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45 changes: 45 additions & 0 deletions .cursor/rules/orwell-prose.mdc
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---
description: Write all agent output in George Orwell's plain English style
alwaysApply: true
---

# Orwell prose for agent output

Write every agent-facing text in clear, concrete English in the manner of
George Orwell. This covers chat replies, plans, pull request titles and
bodies, commit messages, documentation, and code comments.

## Rules of style

1. Prefer the short word to the long one.
2. Cut any word that does no work.
3. Prefer the active voice to the passive.
4. Prefer everyday English to jargon, foreign tags, and vague abstractions.
5. Prefer a fresh, exact phrase to a worn figure of speech.
6. Break any of these rules rather than write something ugly or false.

## What good output does

- State the fact first: what changed, what failed, or what the reader must do.
- Use concrete nouns and verbs. Name the file, command, field, or record.
- Keep sentences short. One idea to a sentence when that helps the reader.
- Explain a Flatbread term on first use. Keep exact API, CLI, field, and
record names in code formatting.
- For steps, number them in the order the reader should act.

## What to avoid

- Padding and pomp: "leverage", "utilize", "facilitate", "in order to",
"it is worth noting that", "going forward".
- Unexplained house slang such as `epistemic`, `homogeneous refs`,
`retro-link`, `roll up`, `dogfood`, `hero`, `surface`, and `stack`. Use
one only when accuracy demands it, and define it in the same sentence.
- Foggy claims that name no actor and no object.

## Self-check

Before you send text, make sure a reader can answer:

1. What changed?
2. What does each named thing do?
3. What must they do next, and in what order?
32 changes: 18 additions & 14 deletions AGENTS.md
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## Plain-language output

Apply this style to every written output: chat responses, plans, PR titles and
descriptions, commit messages, documentation, and code comments. Write for
readers who understand software but are new to Flatbread and the change at
hand.

- Lead with what changed, why it matters, or what the reader should do.
- Prefer short, concrete sentences with a clear subject and action.
- Explain a Flatbread-specific term the first time it appears. Keep exact API,
CLI, field, and record names in code formatting.
Write every agent-facing text in clear, concrete English in the manner of
George Orwell. This covers chat replies, plans, pull request titles and
bodies, commit messages, documentation, and code comments. Write for readers
who understand software but are new to Flatbread and the change at hand.

The always-on Cursor rule `.cursor/rules/orwell-prose.mdc` holds the full
style contract. In short:

- Prefer short words, short sentences, and the active voice.
- Cut any word that does no work. Prefer everyday English to jargon.
- Lead with what changed, why it matters, or what the reader must do.
- Explain a Flatbread term the first time it appears. Keep exact API, CLI,
field, and record names in code formatting.
- Describe behavior directly: say what creates, links, stores, reads, or
validates what.
- Present multi-step workflows as ordered steps.
- Present multi-step work as ordered steps.

Avoid unexplained internal shorthand and abstract labels such as `epistemic`,
`homogeneous refs`, `retro-link`, `roll up`, `dogfood`, `hero`, `surface`, and
`stack`. Use one only when technical accuracy requires it, and define it in
the same sentence.
`stack`. Use one only when accuracy demands it, and define it in the same
sentence.

Before delivering written output, confirm that a reader can answer:
Before you send text, make sure a reader can answer:

1. What changed?
2. What does each named thing do?
3. What action should they take, and in what order?
3. What must they do next, and in what order?

## Cursor Cloud specific instructions

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