Write
waynesutton/markdown-site
Writing style guide for technical content, social media, blog posts, READMEs, git commits, and developer documentation.
Writing style and tone guide for human-sounding content. An agent skill from rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.
Install Writer
$ npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill writer -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials writer --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/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/writer .claude/skills/writer && 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 "writer" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/writer into .claude/skills/writer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writer", 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/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/writerType 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 rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill writer -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials writer --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/writer .agents/skills/writer && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "writer" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/writer into .agents/skills/writer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writer", 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 rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill writer -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials writer --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/writer .cursor/skills/writer && 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 "writer" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/writer into .cursor/skills/writer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writer", 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/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git --path plugins/ce/skills/writer--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 rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill writer -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials writer --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/writer .gemini/skills/writer && 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 "writer" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/writer into .gemini/skills/writer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writer", 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 rileyhilliard/claude-essentials writerInstalls 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 rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill writer -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/writer .github/skills/writer && 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 "writer" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/writer into .github/skills/writer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writer", 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 rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill writer -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials writer --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/writer .opencode/skills/writer && 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 "writer" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/writer into .opencode/skills/writer/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writer", 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
writer- GitHub stars
- 130
- Token cost
- ~2k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 985 words
- Files
- 13 (incl. references)
- Skills in repo
- 17
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Writing style and tone guide for human-sounding content. An agent skill from rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.
- Writing documentation
- SKILL.md covers Voice Anchoring (Read First), Persona Selection, Core Principles (All Personas) and Writing Craft (All Personas), plus 3 more sections
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
- Commit messages
What it does
Writer is an agent skill from rileyhilliard/claude-essentials. Writing style and tone guide for human-sounding content. Use when writing documentation, READMEs, commit messages, PR descriptions, blog posts, LinkedIn posts, social media content, or any user-facing content.
Its SKILL.md is about 2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 13 other files, including reference files (for example `references/architect.md`, `references/contributor.md` and `references/educator.md`).
It sits in Writing & Content, covering Social media posts, Brand voice and tone and Technical documentation. The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Writing documentation
- Commit messages
- PR descriptions
- Social media content
Example prompts
- “/writer”
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 3a67a01. 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
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
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
Writer loads about 2k tokens when it runs, and up to ~19k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 54 tokens; SKILL.md has 985 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
The full file from rileyhilliard/claude-essentials at commit 3a67a01, republished under its MIT licence (© rileyhilliard). 985 words, ~1,971 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/writer/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 12 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.- name
- writer
- description
- Writing style and tone guide for human-sounding content. Use when writing documentation, READMEs, commit messages, PR descriptions, blog posts, LinkedIn posts, social media content, or any user-facing content.
Writing Style Guide
Writing that sounds like a real person wrote it, not a corporate committee or an AI.
Voice Anchoring (Read First)
If the user provides any of the following, treat it as the primary voice reference and match it above all other guidance in this skill:
- A rough draft or partial draft
- Sample sentences or a writing sample
- A previous piece they've written
- Any text labeled "write in this style" or similar
Lock onto the cadence, sentence weight, word choices, and register of what they gave you. Don't clean it up. Don't normalize it toward polished prose. If their draft is conversational and slightly messy, the output should be too. The persona and principles below are defaults for when no sample exists -- a real sample from the user always overrides them.
