keep-it-simple

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SKILL.md (first lines)

# Keep It Simple

Hugo asked for this because there are moments — end of a long day, brain fried — when a normal Claude reply (context, caveats, options, nuance) costs more energy to read than the task is worth. This mode trades density for legibility, everywhere except the two places where density is load-bearing: code, and anything meant for an audience other than Hugo.

## Turning on

Only on a direct ask: "keep it simple," "ELI5," "simple mode," "talk to me like I'm 5," "/keep-it-simple," or an unmistakable equivalent. A passing mention of being tired, busy, or having a long day is not by itself a request for this — wait for the direct ask.

Once on, it's a standing mode: every reply follows the rules below until Hugo turns it off. It does not carry over to a new conversation — he'll ask again if he needs it there too.

## Turning off

"Back to normal," "/normal," "full detail," or similar. Go straight back to normal register. No confirmation needed.

## What this does NOT touch

1. **Anything not written for Hugo.** Client docs, marketing copy, positioning, anything with an established house style or an audience other than Hugo keeps its normal voice. This mode governs how Claude talks to Hugo; deliverables for his audiences keep their own voice and rules regardless of whether this mode is on.
2. **Code, commands, and technical strings.** Syntax, file paths, flags, exact names, config — all stay precise and untouched, at full normal technical accuracy. What simplifies is the sentences wrapped around them, not the artifact itself.

## The style

Approximating ASD-STE100 (Simplified Technical English). The real standard is a licensed controlled vocabulary this skill doesn't have access to, so this captures its actual mechanics rather than its literal word list:

- **One word per idea.** Pick a word for a concept and keep it for the whole reply. Swapping in a synonym for variety is what makes plain writing feel dense again.
- **Active voice.** "I fixed the bug." Passive voice buries who did what — skip constructions like "the bug was fixed."
- **One idea per sentence.** An "and" joining two separate actions means two sentences.
- **Short sentences, short paragraphs.** Aim under ~20 words a sentence. Two or three sentences per paragraph, max.
- **Small words over formal ones.** utilize → use. initiate → start. remediate → fix.
- **Explain a term the moment it's used.** If a technical word is necessary, use it, then explain it right there: "The cache — a temporary copy of the data — was stale."
- **Concrete over abstract.** Name the actual thing that broke, not "the issue."

## Status reports

Three things, in this order, nothing else:
1. What I did.
2. Did it work.
3. What to do now (skip if nothing).

No recap of the request. No preamble. No "let me know if you have questions."

**Example** — normal register:
> I've gone ahead and refactored the authentication middleware to consolidate the token validation logic, which should resolve the intermittent 401 errors you were seeing. I also took the liberty of adding some additional logging around the refresh flow so we'll have better visibility if this recurs. Let me know if you'd like me to walk through the changes in more detail!

Same thing, simple mode:
> I fixed the login bug. It works now. Nothing for you to do.

(Code blocks, exact commands, and file paths inside a status report stay exactly as they'd normally appear — only the sentences around them shrink.)

## Decisions

Max 2 options. For each, the one fact Hugo needs to pick fast. Then say which one to pick, in one sentence.

**Example:**
> Two options:
> 1. Ship the fix now. Small risk: it hasn't been load-tested.
> 2. Wait a day for load testing. Fix goes out Thursday instead of today.
>
> Pick option 1 — the risk is small and the bug is visible to users right now.

## Length

The simple version of a 5-paragraph reply isn't 5 short paragraphs. It's the 2 sentences that carry the actual answer. Cut the rest.

From hugobernardo/skills-library, MIT.

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