SimpleEnglish
Agent skill: make LLMs write docs in ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical
SimpleEnglish is an agent skill that forces large language models to produce technical documentation in ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English, the controlled-language standard the aerospace industry has relied on since 1983. It enforces strict structural rules—20-word sentence limits, one-word-one-meaning consistency, active voice, simple tenses—to eliminate ambiguity and readability issues in AI-generated manuals, error messages, runbooks, and release notes. The skill operates in two modes: Plain (default, human-readable technical writing) and Strict (full STE compliance). Benchmarks show a 74.6% reduction in STE violations across seven Claude models, with zero dependencies and MIT licensing.
Key Features
Use Cases
- 01Writing unambiguous software installation guides and troubleshooting runbooks for on-call engineers
- 02Generating clear error messages and API documentation that non-native English speakers can follow
- 03Producing incident postmortems and release notes free of corporate jargon and passive voice
- 04Preparing technical content for translation by removing idioms and enforcing vocabulary consistency
- 05Cleaning up AI-generated documentation to eliminate run-on sentences and hedging language
- 06Creating safety-critical instructions for embedded systems or regulated industries
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SimpleEnglish — FAQ
What is SimpleEnglish and what does it do?+
SimpleEnglish is an agent skill that makes AI models write technical documentation following ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English rules—the aerospace standard designed to eliminate ambiguity. It enforces sentence-length caps, active voice, simple tenses, and single-meaning vocabulary.
How do I install SimpleEnglish in my AI agent?+
For any agent supporting the Agent Skills standard, run 'npx skills add AminBlg/SimpleEnglish'. For Claude Code, use 'claude plugin marketplace add AminBlg/SimpleEnglish && claude plugin install simple-english@simple-english'. For agents without skill support, paste the system prompt from prompts/system-prompt.md into your configuration.
Which AI clients and agents work with SimpleEnglish?+
SimpleEnglish works with Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, OpenAI Codex, Gemini CLI, Goose, OpenCode, and approximately 25 other agents that read the Agent Skills standard. You can also paste the prompt into Claude.ai, ChatGPT, or Gemini web interfaces.
Does SimpleEnglish require an API key or external dependencies?+
No API keys are required. The skill has zero runtime dependencies. Claude Code and Codex hooks require Node.js to run session hooks, but the core skill works standalone.
Is SimpleEnglish free to use?+
Yes, SimpleEnglish is released under the MIT license and is free for commercial and personal use.
Does using SimpleEnglish make my documentation ASD-STE100 certified?+
No. ASD does not certify tools, only organizations. Strict mode gets close to full compliance, but word-level rulings require the official ASD-STE100 dictionary, which is a free download from asd-ste100.org.
How do I install SimpleEnglish?+
Open the source repository on GitHub and follow its README. SimpleEnglish is a skill — MCP Agents Market links you directly to the official repo.
Is SimpleEnglish free?+
SimpleEnglish is an open-source project hosted on GitHub. Check the repository for its license and any usage requirements.