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Question

Cascade says 'I apologize for the confusion' and then does exactly the same thing again

Open · 622 views · asked by maximilian · edited
windsurfstuck-loop

Trying to get a Stripe checkout button to redirect properly. 8 rounds now. Every time: "I apologize for the confusion, you're right, let me fix that" and then almost the same code. Sometimes it undoes the previous fix and then redoes it.

How do you get out of this without starting over?

What I’ve tried

Started a new conversation once, it did the same. Pasted the error each time.

Comment
What's the actual error? The loop usually means the error message doesn't point at the real cause. gus_fullstack · edited
No error, it just redirects to a blank page after paying. maximilian · edited

3 answers

sergio_ruiz · edited

Stop fixing, start diagnosing. Prompt:

Don't change any code. List 3 possible causes for this, and for each one a way to check it (a log, a URL to open, a value to print).

Then you check them. Loops happen when the model assumes cause A and the real cause is something it can't see (env var, dashboard setting, a redirect URL). Asking for hypotheses gets it out of "patch mode".

Also: after 3 failed rounds, new conversation with a short summary of what was tried. Round 8 in the same context is mostly the model repeating its own earlier answers.

Comment
Hypothesis prompt found it: success_url in the checkout session was http://localhost. Env var on the deploy was never set. maximilian · edited
Classic. Glad you found it. gus_fullstack · edited
gus_fullstack · edited

Windsurf-specific: revert to the last working state first (Cascade has revert on each step). Fixing on top of 8 half-fixes is much harder than fixing from one known state.

Comment
chidi_eze · edited

For Stripe specifically: the Stripe dashboard logs (Developers > Logs) show the exact request your code sent. Often faster than any AI round, you see the wrong URL or missing param right there.

Comment

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