Developer Frustrations with Opus 5: Endless Refactoring and Rabbit Holes Instead of Bug Fixes
JoshuaJBouw · x · 2026-08-02
A developer shared a frustrating experience using the Opus 5 model for coding, noting that when it encounters a bug, it often ignores the direct fix and instead starts endlessly refactoring the surrounding architecture, perpetually missing the actual issue.
Furthermore, the model exhibits a tendency to fall down "rabbit holes," embarking on constant side adventures rather than sticking to the main quest. It takes horizontal steps instead of vertical ones while confidently claiming to be on track, forcing the developer to frequently interrupt and manually undo its actions.
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