Chinese Technical Writing
leter/zh-tech-writing
Sets writing rules for Chinese technical docs: short plain sentences, consistent typography and a checklist for removing AI-sounding filler.
Rewrites docs, READMEs, issues, comments or UI text in plain Global English that translates well and still sounds native, keeping every fact intact.
Install Simple English Rewriter
$ npx skills add vinta/hal-9000 --skill simple-english -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install vinta/hal-9000 simple-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/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/simple-english .claude/skills/simple-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 "simple-english" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/simple-english into .claude/skills/simple-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "simple-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/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/simple-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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill simple-english -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install vinta/hal-9000 simple-english --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/simple-english .agents/skills/simple-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 "simple-english" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/simple-english into .agents/skills/simple-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "simple-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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill simple-english -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install vinta/hal-9000 simple-english --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/simple-english .cursor/skills/simple-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 "simple-english" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/simple-english into .cursor/skills/simple-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "simple-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/vinta/hal-9000.git --path skills/simple-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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill simple-english -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install vinta/hal-9000 simple-english --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/simple-english .gemini/skills/simple-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 "simple-english" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/simple-english into .gemini/skills/simple-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "simple-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 vinta/hal-9000 simple-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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill simple-english -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/simple-english .github/skills/simple-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 "simple-english" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/simple-english into .github/skills/simple-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "simple-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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill simple-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 vinta/hal-9000 simple-english --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/simple-english .opencode/skills/simple-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 "simple-english" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/simple-english into .opencode/skills/simple-english/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "simple-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
simple-english- GitHub stars
- 138
- Token cost
- ~1.1k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 549 words
- Files
- 3 (incl. references)
- Skills in repo
- 15
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Rewrites docs, READMEs, issues, comments or UI text in plain Global English that translates well and still sounds native, keeping every fact intact.
- Works in 7 steps: Load the rules. Read… → Collect the source. Take the text from… → Sort each passage into procedure… → …
- Rewriting a README for readers who are not native English speakers
- SKILL.md covers Ground rules and Workflow
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Text is rewritten to the global-audience tier of documentation style used by large technology vendors: clear structure, unambiguous words and translation-friendly grammar, with no controlled dictionary and no hard word limits. The rules are firm. Every fact, value, condition and caveat survives, softened obligations such as should stay soft, and code spans, commands, file paths, UI labels, error messages and identifiers are left exactly as written.
The agent first reads the bundled writing-rules reference in full, then collects the source text, or the facts to state if you want new text drafted. It sorts each passage into procedure, description or micro-text, gives procedures the imperative mood, and builds a terminology map so each concept has one name throughout. Clarity edits should not flatten the voice into choppy fragments. Prose you sign in your own voice belongs to the write-like-me skill instead.
When your agent uses it
- Rewriting a README for readers who are not native English speakers
- Simplifying error messages and UI labels into plain words
- Making an issue or code comment easier to translate
- Cleaning up docs so each concept uses one consistent term
Example prompts
- “Rewrite docs/setup.md in simple English for non-native readers.”
- “Put the error messages in src/messages.ts into plain English without changing their meaning.”
- “Simplify the issue description I pasted above so it translates well.”
Workflow steps
7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Load the rules. Read references/writing-rules.md in full: sentence structure, word choice, the clarity helpers, tone, and the substitution…
- Collect the source. Take the text from the conversation, or Read the files or sections the user pointed at. When the user wants new text…
- Sort each passage into procedure (imperative work steps), description (declarative prose), or micro-text (headings, UI labels, error…
- Map the terminology. List each concept that appears under more than one name, pick one term per concept (prefer the project's established…
- Rewrite sentence by sentence. Subject-verb-object with the subject early, one idea per sentence, active voice and present tense…
- Verify every paragraph and sentence against the checklist
- Deliver. Present the rewrite. Edit files in place only when the user asked for the files to change. After the rewrite, report only what…
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 46dc048. 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
Simple English Rewriter loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs, and up to ~3.4k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 85 tokens; SKILL.md has 549 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 vinta/hal-9000 at commit 46dc048, republished under its MIT licence (© vinta). 549 words, ~1,058 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/simple-english/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.- name
- simple-english
- description
- Use when the user explicitly asks for simple English, plain English, or for text a non-native English speaker can read easily — rewrites docs, READMEs, issues, comments, or UI text into plain words and translation-friendly grammar, still native-sounding. Prose the user signs in their own voice goes to write-like-me instead
- argument-hint
- text, file, or pointer to rewrite
- model
- claude-opus-5-5
- effort
- medium
Simple English
Write or rewrite the given text in Global English: the global-audience tier that Google, Microsoft, MDN, Red Hat, and GitLab documentation follows. Clear structure, unambiguous words, translation-friendly grammar, no controlled dictionary, no hard word caps. The rewrite must give the same technical facts as the source and still sound like a native speaker wrote it.
