technical-writing · frappe — Claude Code skill: plain technical prose
A skill that makes the agent write in Simplified Technical English: short sentences, active voice, one word per meaning. Meant for docs, READMEs and commits.
npx skills add frappe/skills --skill technical-writing -a claude-codeWhat technical-writing does
The skill hands the agent a set of writing rules and makes it revise, not just produce a first draft. After writing, the agent goes sentence by sentence and cuts whatever does not carry new information.
The rules sit in blocks. Words: one item gets one name, and the short common word wins (start over commence, use over utilize). Verbs: active voice, and no hiding an action inside a noun — analyze the log, not perform an analysis. Sentences: 20 words for an instruction, 25 for a description, no contractions, never three nouns in a row. A separate block covers structure: one topic per paragraph, six sentences at most, steps as a numbered list.
It is not a fit for everything. Marketing copy, essays and code stay out of scope — those need a voice, not a rulebook. The rules also ask for American spelling, so a project written in British English will get edits in the other direction. Semicolons are banned outright; the em dash is left to your judgement.
What it helps with
- make a README follow one style with short sentences
- rewrite a commit message so the action is visible
- strip marketing adjectives out of the docs
- split a setup guide into steps with one action each
- clean bureaucratic phrasing from a plan or release notes
Example prompts for the agent
- Rewrite
README.mdin Simplified Technical English - Trim this pull request description: active voice, no sentence over 20 words
- Go through
docs/setup.mdand cut the extra words without changing the meaning
How to install technical-writing
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add frappe/skills --skill technical-writing -a claude-code2Manually: put the files in place
~/.claude/skills/technical-writing/SKILL.mdCopy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/technical-writing/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add frappe/skills --skill technical-writing -a codex2Manually: put the files in place
.agents/skills/technical-writing/SKILL.mdFor all projects use ~/.agents/skills/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add frappe/skills --skill technical-writing -a cursor2Manually: put the files in place
.cursor/skills/technical-writing/SKILL.mdCursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/
1GitHub CLI
gh skill install frappe/skills technical-writing2Manually: put the files in place
.github/skills/technical-writing/SKILL.md1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add frappe/skills --skill technical-writing -a gemini-cli2Platform CLI
gemini skills install https://github.com/frappe/skills --path skills/technical-writingManually: put the files in place
.devin/skills/technical-writing/SKILL.mdThe legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works
Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add frappe/skills --skill technical-writing -a opencodeClaude.ai
Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways
Questions about technical-writing
How do I install technical-writing in Claude Code?
Run npx skills add frappe/skills --skill technical-writing -a claude-code. The skill file lands at ~/.claude/skills/technical-writing/SKILL.md.
What does technical-writing do?
It gives the agent a Simplified Technical English ruleset: short sentences, active voice, one word for one concept. The agent applies it to documentation, READMEs, commits, pull requests, plans and release notes.
Which texts are out of scope for the skill?
Code, identifiers, marketing copy and essays. Anything that needs a voice is left alone.
Similar skills
All skills for Writing and docs →technical-writing by other authors comes first.
