Microcopy

Skill Uxcel-Lab/product-skills/ux/foundations/microcopy

Expert UX design and product management skills for AI assistants, built from the Uxcel learning library.

Install

npx -y skills add Uxcel-Lab/product-skills --skill microcopy

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Write or improve UX microcopy — button labels, error and empty states, tooltips, form labels, notifications, and confirmations — so it's clear, concise, action-oriented, and on-voice. Trigger when asked to write microcopy, improve a button label or error message, write copy for a flow, or make interface copy clearer or friendlier.

The file declares its own license as MIT. That is the author’s claim about this one file, and it is not the same thing as the license GitHub reports for the repository, which is listed with the other numbers below.

SKILL.md

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UX Microcopy Skill

How this skill behaves (read first)

This is a generative skill. Claude's default UX copy tends to be verbose, clever, or generic ("Oops! Something went wrong", "Submit", "Are you sure?"). Good microcopy is the opposite: plain, specific, and quietly helpful. The expressive part — tone — is context-dependent, so this skill gates:

Establish voice, audience, and the moment — tone that's right for a celebratory success state is wrong for a payment error.
Apply the always-true core — clarity, concision, action-orientation, consistency, and inclusive/accessible language hold for all copy.
Choose tone deliberately — pick the register for the brand and the specific moment; don't default to jokey or to robotic.

Then hand off to the audits: the companion ux-microcopy-audit, plus accessibility (copy that screen readers and all users can follow) and dark-patterns (copy must persuade honestly, never manipulate).

Step 0 — Establish context before writing

Brand voice — the product's consistent personality (playful vs. formal, warm vs. neutral).
Audience & vocabulary — use the words users use ("rides", not "commutes"); tech-savviness and reading level.
The moment — celebratory, routine, sensitive (payment/security), or error/recovery? This sets the tone.
Locale — language(s) and platform conventions ("click" desktop vs. "tap" mobile); localization beyond literal translation.

State assumptions if proceeding without answers.

The always-apply core (true for any microcopy)

Plain, simple language. Write for the widest range of users; no jargon or high-register vocabulary unless the audience expects it. Read it aloud to test.
Concise. Say it in as few words as keep the meaning; ~16% read word-by-word, the rest scan. Cut filler.
Action-based and specific. Labels are verbs (+ nouns) describing the outcome — "Get Pro", "Delete file", "Unmute now" — never generic "Yes/No/OK/Submit". A great CTA also conveys the benefit.
Tell users what's happening and what's next. Reduce uncertainty: where they are, what an action does, how long it takes.
Consistent terminology. One term per concept across the whole product ("scheduling" everywhere, not "booking" elsewhere); consistent with platform conventions.
Human numbers & dates. "Tomorrow" not "April 1"; "8:45 AM" not "a quarter to nine"; concrete numbers/social proof over vague "many".
Inclusive & accessible. Gender-neutral pronouns (they/them); descriptive link text ("Read more about pricing", not "More"); microcopy as live text, not baked into images; persistent labels (not placeholder-only); acknowledge completed actions.
Honest, never manipulative. No confirmshaming, fake urgency, or guilt (→ dark-patterns).

Tone — the gated decision (pick per brand + moment)

Choose the register intentionally; the same message reads differently in each. Don't default to one.

Tone	Use for	Caution
Playful / witty	Low-stakes moments, light errors, easter eggs	Know your audience; never at the cost of clarity
Enthusiastic / praising	Encouragement during effort; celebrating an achievement	Don't over-cheer routine actions
Warm / friendly	Welcomes, everyday guidance (first names, contractions, "you")	Can feel flippant in serious moments
Confident	Sensitive moments — payments, security, data	Avoid hedging ("maybe", "try to")
Respectful / formal	Professional, regulated, or sensitive contexts	Can read as dry — still be clear
Honest / direct	Permission/data requests	Active voice; don't mask intent
Concise	Dense UI, labels, mobile	Don't strip needed context

Rule: match tone to the moment. A payment error wants confident + clear, not a joke.

Microcopy patterns (quick reference)

Buttons: verb + outcome; descriptive over generic ("Unmute now" > "Yes").
Errors/alerts: explicit (what happened) + constructive (how to fix) + plain language; place next to the problem; polite, no blame/ALL-CAPS.
Labels: specific verbs+nouns, not "OK/Start/Finish".
Placeholders: hints/examples only — never the sole label (they vanish on input).
Tooltips: add genuine value; never state the obvious.
Notifications/push: ask "how does this help the user?"; useful, not intrusive.
Empty/success states: empty = teach the first action; success = confirm + positive moment.

Validate the result (orchestration)

Hand-offs name each lens by its installable skill name. Invoke one only if that skill is installed; if it isn't, this skill's own core already carries these rules — proceed without it rather than blocking.

After writing or revising copy, hand the result to the audit lenses rather than declaring it done. These are candidate lenses — posture is set by docs/orchestration-policy.md, or route the whole thing through ux-design-review. Here, microcopy and dark-patterns are Tier A (auto-run); accessibility is Tier B (offered) — under an existing design system accessibility narrows to usage. If the user invoked this skill for one specific thing, respect that scope.

ux-microcopy-audit (Tier A) — the companion audit: clarity, action-orientation, consistency, tone fit across the flow.
ux-accessibility-audit (Tier B — offer; narrow under a design system) — plain language, descriptive links, live text, persistent labels, screen-reader acknowledgments.
ux-dark-patterns-audit (Tier A) — copy persuades honestly: no confirmshaming, manufactured urgency, or guilt.

If an audit flags it, resolve toward the core: plainer, more specific, on-the-right-tone.

Common do/don't patterns

❌ Don't	✅ Do
"Oops! Something went wrong."	"We couldn't save your changes. Check your connection and try again."
"Submit" / "OK" / "Yes"	Verb + outcome: "Create account", "Delete file"
Jargon / high-register words	Plain language users actually use
Same tone everywhere	Match tone to brand and the moment
Joke on a payment/security error	Confident, clear, reassuring copy
"April 1" / "a quarter to nine"	"Tomorrow" / "8:45 AM"
"Register" here, "Join free" there	One consistent term per concept
"Click More" link / generic labels	Descriptive: "Read more about pricing"
Text baked into an image	Live, selectable text
Confirmshaming the opt-out	Neutral, honest dismissals (→ dark-patterns)