Phase 3: Reading & Reviewing AI Code · 25 min · Cursor · Claude Code · GitHub Desktop

Git Diffs as a Safety Net

If you can't see what changed, you can't catch what broke. Git diffs are your safety net.

Hiring signal: What changes when you use this: you can always undo a bad change — which means you can experiment without fear of breaking everything.

What you will learn

Understand what a git diff shows you
Read diffs in plain English to understand what changed
Use Cursor or Claude Code's diff view to review AI changes
Revert changes when the AI breaks something
Build the commit-before-big-changes habit

Your Mission

Commit your current state, ask the AI to make a change, review the diff in plain English, and either commit or revert. Output: diff_review.md.

You need: Cursor, Claude Code, or GitHub Desktop with an AI-built project.

Time: 20 minutes.

Step 1: Learn How Diffs Work (3 min)

A diff shows what changed between two versions:

Green lines (+): what was added
Red lines (-): what was removed
Unchanged lines: context

Before:

const tipPercent = 15

After:

const tipPercent = 20

Plain English: "The AI changed the default tip from 15 to 20."

Unlock the full lesson

You've read the first 2 sections. The rest of this lesson covers Step 2: Commit Your Current State (2 min), Step 3: Ask the AI to Make a Change (5 min), Change Requested, Step 4: Review the Diff (5 min), Diff Summary, Step 5: Commit or Revert (5 min), Decision: [Commit / Revert], You're Done — plus a hands-on lab, quiz, and project artifact.

Create a free account to unlock Phase 0 and Phase 1 of every course — no credit card.