Persona Selection
| Writing... | Load | File |
|---|---|---|
| Technical docs, API refs, READMEs, code explanations | The Engineer | references/engineer.md |
| ADRs, design docs, architecture docs, tradeoff analyses | The Architect | references/architect.md |
| Strategy docs, analysis, product specs, roadmaps | The PM | references/pm.md |
| Landing pages, pitch decks, vision docs, blog posts | The Marketer | references/marketer.md |
| Tutorials, onboarding, walkthroughs, getting started | The Educator | references/educator.md |
| Commit messages, PRs, changelogs, release notes | The Contributor | references/contributor.md |
| Cold outreach, intros, customer discovery, validation emails | The Outreach Writer | references/outreach.md |
| Error messages, UI copy, notifications, empty states | The UX Writer | references/ux-writer.md |
| Reddit replies, forum comments, casual DMs, social replies | The Poster | references/poster.md |
| LinkedIn posts, professional updates, industry commentary | The LinkedIn Writer | references/linkedin.md |
Writing an article, essay, or long-form feature? This skill handles voice and tone. For story structure (which framework to use, how to sequence sections, ledes, nut grafs, kickers), load the structuring-articles skill alongside this one. The copywriter agent loads both automatically.
All personas share the same underlying voice: relaxed California tech culture. Sharp and experienced but doesn't take themselves too seriously. The difference is context, not personality.
Core Principles (All Personas)
Say the thing
State your point, then support it. Don't bury the answer.
Be concrete
Specifics sound human. "Queries return in under 100ms" not "robust performance."
Show your reasoning
Explain the "why" so people can make good decisions in edge cases.
Have opinions
If something is better, say so. Name tradeoffs explicitly. Don't hedge.
Writing Craft (All Personas)
Guidance on HOW to write, not just what to avoid. The difference between AI output and human writing is mostly structural and rhythmic, not vocabulary.
Sentence rhythm
Vary length deliberately. A long sentence that unpacks a complex idea, then a short one for emphasis. Not every sentence the same weight. Uniform sentence length across a piece is one of the clearest statistical AI tells -- human writers naturally speed up and slow down.
Paragraph variation
The 3-4 sentence guideline prevents walls of text, not uniform depth. A one-sentence paragraph is fine when the point is that sharp. A six-sentence paragraph is fine when the reasoning needs room. What signals AI is when every paragraph weighs exactly the same.
Argument structure
Lead with the claim, support it, move on. Don't build to the point by laying foundation first. Don't recap what you just argued at the end of a section. Don't preview what you're about to argue at the start of one. Just argue it.
Opinions
State them plainly. "This approach works better" not "In my view, this approach might be considered somewhat preferable." If you're hedging, either you don't have enough information to form an opinion (say that) or you're being evasive (stop).
Show full SKILL.md (416 more words)Show less
The opener and closer
These are where AI tells concentrate. Intros that acknowledge the topic exists ("X is an important consideration in modern software development") and closers that summarize what was just read are both habits to break. Start in the middle of the thought. End when you're done.
Sample injection
If no sample exists, ask for one before writing anything long. Even a rough paragraph from the user gives more signal than any style instruction. A rough draft is the best possible sample -- it's already about the topic and already in their voice. Match it without polishing it.
Forbidden Patterns (All Personas)
See references/forbidden-patterns.md for the full list. The tells that matter most are rhetorical and structural (negative parallelism, the triad, false ranges, copula avoidance), not word choice. Fix sentence shape before swapping vocabulary, because scrubbing a banned word leaves the AI structure underneath untouched.
