ste-linter

name	ste-linter
description	Lint prose against Simplified Technical English (ASD-STE100) rules. Use when the user asks to check, lint, or simplify technical writing (specs, manuals, procedures, docs) for STE compliance, or mentions ASD-STE100 or Simplified Technical English.

Simplified Technical English Linter

Lint technical prose against a practical subset of the ASD-STE100 writing rules: sentence length (20 words procedural / 25 descriptive), paragraph length (6 sentences), active voice, simple present tense, no contractions, no noun clusters over 3 nouns, and a controlled dictionary of unapproved words and phrases with approved alternatives.

Running the linter

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/ste_lint.py [--format text|json|feedback] <file.md ...>

• No dependencies; Python 3 stdlib only. Reads stdin when no files are given.
• Exit code is 1 when there are findings, 0 when clean.
• --format text (default): one finding per line with file:line:col.
• --format json: machine-readable findings plus an error/warning summary.
• --format feedback: markdown grouped by rule — use this when handing the findings to a writer (or another agent) to revise the document.

Workflow

1. Run the linter with --format feedback on the document.
2. Revise the document to resolve each finding. Keep the meaning; change the wording. Typical fixes:
   • Split long sentences; one instruction or idea per sentence.
   • Rewrite passive voice with the actor as the subject ("The API returns…").
   • Replace "will/shall/should/may" with the present tense, "must", or "can".
   • Substitute the suggested approved word ("utilize" → "use").
   • Break noun clusters apart with prepositions.
3. Re-run the linter until clean or until the remaining findings are false positives (the checks are heuristic — judge each finding; do not contort correct prose to silence a wrong one).

Caveats

This is an STE-inspired heuristic subset, not the official ASD-STE100 specification. The official spec and full dictionary are distributed by the ASD STEMG (https://www.asd-ste100.org). Domain-specific technical names and technical verbs are allowed by STE and may still be flagged here — treat those findings as ignorable.