writing-error-messages
Writing Error Messages
Quick Start
Before writing, identify:
- Audience: end user, admin, developer, support agent, or operator.
- Failure: what action failed and what still happened successfully.
- Cause: known, unknown, user-correctable, service-side, third-party, or security-sensitive.
- Recovery: what the reader can do now, what the system will do next, and where they can get help.
Then write this shape:
[What happened]
[Reassurance if useful]. [Why it happened, if known and safe]. [Specific next action]. [Backup path if it keeps happening].
Example:
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