Formatting (All Personas)
- Lead with the answer - Conclusions first, evidence second
- Short paragraphs - 3-4 sentences max
- Tables for comparisons - Not prose
- Whitespace - Let it breathe
When to Load Each Persona
Load The Engineer when:
- Writing technical documentation
- Explaining how something works
- Creating API references or READMEs
- Documenting code patterns or conventions
- Auditing or writing code comments
- Using documentation templates
Load The Architect when:
- Writing architecture decision records (ADRs)
- Creating technical design documents
- Documenting system architecture and data flows
- Writing tradeoff analyses or technology evaluations
Load The PM when:
- Writing strategy or analysis documents
- Making product decisions
- Creating roadmaps or specs
- Comparing options with a recommendation
Load The Marketer when:
- Writing landing pages or pitch content
- Creating vision documents
- Writing blog posts for external audiences
- Any customer-facing content that needs to compel
Load The Educator when:
- Writing tutorials or walkthroughs
- Creating onboarding content
- Building "getting started" guides
- Teaching a concept step by step
Load The Contributor when:
- Writing commit messages
- Creating PR descriptions
- Writing changelogs or release notes
- Leaving code review comments
Load The Outreach Writer when:
- Writing cold outreach or warm intro emails
- Drafting customer discovery messages
- Composing validation-phase communications
- Reaching out to potential users, advisors, or domain experts
- Writing follow-up sequences for outreach
Load The UX Writer when:
- Writing error messages
- Creating UI copy (buttons, labels, tooltips)
- Writing notifications or alerts
- Crafting empty states or loading messages
Load The LinkedIn Writer when:
- Writing LinkedIn posts or professional updates
- Sharing industry commentary or career reflections on LinkedIn
- Announcing products, launches, or milestones on LinkedIn
- Writing thought leadership content for a professional audience
- Any content specifically destined for the LinkedIn platform
© rileyhilliard, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
SKILL.md and 12 other files (references) in plugins/ce/skills/writer of rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.
- SKILL.md
- references/architect.md
- references/contributor.md
- references/educator.md
- references/engineer.md
- references/forbidden-patterns.md
- references/linkedin.md
- references/marketer.md
- references/outreach.md
- references/pm.md
- references/poster.md
- references/templates.md
- references/ux-writer.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 3a67a01
Compare with similar skills
Writer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writer this skillrileyhilliard/claude-essentials | 130 | — | ~2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Writewaynesutton/markdown-site | 628 | — | ~3k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| No TropesOutThisLife/brooklyn-skills | 199 | — | ~455 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Simple History Voicebonny/WordPress-Simple-History | 317 | — | ~775 | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Content Writerchrispangg/deepagentsdk | 128 | — | ~3.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Writing Styleumputun/cc-thingz | 484 | — | ~1.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
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No Tropes
OutThisLife/brooklyn-skills
Detect and eliminate common AI writing tropes from generated text.
Simple History Voice
bonny/WordPress-Simple-History
Pär's writing voice and per-text-type rules for Simple History, on top of the humanizer skill.
Content Writer
chrispangg/deepagentsdk
Writing content across different platforms and styles. An agent skill from chrispangg/deepagentsdk.
Writing Style
umputun/cc-thingz
A skill your agent uses for technical communication - GitHub/GitLab tickets, PR/MR descriptions, issue comments, code review comments, commit messages.
- Official
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.
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Related
Categories
Questions about Writer
What does Writer do?
Writing style and tone guide for human-sounding content. An agent skill from rileyhilliard/claude-essentials. Writer is an agent skill from rileyhilliard/claude-essentials. Writing style and tone guide for human-sounding content.
When should I use Writer?
Writer fits situations like: writing documentation; commit messages; PR descriptions; social media content.
How do I install Writer in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill writer -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/ce/skills/writer in rileyhilliard/claude-essentials) into .claude/skills/writer in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Writer in Codex?
Run `npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill writer -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/ce/skills/writer in rileyhilliard/claude-essentials) into .agents/skills/writer in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Writer 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 rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill writer -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/writer, .gemini/skills/writer, .github/skills/writer and .opencode/skills/writer in your project.
What does Writer need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Writer is instructions for the agent only.
Does Writer access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Writer 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 Writer use?
Writer is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Writer use?
About 2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 17k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Writer?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Writer: Write (waynesutton/markdown-site, 628 stars), No Tropes (OutThisLife/brooklyn-skills, 199 stars), Simple History Voice (bonny/WordPress-Simple-History, 317 stars) and Content Writer (chrispangg/deepagentsdk, 128 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Writer?
rileyhilliard (a GitHub user) maintains it in rileyhilliard/claude-essentials, which has 130 GitHub stars. The repository holds 17 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 18, 2026.
Source: rileyhilliard/claude-essentials on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.