ui-copy

# UI copy Copy is the text a person reads in the product: toasts, error messages, empty states, tooltips, dialog bodies, button labels. CI runs this rubric over every string a PR adds (`scripts/slop/copy-review.mjs`), so following it here saves a round trip. It lives in `.agents/skills/` so Codex and Cursor load it as is; `.claude/skills/ui-copy` is a symlink to it for Claude Code. The rules adapt Peter Yang's MIT-licensed `no-ai-slop` skill to copy of five to forty words. ## Two jobs **Detect.** For each string, name every pattern below that applies, quote the string, and give the fix in a few words. Do not rewrite unasked. A string with no pattern is fine as it is; terse labels are not slop. **Rewrite.** Keep the meaning, the product and server names, and every `${placeholder}` exactly. Lead with what happened or what to do. Name the next step when the user can take one. One or two sentences, sentence case, a period at the end of a sentence, none after a label. No dash of any kind, no exclamation mark, no emoji. Return only the new copy. ## What good copy does An error names the blocked action and a supported next step, in words the user already knows. "Your profile picture could not be updated. Try uploading it again." A confirmation says what will happen: "Delete 3 runs? This cannot be undone." An empty state says what belongs here and how to start. A success toast says what is now true: "Server saved." Nothing else. ## Patterns, with the fix | Pattern | Looks like | Fix | | --- | --- | --- | | `vague-error` | "Something went wrong", "An unexpected error occurred", "Unknown error" | Say what failed: "Could not reach the server." | | `no-next-step` | "Failed to save." | Add what the user can do: "Could not save. Check the URL and try again." | | `apology` | "Oops!", "Sorry, we", "Unfortunately" | Delete the apology, keep the fact. | | `exclamation` | "Saved successfully!" | "Saved." | | `success-noise` | "Successfully", "has been successfully" | State what is true now: "Server added." | | `dash` | an em or en dash joining two clauses | A period, a comma or a colon. | | `filler-word` | leverage, seamless, robust, effortless, empower, streamline, simply, just | Delete it or say the concrete thing. | | `hedge` | "may", "might", "possibly", "it seems" where the app knows | State the fact the code knows. | | `explains-too-much` | a paragraph that explains the mechanism before saying what to do | Cut to what happened and the next step; move the mechanism to a tooltip or docs. | | `jargon-leak` | stack traces, HTTP codes, internal names (Convex, mutation, payload, null) | Translate to the user's action and object. | | `binary-contrast` | "This isn't an error, it's a warning." | Say the second half. | | `colon-reveal` | "The fix: reconnect." | A plain sentence. | | `throat-clearing` | "Please note that", "It looks like", "Note:" | Start at the fact. | | `condescension` | "Don't worry", "Simply", "Just", "Easy" | Delete it. | | `inconsistent-term` | server / connection / endpoint for the same thing | Use the term the rest of the screen uses. | ## Not slop Terse labels ("Save changes", "Tools"), technical nouns the user typed or chose (server names, tool names, MCP terms such as "resource template"), numbers and units, and quoted values. A `${placeholder}` is opaque: judge the words around it.