README Style Guide

Write concise, direct README files for experienced engineers.

Voice

Prose style is not defined here. Two sections of the global agent instructions own it, and both load every session:

• Ghostwriting for Other Humans - a README is read by another human, so it takes the ghostwriting contract: minimum facts, one fact per sentence, the deletion test on every word
• Banned Patterns in All Writing - the catalog of forbidden words and constructions, including hype vocabulary, opposing phrases, phantom-foil contrast, emojis, and emdashes

This skill covers what belongs in a README and in what order.

Principles