Error Message Writer Skill

An error is a moment of friction; a good error message turns it into a recovery. The formula is simple and rarely followed: say what happened, in plain language, and what to do next — without blaming the user or exposing a stack trace. This skill writes error copy that helps people get unstuck and keeps trust intact.

Working from a brief

Given "the payment failed" or a raw system error, write the message anyway — infer the likely cause and the recovery path, and label assumptions. Where the real cause is unknown to the user, focus on the next action. Never hand back a question instead of the copy; never surface internal/technical detail to end users.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided (else infer and label):