Unslop Humanize

When to Use

Use this skill when you need humanize natural-language memory files (CLAUDE.md, todos, preferences, docs) by removing AI-isms and adding burstiness while preserving every code block, URL, path, command, and heading exactly. Two modes: --deterministic (fast, regex-based, no API) and LLM (default, calls Claude for...

Purpose

Rewrite natural-language memory files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, todos, preferences, docs) so they sound human-written: no sycophancy, no stock vocab, no five-paragraph essay shape, no tricolon padding. Everything technical stays exact: code blocks, inline code, URLs, file paths, commands, headings, tables.

Two modes:

• --deterministic — fast regex pass that strips canonical AI-isms and tightens tricolons. No API call, no ANTHROPIC_API_KEY needed. Best for batch processing and CI.
• LLM mode (default) — calls Claude (via Anthropic SDK or claude --print CLI fallback) to do a full rewrite that engineers burstiness, restructures performative paragraphs, and matches voice. Slower but better quality.

Humanized version overwrites the original. A FILE.original.md backup is written first. Re-run after editing the .original.md to regenerate.

Intensity levels (--mode)

Mode	What runs	Use when…
subtle	Stock vocab only.	Structure is fine; you just want AI vocabulary gone.
balanced	(Default.) Sycophancy, hedging, transitions, stock vocab, authority tropes, signposting, performative balance, em-dash cap.	Everyday docs / READMEs / CLAUDE.md.
full	Balanced + filler phrases + negative-parallelism tricolons + stronger LLM prompt.	Marketing copy, release notes, slop-heavy LLM output.

Two-pass audit

Use the deterministic pass to get a report, then fix anything that slipped:

humanize --deterministic --report audit.json doc.md     # writes audit + humanized
humanize doc.md                                         # optional LLM polish on top

audit.json lists every rule that fired, every before → after pair, and counts_by_rule. Great for reviewing what the regex changed before trusting the diff to merge.

Trigger

/unslop-file <filepath>, /unslop:humanize <filepath>, or "humanize memory file", "de-slop this doc", "strip AI tone from this file".

Process

The scripts live in a scripts/ directory adjacent to this SKILL.md.

Common layouts:

• Full repo: unslop/SKILL.md + unslop/scripts/
• Synced mirror: skills/unslop-file/SKILL.md + skills/unslop-file/scripts/
• Codex bundle: plugins/unslop/skills/unslop-file/SKILL.md + sibling scripts/

Always prefer the scripts/ sibling of the currently loaded SKILL file.

Steps:

1. Locate the directory containing this SKILL.md and its scripts/ sibling.
2. Run from that directory: python3 -m scripts <absolute_filepath> (LLM mode), or add --deterministic for the regex pass.
3. CLI flow: detect file type → write .original.md backup → humanize → validate (preserve check + AI-ism residual check) → on validation error: targeted fix call (LLM mode) → retry up to 2 times.
4. On final failure: report errors, restore original, exit 2.
5. On success: report path of humanized file and .original.md backup, exit 0.
6. Return result to user.

Humanization Rules

Remove (canonical AI-isms)

• Sycophancy openers: "Great question!", "Certainly!", "Absolutely!", "Sure!", "I'd be happy to help", "What a fascinating..."
• Stock vocab: delve, tapestry, testament (praise form), navigate/embark/journey (figurative), realm, landscape (figurative), pivotal, paramount, seamless, holistic, leverage (filler verb), robust (filler), comprehensive (when "complete" works), cutting-edge, state-of-the-art (filler), interplay, intricate, vibrant, underscore(s)/d/ing (figurative), crucial, vital (role/importance/part), ever-evolving, ever-changing, in today's (digital) world/age, dynamic landscape.
• Hedging openers: "It's important to note that", "It's worth mentioning", "Generally speaking", "In essence", "At its core", "It should be noted that", "It's also worth pointing out".
• Authority tropes (sentence start): "At its core,", "In reality,", "Fundamentally,", "What really matters is", "The heart of the matter is", "At the heart of X is/lies".
• Signposting announcements: "Let's dive in(to ...)", "Let's break this down", "Here's what you need to know", "Without further ado", "In this article, I'll ...", "Buckle up".
• Transition tics (sentence start): "Furthermore,", "Moreover,", "Additionally,", "In conclusion,", "To summarize,".
• Performative balance: "however" / "on the other hand" appended to every claim.
• Em-dash pileups (more than two em-dashes per paragraph).
• Filler phrases (--mode full only): "in order to" → "to", "due to the fact that" → "because", "prior to" → "before", "with regard to" → "about", "a wide variety of" → "many", "at this point in time" → "now", "the fact that" → "that", etc.
• Negative-parallelism tricolons (--mode full only): "No guesswork, no bloat, no surprises." — the rhetorical triple-no punch.

