Loading skill
Install any skill in seconds. Free to start, no credit card required.
Get Started Free →tanstack/simple-english
Write or rewrite technical text with the rules of ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English so it is clear, unambiguous, and free of AI slop.
Passed 18 of 23 test cases with the skill, and 7 of 23 without it.
and 13 more in the full report
11 fixed7 passed either way5 still failing0 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
One of 11 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
Rewrite these CLI instructions for technical operators into simplified technical language: 'Run the backup command `pg_dumpall > backup.sql` if the database cluster is active. Execute `systemctl restart postgresql` after the backup completes.'
| Checked | Without skill | With skill |
|---|---|---|
| The rewritten text places the condition before the command. | Missed | Passed |
| The rewritten text uses imperative verbs for procedural actions. | Passed | Passed |
| The rewritten text keeps the exact CLI commands intact. | Passed | Passed |
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
Write technical text with the rules of ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English. STE is the controlled language that aerospace and defense manufacturers use for maintenance documentation. The rules exist so that a tired reader who is not a native English speaker cannot misread an instruction. They remove the usual signs of AI-generated text as a side effect: long sentences, synonym rotation, hedges, filler, and decorative clauses.
Write for that tired reader. Each sentence must survive one read.
When asked to write or rewrite technical text:
When asked to CHECK text instead of writing it, report each violation as: rule number, the offending text, a compliant rewrite. Cite only rule numbers that exist in this file. Do not cite rule numbers from memory: the numbering is unintuitive and models invent it (tested — an agent without this file cited "Rule 3.1: short sentences"; the real Rule 3.1 is about verb forms).
| Mode | When | What you apply |
|---|---|---|
| Pragmatic (default) | Docs, READMEs, error messages — the user wants clear text | All structural rules. Domain words stay ("idempotent", "webhook"). |
| Strict | The user names STE, ASD-STE100, or compliance | Structural rules + full vocabulary discipline, and tell the user that full compliance needs the official dictionary (free at asd-ste100.org). |
| Procedural (instructions) | Descriptive (explanations) | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Tell the reader what to do | Explain what a thing is or does |
| Verb form | Imperative: "Install the pump." | Simple present/past/future |
| Sentence limit | 20 words (Rule 5.1) | 25 words (Rule 6.3) |
| Unit rule | One instruction per sentence (5.2) | One topic per paragraph (6.5), max six sentences per paragraph (6.6) |
Do not mix the two in one passage. A "Getting started" section is procedural. An "Architecture" section is descriptive. A note inside a procedure is descriptive (25-word limit, no imperative).
53 rules in 9 sections, paraphrased from ASD-STE100 Issue 9 with software examples. The official wording is in the free standard at asd-ste100.org.
test cases passed, vs 7 / 23 without
Published skills whose descriptions closely match this one, with their headline benchmark lift.
More skills from the same source and nearby in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.