humanize

name	humanize
description	Remove AI-writing tells from any prose and normalize punctuation to plain ASCII (em dash -> hyphen, curly quotes -> straight, ellipsis char -> "..."). Use when the user says "humanize this", "make it sound human", "de-AI this", "this reads like ChatGPT", "remove AI patterns", or when editing/reviewing any prose (doc, README, PR description, commit message, email, post) that shows AI tells. The general-purpose de-AI pass for any prose, in any format, unless a more specific writing workflow already owns the piece. Skips agent-instruction files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, context.md, llms.txt, cursor rules) unless the user aims it at one - their terse fragment style is the working format, not a tell.
tags	["writing","style"]
updated_at	2026-08-09T00:00:00.000Z

Humanize

Strip AI tells from text. Keep every fact, change the prose.

Ground rules

1. Preserve information, not shape. Every claim survives. Compress dull parts, merge/split paragraphs freely. Information beats structure.
2. Never invent facts. No new names, numbers, dates, quotes, citations. Sentence needs missing detail to work -> ask, or write the plain version without it.
3. Match voice. Formal/casual/technical as intended. User provides own writing sample -> its habits outrank every rule below, including the dash rule.
4. Don't sterilize. Voiceless is as obvious as slop. Essay/opinion/post -> keep opinions, asides, uneven rhythm. Technical/reference -> plain and neutral IS the human voice there.

Out of scope: agent instruction files

Files written for a model to execute, not for a person to read: CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, context.md, llms.txt, .cursor/rules/*, GEMINI.md, .github/copilot-instructions.md, and any other agent/system-prompt file. Terse fragments, arrows, abbreviations, and lowercase headings are the working format there - compression is the point, and recasing headings or padding fragments into sentences costs tokens and blurs directives. Skip these files entirely: no rewrite, no heading recase, no punctuation pass.

Same for the prose inside a normal file when it is addressed to a model: system prompts, skill bodies, prompt templates in code or fixtures.

Exception - the user aims the skill at one of these deliberately ("humanize my CLAUDE.md", "clean up this system prompt"). Do it, and say once that the file is agent-facing so terseness there was probably intentional. A doc that merely mentions or quotes such a file is ordinary prose; edit it normally.

Punctuation -> plain ASCII (hard rule)

• em/en dash (—, –), spaced —, double -- -> replace, order of preference: period > comma > colon > parentheses > restructure
• curly quotes ("", '') -> straight " '
• … -> ...
• → -> ->
• exception: code syntax, math, non-English text, files that already follow a different convention

Before delivering, scan the result for — – …. Any hit -> not done.

Headings -> Title Case (hard rule)

House convention: every heading and title is Title Case, sentence-case headings get raised. This is a formatting rule, not a tell - it applies whether or not the text shows AI patterns.

• capitalize the first word, the last word, and every major word (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, subordinating conjunctions)
• keep lowercase mid-title: articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but, nor, for, so, yet), prepositions of four letters or fewer (of, in, to, on, at, by, from, with)
• never recase: names that are lowercase by design (npm, ripgrep, fish), code identifiers, acronyms, and titles of works quoted from the source - such a name stays lowercase even in first position
• scope: markdown headings, document/section titles, table-of-contents entries. Prose sentences, list items, and table cells keep normal sentence capitalization

Example: ## Strategic negotiations and global partnerships -> ## Strategic Negotiations and Global Partnerships.

Exception - a surface with a documented style guide that calls for sentence case keeps sentence case. Brand and product copy, UI labels, and house-styled publications usually have one, and there the heading style is part of what readers recognize. A stated convention outranks this default; a file that merely happens to use sentence case does not - that file is the reason the rule exists.

Tells to kill

Full before/after catalog: references/patterns.md. Load it when an edge case needs calibrating or a rewrite feels under/over-done; the lists below are enough for routine passes.

Content:

• inflated significance: "stands as a testament", "pivotal moment", "underscores the importance", "evolving landscape", "setting the stage for" -> state the plain fact
• promotional tone: "nestled", "vibrant", "breathtaking", "renowned", "boasts", "rich cultural heritage" -> neutral description
• "-ing" padding: trailing "...showcasing/highlighting/reflecting/ensuring..." for fake depth -> cut, or make a real sentence
• weasel attribution: "experts argue", "industry reports", "observers note" with no source -> name the source or cut; never invent one
• formulaic "Challenges / Future Outlook" sections -> keep only the concrete facts
• gap-filling: "not publicly available, suggesting she keeps a low profile", "likely grew up..." -> say what isn't known or cut; never dress a guess as fact

Vocabulary:

• AI words: delve, leverage, crucial, pivotal, tapestry, landscape (abstract), testament, underscore, showcase, foster, intricate, seamless, robust, vibrant, enhance, garner -> plain words
• copula avoidance: "serves as", "stands as", "features", "boasts" -> is / are / has

Structure:

• "not just X, it's Y", tailing negations ("no guessing") -> plain claim
• rule of three everywhere -> keep the item that carries weight
• false ranges ("from the Big Bang to dark matter") -> plain list
• synonym cycling (protagonist / main character / central figure / hero) -> one word
• bold-header bullets (**Performance:** ...) -> prose or plain list
• emojis on headings/bullets -> gone
• staccato drama runs ("No prior. No nostalgia. Gone.") -> one short sentence max
• aphorism formulas ("X is the language of Y", "X becomes a trap") -> the concrete claim behind it

Filler:

• "in order to" -> "to"; "due to the fact that" -> "because"; "it is important to note that" -> cut
• hedge stacks ("could potentially possibly") -> one hedge max
• generic upbeat endings ("the future looks bright") -> end on the last concrete fact
• signposting ("let's dive in", "here's what you need to know") -> just do it
• fake-candid openers ("Honestly?", "Here's the thing") -> say the thing
• chatbot residue ("I hope this helps", "Would you like...", "Great question!") -> gone

Don't over-flag

One tell means nothing - look for clusters. A single em dash, one triad, polish, formal vocabulary, one short punchy sentence = normal human writing. Never touch quotes, titles of works, proper names, or examples that discuss a phrase rather than use it. Preserve human signals: weird specific detail, mixed feelings, asides, self-corrections, varied sentence length.

Modes

• pasted text -> deliver the rewrite + findings table
• file -> Read, rewrite prose in place; leave code blocks, frontmatter, data, link targets untouched; report the findings table, don't paste the whole file back
• embedded (step in a bigger job: PR body, commit message, doc) -> output final text only, no ceremony, no table

Findings table

Report what was fixed as a table - one row per tell category, only categories with hits, sorted by count desc:

Tell	Count	Examples
em/en dashes	12	"policy—announced" -> "policy, announced"
AI words	5	delve x2, leverage x2, robust
headings recased	4	"Getting started" -> "Getting Started"
rule of three	2	"innovation, inspiration, and insights"
filler	3	"in order to" x3

• Count = instances fixed, not sentences touched
• Punctuation rows (— – … curly quotes, -> arrows): get exact counts by grepping the source before rewriting, don't eyeball
• Examples: 1-3 short samples per row, enough to spot-check; truncate long ones
• No hits at all -> say the text is clean, skip the table

Process

1. Scan for tells above.
2. Draft rewrite - reads naturally aloud, varied sentence length, is/are/has.
3. Audit: anything still AI-sounding? any fact not in the source? any — – … left? Fabrication = defect even when it sounds better.
4. Final rewrite.