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Prompt Pressure (CFG scale)

Turn up the prompt pressure — how hard the prompt is allowed to push, the setting labeled classifier-free guidance (CFG) — from loose to useful to brittle. The tool shows why more pressure can improve alignment at first, then create stiff, repeated, over-literal artifacts.

tools/cfg-scale-visualizer/
CFG 1 → 7 → 14 → 30 loose default · useful guidance · over-forced · brittle artifacts

Live preview · launch for the interactive version

§ A · What it makes visible

prompt pressure
Fig. 01

Unconditioned habit

At very low guidance, the system leans on broad learned defaults. The image can look plausible while ignoring prompt details.

Fig. 02

Useful guidance

In the middle range, the prompt direction steers subject, setting, and style while preserving enough variation to look natural.

Fig. 03

Over-correction

At high guidance, the prompt gets amplified so hard that the simulated image becomes crowded, harsh, and artifact-prone.

§ B · How to investigate it

run it like an experiment
01 · Predict

Before moving the slider

Ask learners what they think happens when guidance increases. Better image? More literal image? Stranger image?

prediction: "higher CFG will follow the prompt better"
02 · Compare presets

Use 1, 7, 14, 30

Move through the four presets and name what changes: prompt match, leftover defaults, and artifact pressure.

CFG 7: useful · CFG 30: brittle
03 · Change prompt family

Does the pattern hold?

Switch scenarios and repeat the same slider movement. The mechanism should stay visible even as the prompt changes.

same dial, different scene
04 · Make a claim

Not just "high is bad"

Write a precise claim about the tradeoff: where prompt alignment improves, and where over-guidance starts to damage the image.

"CFG is useful until it begins amplifying artifacts"

§ C · Debrief questions

after the investigation
Where did the prompt first become clearly visible?
At what point did the image start feeling over-forced?
What did the low-CFG version fill in from model habit?
Why is guidance not the same thing as quality, truth, or ethics?