Technical Writing Standard
cursor/plugins
Applies four layers of technical-writing rules to docs, RFCs, readmes, PR descriptions and commit messages so a tired engineer follows them on the first read.
Write clear, plain English for developer-facing prose aimed at an international audience.
Install Plain English
$ npx skills add Fallout-build/Fallout --skill plain-english -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install Fallout-build/Fallout plain-english --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/plain-english .claude/skills/plain-english && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "plain-english" agent skill from https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout/tree/develop/.agents/skills/plain-english into .claude/skills/plain-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plain-english", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout/tree/develop/.agents/skills/plain-englishType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add Fallout-build/Fallout --skill plain-english -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install Fallout-build/Fallout plain-english --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/plain-english .agents/skills/plain-english && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "plain-english" agent skill from https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout/tree/develop/.agents/skills/plain-english into .agents/skills/plain-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plain-english", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add Fallout-build/Fallout --skill plain-english -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install Fallout-build/Fallout plain-english --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/plain-english .cursor/skills/plain-english && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "plain-english" agent skill from https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout/tree/develop/.agents/skills/plain-english into .cursor/skills/plain-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plain-english", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout.git --path .agents/skills/plain-english--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add Fallout-build/Fallout --skill plain-english -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install Fallout-build/Fallout plain-english --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/plain-english .gemini/skills/plain-english && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "plain-english" agent skill from https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout/tree/develop/.agents/skills/plain-english into .gemini/skills/plain-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plain-english", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install Fallout-build/Fallout plain-englishInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add Fallout-build/Fallout --skill plain-english -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/plain-english .github/skills/plain-english && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "plain-english" agent skill from https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout/tree/develop/.agents/skills/plain-english into .github/skills/plain-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plain-english", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add Fallout-build/Fallout --skill plain-english -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install Fallout-build/Fallout plain-english --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/plain-english .opencode/skills/plain-english && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "plain-english" agent skill from https://github.com/Fallout-build/Fallout/tree/develop/.agents/skills/plain-english into .opencode/skills/plain-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "plain-english", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
plain-english- GitHub stars
- 167
- Token cost
- ~2k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 1,022 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 8
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Custom licence
At a glance
Write clear, plain English for developer-facing prose aimed at an international audience.
- Works in 8 steps: Lead with the ask. First sentence says… → Match length to substance. A one-line… → Cut filler. Drop preamble, restating the… → …
- Review a pull request description
- SKILL.md covers Rules, Extra rules for issues and PRs, Glossary and Rewriting someone else's text
- Calls gh
What it does
Plain English is an agent skill from Fallout-build/Fallout. Write clear, plain English for developer-facing prose aimed at an international audience. Use this skill whenever you draft or review a pull request description, commit message, changelog or release-note entry, issue report, code-review comment, or README / docs prose — especially in open-source repositories where many contributors read English as a second language. Trigger it even when the user does not say "plain English": any time the deliverable is short technical writing that other people will read, apply…
Its SKILL.md is about 2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in Development, covering Plain language and style rules, Changelog and release notes and Pull requests. The repository describes itself as: ☢️ Fallout — The C/.NET Build System.
When your agent uses it
- Review a pull request description
- Release-note entry
- Code-review comment
- README / docs prose — especially in open-source repositories where many contributors read English as a second language
Example prompts
- “plain English”
- “/plain-english”
Workflow steps
8 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Lead with the ask. First sentence says what changed and why. Everything
- Match length to substance. A one-line fix gets a one-line description.
- Cut filler. Drop preamble, restating the title, hedging, marketing words
- One idea per sentence. Do not chain clauses with em-dashes or semicolons.
- No idioms or figurative language. Say it literally.
- Define jargon on first use, or link it. Terms like "shim", "sentinel",
- Gloss every cross-reference. A bare #257 tells the reader nothing.
- Prefer short, common words.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit c1fd6e5. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
gh
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use gh, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Plain English loads about 2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 167 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,022 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 1,022 words (~2,011 tokens).