Ground rules
- Meaning is untouchable. Every fact, value, condition, and caveat in the source survives the rewrite. Softened obligations stay soft: "should" stays a recommendation unless the source means a requirement.
- Never invent specifics. Keep each fact at its original precision and flag gaps. Do not fabricate values, names, or conditions.
- Quoted text is frozen. Code spans and blocks, commands, config keys, file paths, UI labels, error messages, and identifiers stay exactly as they are. Rewrite the prose around them.
- Voice survives. Clarity edits that flatten prose into choppy fragments are regressions. Filler drops freely ("it should be noted that"), personality stays.
Workflow
Load the rules. Read references/writing-rules.md in full: sentence structure, word choice, the clarity helpers, tone, and the substitution table.
Collect the source. Take the text from the conversation, or Read the files or sections the user pointed at. When the user wants new text drafted instead of existing text rewritten, collect the facts to state (from the conversation, code, or files) and treat them as the source for every later step. Done when you hold every passage to rewrite or every fact to state.
Sort each passage into procedure (imperative work steps), description (declarative prose), or micro-text (headings, UI labels, error messages). Procedures get imperative mood and condition-first ordering. Micro-text gets a verb when clarity needs one.
Map the terminology. List each concept that appears under more than one name, pick one term per concept (prefer the project's established names), and use it everywhere. Done when no concept has two names and no word carries two meanings.
Rewrite sentence by sentence. Subject-verb-object with the subject early, one idea per sentence, active voice and present tense, conditions first, small words kept ("that", "who", articles), pronouns with more than one possible referent replaced by their nouns, noun stacks broken at two modifiers, hidden verbs uncovered ("install", not "perform an installation"), idioms and phrasal-verb bloat swapped per the substitution table. Kohl's main rule decides every edit: no change that sounds unnatural to a native speaker.
Verify every paragraph and sentence against the checklist:
- One topic per paragraph, the point stated in its first sentence.
- Subject and verb early, at most three linked clauses, no "there is/are" openers.
- Procedures imperative with conditions first.
- Every pronoun's referent unambiguous, every abbreviation defined at first use.
- Terminology consistent with the map from step 4, parallel ideas in parallel form.
- No idioms, culture-specific references, Latin abbreviations, or directional cross-references ("above", "below").
- The sentence still reads naturally aloud.
Done when every sentence passes, or its deviation is deliberate and appears in the report.
Deliver. Present the rewrite. Edit files in place only when the user asked for the files to change. After the rewrite, report only what applies:
- The terminology map, so the user can veto term choices.
- Judgment calls where the source was ambiguous and the rewrite picks one reading.
- Gaps where the source lacks specifics the reader will need.
© vinta, 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 2 other files (references) in skills/simple-english of vinta/hal-9000.
- SKILL.md
- references/README.md
- references/writing-rules.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 46dc048
Compare with similar skills
Simple English Rewriter 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple English Rewriter this skillvinta/hal-9000 | 138 | — | ~1.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Chinese Technical Writingleter/zh-tech-writing | 338 | — | ~656 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Declaudingoaustegard/claude-skills | 150 | — | ~5.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Technical Writing Standardcursor/plugins | 10k | 10 repos | ~2.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Natural Japanese Business Writingcoji/natural-japanese | 1.9k | — | ~2.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Defensive Writing Editorlennney/stop-that-shit | 2.5k | 1 repos | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
Similar skills
Declauding
oaustegard/claude-skills
Rewrites model-sounding prose into plain technical writing and checks that every claim survives, for PR text, docs, commit messages and similar drafts.
