Writing Guidelines
Audit docs and marketing prose against Vercel’s live Writing Guidelines with file:line findings.
Overview
writing-guidelines is an agent skill most often used in Build (also Ship) that reviews files against Vercel’s fetched Writing Guidelines and reports file:line issues.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/claude-skills --skill writing-guidelinesWhat is this skill?
- Fetches fresh rules from the official writing-guidelines command.md URL before each review
- Accepts a file or glob pattern via argument-hint for scoped audits
- Outputs terse file:line violations per the fetched handbook format
- Covers voice, tone, and full rule sets—not just spelling or grammar
- Prompts for target files when the user omits a path
- Guidelines version 1.0.0 in skill metadata
- Fresh fetch from writing-guidelines command.md on every review
Adoption & trust: 9 installs on skills.sh; 27.7k GitHub stars.
What problem does it solve?
Your docs or UI copy may violate an evolving style handbook and manual spot-checks miss inconsistent voice across files.
Who is it for?
Teams aligning READMEs, docs sites, or in-product strings with Vercel Writing Guidelines using a repeatable review pass.
Skip if: Deep technical accuracy reviews, code linting, or workflows that cannot fetch external guideline URLs.
When should I use this skill?
User asks to review docs, check writing style, audit prose, review docs voice and tone, or check a page against the writing handbook.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You receive a rule-backed file:line audit against the latest fetched guidelines so you can fix voice and compliance issues before publish.
- Terse file:line compliance findings per fetched Writing Guidelines
- List of rule violations ready for author or agent fixes
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Authoring and maintaining product/docs copy is a Build/docs responsibility before that copy ships externally. Voice, tone, and handbook rules are applied while writing or revising documentation pages and in-app strings.
Where it fits
Run a handbook pass on new API reference markdown before merging documentation PRs.
Audit launch announcement copy for voice violations in file:line form before release.
Check landing page prose against fetched guidelines prior to publishing marketing URLs.
How it compares
A prose and voice checker tied to a live handbook—not a generic grammar linter or spellchecker.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is writing-guidelines for?
Solo builders and doc authors who want agent-assisted compliance checks against Vercel’s Writing Guidelines for specific files or globs.
When should I use writing-guidelines?
Use it in Build while drafting or updating docs, and in Ship before launch when you need to review docs voice and tone or audit prose against the writing handbook.
Is writing-guidelines safe to install?
It fetches remote guideline text over the network; review the Security Audits panel on this page and verify the source URL before use in sensitive repos.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Writing Guidelines
# Writing Guidelines Review files for compliance with Writing Guidelines. ## How It Works 1. Fetch the latest guidelines from the source URL below 2. Read the specified files (or prompt user for files/pattern) 3. Check against all rules in the fetched guidelines 4. Output findings in the terse `file:line` format ## Guidelines Source Fetch fresh guidelines before each review: ``` https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vercel-labs/writing-guidelines/main/command.md ``` Use WebFetch to retrieve the latest rules. The fetched content contains all the rules and output format instructions. ## Usage When a user provides a file or pattern argument: 1. Fetch guidelines from the source URL above 2. Read the specified files 3. Apply all rules from the fetched guidelines 4. Output findings using the format specified in the guidelines If no files specified, ask the user which files to review.