

App check of the day02

Sunsama

🟡 Kinda — with gaps. A calm daily planning ritual that pulls work from all your tools. — can you vibe code it in a weekend?

Prompt of the day03

Build a Chrome extension

Build a Chrome extension (Manifest V3): [your one-sentence trigger + effect]. Structure: manifest.json with the minimum permissions needed (explain each one you request), a content script that [the in-page behavior], and a popup with an on/off toggle plus any settings, persisted via chrome.storage.sync. No build step — plain JS/HTML/CSS so I can load it unpacked. Include a README with the exact load-unpacked steps, and comment the message-passing between popup and content script.
Game of the day04

✍️ Prompt Forge

You get a lazy prompt and a goal. Rewrite it. We score your version against the habits of good agentic prompting — outcomes, constraints, tests, verification. 4 prompts. Clear it for XP — flawless runs earn a badge.