# Copywriting Human Guide

## What This Is For
Write or audit UI copy (buttons, labels, empty states, error messages, tooltips, form text) anywhere in the monorepo. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for content production: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Copywriting agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for copywriting.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Copywriting guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- **Direct**: Say what something does, not what it "enables" you to do.
- **Action-oriented**: Focus on what happens, not what we built.
- **Technical without jargon**: Use precise terms but explain when necessary.
- **Pragmatic**: Acknowledge tradeoffs and limitations when relevant.
- **Sentence case** for all UI text (buttons, labels, section headings)
- **Title case** for page names in navigation
- **Product names:** Database, Auth, Storage, Edge Functions, Realtime, Vector
- **Postgres**, not PostgreSQL
- **Supabase** (capitalize except in code)
- **Bold for emphasis** only when necessary
- **Inline code** for technical terms: `RLS`, `API key`, `supabase init`
- **No exclamation marks** unless critical (e.g., destructive actions)

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Supporting file: apps/design-system/content/docs/copywriting.mdx, Voice and tone, Buttons and actions, Use verbs, not nouns, Be specific about outcomes, Match button text to the action, Form labels and descriptions, Labels describe the field, not the feature, Descriptions explain constraints, not concepts, Use present tense.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- | "This ensures your table name is unique" | "Must be unique within the schema" |
- | "This field is required when using Row Level Security policies" | "Required for RLS policies" |
- | "Invalid input" | "Password must be at least 8 characters" |
- | "You don't have any tables" | "No tables yet. Create your first table to get started." |
- Does it avoid marketing language?

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Copywriting human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the supabase/supabase skill entry for `copywriting`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Copywriting

Source of truth: `apps/design-system/content/docs/copywriting.mdx`. Read it before writing or auditing any UI copy — it covers voice and tone, buttons, error messages, empty states, and confirmation dialogs with good/bad examples.

---

## Supporting file: apps/design-system/content/docs/copywriting.mdx

Write UI copy that helps developers complete tasks quickly. Be direct, action-oriented, and respectful of developer time.

## Voice and tone

Supabase UI copy is:

- **Direct**: Say what something does, not what it "enables" you to do.
- **Action-oriented**: Focus on what happens, not what we built.
- **Technical without jargon**: Use precise terms but explain when necessary.
- **Pragmatic**: Acknowledge tradeoffs and limitations when relevant.

## Buttons and actions

### Use verbs, not nouns


### Be specific about outcomes

| Bad         | Good             |
| ----------- | ---------------- |
| "Remove"    | "Delete project" |
| "Change"    | "Revoke access"  |
| "Configure" | "Enable RLS"     |

### Match button text to the action

| Action            | Bad       | Good           |
| ----------------- | --------- | -------------- |
| Primary action:   | "Submit"  | "Create table" |
| Secondary action: | "Go back" | "Cancel"       |

## Form labels and descriptions

### Labels describe the field, not the feature


| Action       | Bad                                                                                              | Good                                     |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------- |
| Label:       | "Name your table"                                                                                | "Table name"                             |
| Description: | "This field allows you to specify a name for your table using letters, numbers, and underscores" | "Letters, numbers, and underscores only" |

### Descriptions explain constraints, not concepts

| Bad                                                             | Good                               |
| --------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| "This ensures your table name is unique"                        | "Must be unique within the schema" |
| "You can enter up to 255 characters here"                       | "Maximum 255 characters"           |
| "This field is required when using Row Level Security policies" | "Required for RLS policies"        |

### Use present tense

| Bad                                    | Good                              |
| -------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| "Will store connection pool settings"  | "Stores connection pool settings" |
| "This will limit query execution time" | "Limits query execution time"     |

## Error messages

### State what went wrong, then how to fix it


| Bad                                       | Good                                                  |
| ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| "An error occurred"                       | "Table name already exists. Choose a different name." |
| "Something went wrong. Please try again." | "Invalid API key. Check your project settings."       |

### Be specific about the problem

| Bad                | Good                                          |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------- |
| "Invalid input"    | "Password must be at least 8 characters"      |
| "Connection error" | "Connection failed: timeout after 30 seconds" |