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Readability Guidance

Organization
testdouble
readability-guidance

Surfaces Han's shared Human-Readable Output Standard — the readability rule and the writing-voice profile — into the calling skill's own context, so the caller drafts in voice and runs its self-check against the current standard sourced from one canonical copy. Use when a prose-producing skill needs the shared readability standard available in context before it drafts. Governs the shape of a written deliverable, where explanation-guidance governs what a run says to a person in a turn. Runs in the caller's context and hands control straight back; it does not produce a deliverable of its own, rewrite anything, or judge the caller's work. Does not run the adversarial rewrite pass — dispatch the readability-editor agent for that, or use edit-for-readability to rewrite an existing target. Does not cover explaining technical work to a reader who will not implement it — use explanation-guidance for that.

Overview

Publishertestdouble
Repositoryhan
Skill namereadability-guidance
Stars
320
Forks
26
Bundled files
Instructions only
LicenseMIT
Links
  • Markdown instructions

    A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.

  • Works with any LLM

    AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.

  • Self-contained

    Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.

  • Open source

    Published by testdouble on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Readability Guidance AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

1

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

  1. Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
  2. Choose "Install from GitHub".
  3. Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
    https://github.com/testdouble/han/tree/main/han-communication/skills/readability-guidance
  4. Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.
Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.
2

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/testdouble/han.git /tmp/han
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/han/han-communication/skills/readability-guidance .claude/skills/readability-guidance
Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Readability Guidance in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Readability Guidance on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Readability Guidance is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

  • Loaded only when it is needed

    The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.

  • Switch models mid-chat

    Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Project Context

  • personal config directory: !bash "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/han-config-dir.sh" 2>/dev/null || echo "$HOME/.claude"
  • project .han/config.md: !cat .han/config.md 2>/dev/null || echo ""

As your first action, use the Read tool on .han/config.md inside the personal config directory path above. A read that returns no file is no personal configuration: continue silently. When that file or the project .han/config.md probe supplies content, apply it per config-rule.md, which governs precedence between the two files, relative-path resolution, and what to do with a file that reads but cannot be used.

Readability Guidance

You have invoked readability-guidance to source the shared readability standard before you draft prose. This skill surfaces the standard into your own context and hands control back. It is a means to writing your deliverable, not the deliverable itself: apply what it surfaces while you draft and self-check, then RETURN to the workflow that called you and finish it.

This skill is inline — it runs in your context, not an isolated one, so the standard it surfaces stays available to you after it returns. Do not treat anything here as a stopping point or a final answer.

Which outputs this standard covers

A structured specification, plan, phased build, work-item list, coding standard, or test plan is reader-facing whenever a human reads it end to end — to approve it, follow it, or build from it — even when downstream skills also consume it. Only an artifact consumed purely as a pipeline input, with no human reading it end to end, falls outside the standard. If a human reads your deliverable end to end, apply the standard to it.

Step 1: Resolve the writing-voice source, then read the standard

First resolve which writing-voice profile this run uses:

  • When either .han/config.md probe supplied a writing-voice value, resolve it and check that the file exists. A relative value resolves against the folder holding the file that declared it: the working directory for the project file, and the personal config directory the probe reported for the personal file. A full path is used as it stands, and a leading ~ expands to the home directory. When both files supply a value, the project file's wins.
    • When the file exists, it is the writing-voice profile for this run, used in place of the built-in profile.
    • When the file does not exist, warn the user that the configured writing-voice file was not found, naming which of the two configuration files declared it, and ask whether to use the built-in Han voice or skip the writing voice entirely for this run. Honor the answer: fall back to the built-in profile, or proceed with no voice profile at all.
  • When neither probe supplied a writing-voice value, the built-in profile at ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/writing-voice.md applies.

Then read the reference files, in this order, so their full content enters your context:

  1. ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/readability-rule.md — the Human-Readable Output Standard: the audience frame, the output properties, the length guidance, the prose-only and fidelity rules, and the standardized self-check.
  2. The resolved writing-voice profile — the configured file, or the built-in ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/writing-voice.md, whose "Avoided words and phrases" and "AI slop to avoid" sections are the authoritative vocabulary blocklist the rule points to. A configured profile stands in for the built-in one wholesale: apply whatever voice and vocabulary guidance it carries. When the user chose to skip the writing voice, read only the readability rule and apply it with no voice profile and no vocabulary blocklist.

Do not paraphrase or summarize the files in place of reading them — the surfaced content is the point.

Step 2: Hold the audience frame while you draft

While you draft, write for a capable reader who did not do this work and lacks the author's context. If the calling skill names a specific reader (an engineer implementing a fix, a PR reviewer, a non-technical stakeholder), write for that reader instead and keep the technical specifics that reader needs. The frame governs how a fact is said, never whether a required fact appears.

Step 3: Apply the standard in stages, then continue

The standard takes effect in stages, never as one stacked instruction block:

  • Draft into your template so the structural rules (main point first, descriptive headings, one idea per paragraph, numbered-vs-bullet lists, progressive disclosure, technical detail after the prose) are built in.
  • After the draft exists, run the standardized self-check from the readability rule over the prose regions only — never inside code fences, diagram bodies, rendered markup, or citation identifiers. Correct every failure before presenting. On a skill that runs no separate rewrite pass, the fidelity criterion is the only fact-preservation guard the output has, so it is not optional.
  • If your workflow is a synthesis skill, dispatch han-communication:readability-editor for the adversarial rewrite after your full draft exists, as the standard reserves that pass for synthesis output. This skill does not run that rewrite.

The standard is now in your context. Proceed to the next step of the skill that invoked you and produce its deliverable.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Readability Guidance AI skill do?

Surfaces Han's shared Human-Readable Output Standard — the readability rule and the writing-voice profile — into the calling skill's own context, so the caller drafts in voice and runs its self-check against the current standard sourced from one canonical copy. Use when a prose-producing skill needs the shared readability standard available in context before it drafts. Governs the shape of a written deliverable, where explanation-guidance governs what a run says to a person in a turn. Runs in the caller's context and hands control straight back; it does not produce a deliverable of its own,...

Why use Readability Guidance on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Readability Guidance is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Readability Guidance in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/testdouble/han/tree/main/han-communication/skills/readability-guidance. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Readability Guidance?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Readability Guidance?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Readability Guidance with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Readability Guidance AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by testdouble under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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