# I just did something my AI agents couldn't

> Source: <https://dev.to/effessdev/i-just-did-something-my-ai-agents-couldnt-pmi>
> Published: 2026-09-12 04:30:19+00:00

It is funny how things work out. You can let AI tools try to fix a code problem for days, but nothing works until you finally step in and do it yourself.

I was working on my ESP-IDF project and wanted to organize it better. My goal was to move different pieces of code into a folder named `components`.

I don't pay for AI, so I use the free web versions. I used a tool I built called [ReptClip](https://github.com/effessdev/reptclip) to copy my project files. Then, I asked the AI which files to move and what new code to put inside them. 

I did exactly what the AI said without questioning it. Suddenly, red error lines popped up in my code editor. Soon, the whole file was covered in errors. I told the AI about it.

It gave me new steps, and I just followed them again. It still didn't work.

I did this over and over for hours. I got very mad, called the AI stupid, and reset my working directory to start all over from scratch. I do not know why it failed at such an easy job.

I thought the Pro version of the AI would do a better job. I tried the exact same steps and trusted it completely again. But I ended up with the exact same errors.

I lost count of how many times I tried this. I tested Gemini Flash Extended, Gemini Pro Extended, DeepSeek v4 Flash, and DeepSeek v4 Pro. For some reason, absolutely **nothing** worked. I wasted two whole days doing this.

Next, I decided to try GitHub Copilot. I gave it instructions, and it spent about 30 minutes on the task. It finally gave me a nice ✅ emoji to say it was done. I thought my problems were over.

I tried to build my project, but it failed. I looked at my code files, and there were **error squiggles everywhere**, just like before. 

I gave up and left the project alone for a few days.

After a break, I came back with a new plan.

I went to gemini.google.com and chose the Pro model. I asked the same question. But this time, I stopped blindly pasting the whole file the AI gave me. Instead, I decided to **edit the `#include` parts and type the `CMakeLists.txt` files by myself**.

When I moved my code into the `components` folder, I noticed errors on the `#include` lines. I realized right away that the `#include` paths were the real issue. I told the AI that I could not add those specific headers. The AI said I needed to use the `REQUIRES` or `PRIV_REQUIRES` settings. Adding those fixed a few headers, but some specific headers still failed. 

Finally, I searched on Google to find out exactly what to put in the `REQUIRES` section to include those specific headers that were causing the issue. The answer was slightly different there.

I changed that one single line of code, **and it finally worked!** The ONLY problem was that all the AIs had used the wrong `REQUIRES` name, and none of them could figure out that was the issue. It is hard to believe I wasted weeks on such a tiny problem.

*I left out a lot of the debugging details in this post because I simply cannot remember everything. Please go easy on me if anything seems confusing or contradicts itself.*