Tighten

• Tricolons: "X, Y, and Z" stacks where two would suffice — keep two, drop the weakest
• Bullet soup: three bullets that say the same thing → merge into one sentence
• Five-paragraph essay shapes: vary paragraph length; don't write four paragraphs of identical length

Preserve EXACTLY (never modify)

• Fenced code blocks (...) — every byte
• Indented code blocks (4-space)
• Inline code (...)
• URLs and markdown links
• File paths (./src/, /etc/, C:\Users\...)
• Commands (npm install, git rebase, docker run)
• Technical terms, proper nouns, API names
• Dates, version numbers, numerics
• Environment variables ($HOME, ${NODE_ENV})

Preserve structure

• All markdown headings (text exact)
• Bullet hierarchy and nesting
• Numbered lists
• Tables (compress cells; keep structure)
• YAML frontmatter

CRITICAL RULE

Everything inside ``` ... ``` is read-only. No comment changes, no whitespace changes, no line reordering. Inline backticks: same. Code is the substrate; humanization only operates on prose between code regions.

Pattern (before → after)

#	Before	After (deterministic, --mode balanced)
1	It's important to note that running tests prior to pushing changes is a comprehensive best practice. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that this can prevent broken builds.	Running tests before pushing changes is a broad best practice. This can prevent broken builds.
2	The application leverages a microservices architecture that comprises multiple discrete components.	The application uses a microservices architecture that comprises multiple discrete components.
3	At its core, caching trades memory for latency.	Caching trades memory for latency.
4	Let's dive in. Here is the first step.	Here is the first step.
5	The intricate interplay between caching and latency is crucial.	The detailed link between caching and latency is important.
6	In today's digital world, we ship fast.	Today, we ship fast.

At --mode full, additionally:

#	Before	After
7	We ran the tests in order to verify the fix.	We ran the tests to verify the fix.
8	The build failed due to the fact that the disk was full.	The build failed because the disk was full.
9	No guesswork, no bloat, no surprises.	(stripped)

Reference

• blader/unslop — Claude-Code skill listing 30+ AI tells; we incorporated the strongest signals.
• Wikipedia: Signs of AI writing — public taxonomy cross-referenced for vocab.
• Full comparison + gap analysis: docs/research/IMPLEMENTATION_TRACE.md.

Boundaries

• Only operate on .md, .txt, .markdown, .rst, or extensionless natural language.
• Never modify .py, .js, .ts, .json, .yaml, .yml, .toml, .env, .lock, .css, .html, .xml, .sql, .sh.
• Mixed prose-and-code files: humanize only the prose; leave fenced code untouched.
• If unsure whether a file is prose or code: leave unchanged.
• Backup FILE.original.md is written before overwrite. Never humanize a file already named *.original.md.
• Sensitive paths (anything matching .env*, *.pem, *.key, ~/.ssh/, ~/.aws/, etc.) are refused before any read or API call.
• Files larger than 500 KB are refused.

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches its upstream source and local project context.
• Verify commands, generated code, dependencies, credentials, and external service behavior before applying changes.
• Do not treat examples as a substitute for environment-specific tests, security review, or user approval for destructive or costly actions.