- 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.
Natural Japanese Business Writing
coji/natural-japanese
Writes and edits Japanese business documents so they read clearly and naturally, removes AI-sounding phrasing and can score how AI-like a text reads.
Defensive Writing Editor
lennney/stop-that-shit
Cuts defensive disclaimers, stacked hedging and self-protective narration from proposals and summaries, keeping only limits that affect the reader's decision.
JavaScript Concept Page Writer
leonardomso/33-js-concepts
Writes or reviews documentation pages for the 33 JavaScript Concepts project, following its structure, a beginner-friendly voice and rules against AI-sounding language.
More from vinta/hal-9000
All 15 skills in this repoPublish Plugins Version Bump
vinta/hal-9000
Finds which plugins in the repository changed, bumps only the ones not already bumped since origin/main, and checks that each plugin's two manifests stay in sync.
Claude Code Settings Audit
vinta/hal-9000
Audits your Claude Code settings and environment variables against the current official docs and returns a ranked list of changes tied to how you actually work.
Logical Git Commits
vinta/hal-9000
Commits everything in the working tree as one logical change per commit, splitting files by hunk, with bodies that say what was wrong before and never an invented reason.
PR
vinta/hal-9000
A skill your agent uses when the user explicitly asks to push the current branch and open a PR, rewrite an open PR's body from its commits, or wait for CI and merge it
Ansible Playbook Updater
vinta/hal-9000
Keeps Ansible install tasks in line with upstream docs by fixing version, install-method and link drift one tool at a time, with a commit for each.
Best Practices
vinta/hal-9000
A skill your agent uses when about to choose, configure, or refine a tool, library, config format, API pattern, or project setup, or before proposing a design of your own — research current…
Related
Categories
Questions about Simple English Rewriter
What does Simple English Rewriter do?
Rewrites docs, READMEs, issues, comments or UI text in plain Global English that translates well and still sounds native, keeping every fact intact. Text is rewritten to the global-audience tier of documentation style used by large technology vendors: clear structure, unambiguous words and translation-friendly grammar, with no controlled dictionary and no hard word limits. The rules are firm.
When should I use Simple English Rewriter?
Simple English Rewriter fits situations like: rewriting a README for readers who are not native English speakers; simplifying error messages and UI labels into plain words; making an issue or code comment easier to translate; cleaning up docs so each concept uses one consistent term.
How do I install Simple English Rewriter in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add vinta/hal-9000 --skill simple-english -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/simple-english in vinta/hal-9000) into .claude/skills/simple-english in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Simple English Rewriter in Codex?
Run `npx skills add vinta/hal-9000 --skill simple-english -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/simple-english in vinta/hal-9000) into .agents/skills/simple-english in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Simple English Rewriter 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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill simple-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/simple-english, .gemini/skills/simple-english, .github/skills/simple-english and .opencode/skills/simple-english in your project.
What does Simple English Rewriter need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Simple English Rewriter is instructions for the agent only.
Does Simple English Rewriter 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 Simple English Rewriter 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 Simple English Rewriter use?
Simple English Rewriter 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 Simple English Rewriter use?
About 1.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.2k 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 2.3k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Simple English Rewriter?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Simple English Rewriter: Chinese Technical Writing (leter/zh-tech-writing, 338 stars), Declauding (oaustegard/claude-skills, 150 stars), Technical Writing Standard (cursor/plugins, 10k stars) and Natural Japanese Business Writing (coji/natural-japanese, 1.9k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Simple English Rewriter?
vinta (a GitHub user) maintains it in vinta/hal-9000, which has 138 GitHub stars. The repository holds 15 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 8, 2026.
Source: vinta/hal-9000 on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.