“Goal: text a non-native English reader understands on the first pass, without a dictionary and without guessing at idioms. Applies to PR descriptions, commit messages, changelogs, release notes, issue reports, review comments, and docs — for new text and for…”
- name
- plain-english
Files
Just SKILL.md in .agents/skills/plain-english of Fallout-build/Fallout.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit c1fd6e5
Compare with similar skills
Plain English next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain English this skillFallout-build/Fallout | 167 | — | ~2k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Technical Writing Standardcursor/plugins | 11k | 10 repos | ~2.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Technical Writingcitypaul/.dotfiles | 740 | — | ~2.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Git Workflow and Versioningaddyosmani/agent-skills | 104k | 2 repos | ~3.5k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Verdaccio Pull Request Workflowverdaccio/verdaccio | 18k | — | ~1.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Commit And PR Messagessuperplanehq/superplane | 7.7k | — | ~1.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence |
Similar skills
- Official
Technical Writing
citypaul/.dotfiles
Writing developer-facing prose that can be skimmed first and trusted enough to finish — READMEs, guides, tutorials, reference docs, proposals, PR descriptions, release notes.
Git Workflow and Versioning
addyosmani/agent-skills
Sets git habits for every change: short-lived branches, atomic commits with descriptive messages, clean pull requests, plus versioning, tagging and changelogs for releases.
Verdaccio Pull Request Workflow
verdaccio/verdaccio
Takes a change through a verdaccio pull request: branch, local checks, changeset, title and body, labels, CI and review rounds, and ports to other release lines.
Commit And PR Messages
superplanehq/superplane
Write Git commit messages and pull request titles/descriptions using the Chris Beams / Tim Pope conventions (subject/body split, ~50-char subject, imperative mood, why-not-how body) plus ASD-STE100…
Plane Release Notes Generator
makeplane/plane
Builds categorized release notes for a Plane release pull request from its commits and writes them into the PR description, for both the plane-cloud and plane-ee repos.
More from Fallout-build/Fallout
All 8 skills in this repoCreating A PR
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Steps for opening a pull request in the Fallout repo — picking the right base branch, creating it as a draft, applying the target/vCurrent-or-vNext and changelog-category labels, and handling…
Marking Experimental APIs
Fallout-build/Fallout
How to mark a public API as not-yet-stable with [Experimental("FALLOUT0xx")], or deprecate one with [Obsolete(..., DiagnosticId = "FALLOUTOBS0xx")], including diagnostic-ID allocation.
Editing CI Workflows
Fallout-build/Fallout
Invariants to preserve when touching .github/workflows/, build/Build.CI.GitHubActions.cs, or anything about which branches/tags trigger CI or publish packages.
Restructure PR Commits
Fallout-build/Fallout
Restructure the commits on an existing PR into focused, reviewable commits
Adding A Migration Step
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How to make fallout-migrate handle a new rename, removal, or rewrite by extending an existing IMigrationStep, and when a genuinely new step is warranted.
Cutting A Release
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Procedure for tagging, publishing, promoting, or cutting a new release/vX.Y branch, hotfixing a production line, or cutting the eventual v11 major.
Related
Categories
Questions about Plain English
What does Plain English do?
Write clear, plain English for developer-facing prose aimed at an international audience. Plain English is an agent skill from Fallout-build/Fallout. Write clear, plain English for developer-facing prose aimed at an international audience.
When should I use Plain English?
Plain English fits situations like: review a pull request description; release-note entry; code-review comment; README / docs prose — especially in open-source repositories where many contributors read English as a second language.
How do I install Plain English in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add Fallout-build/Fallout --skill plain-english -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/plain-english in Fallout-build/Fallout) into .claude/skills/plain-english in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Plain English in Codex?
Run `npx skills add Fallout-build/Fallout --skill plain-english -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/plain-english in Fallout-build/Fallout) into .agents/skills/plain-english in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Plain English in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add Fallout-build/Fallout --skill plain-english -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/plain-english, .gemini/skills/plain-english, .github/skills/plain-english and .opencode/skills/plain-english in your project.
What does Plain English need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Plain English needs the command-line tools its instructions call (gh).
Does Plain English access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use gh, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Plain English safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Plain English use?
Plain English has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.
How many tokens does Plain English use?
About 2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 8k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Plain English?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Plain English: Technical Writing Standard (cursor/plugins, 11k stars), Technical Writing (citypaul/.dotfiles, 740 stars), Git Workflow and Versioning (addyosmani/agent-skills, 104k stars) and Verdaccio Pull Request Workflow (verdaccio/verdaccio, 18k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Plain English?
Fallout-build (a GitHub organization) maintains it in Fallout-build/Fallout, which has 167 GitHub stars. The repository holds 8 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 10, 2026.
Source: Fallout-build/Fallout on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.