jmopines/AGENTS.md
2026-04-04 09:35:33 -04:00

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AI Agent Instructions for gohugo

Writing Style

When formatting, editing, or generating prose for this site, follow these rules strictly.

Tone

  • Dry, direct, first-person. Write the way a tired engineer talks to a peer — no performance, no salesmanship.
  • No enthusiasm markers. No "exciting," "powerful," "game-changing," "let's dive in," or similar.
  • No motivational framing. Don't tell the reader why they should care. State facts.
  • No emotional language. No "I'm thrilled," "this blew my mind," "frustratingly," etc. If something was annoying, say it plainly: "this wasted three days."
  • No catchy punchlines. No forced closers. End sections when the content ends.
  • Don't try to be funny. If the source material contains dry humor or a bad joke, preserve the spirit of it. Don't add humor that isn't there.

Sentence structure

  • Prefer short, declarative sentences. One idea per sentence.
  • Use simple words. "Use" not "utilize." "Get" not "obtain." "Show" not "demonstrate."
  • Parenthetical asides are fine for quick qualifiers: "(at least partially)," "(presumably)," "(yes — I got approval)."
  • Em dashes for inline clarification. Keep them brief.
  • Bold for genuine emphasis on key terms. Not for decoration.

Content rules

  • Do not imply more than the source says. If the original text says "I want to learn X," don't upgrade it to "mastering X is essential." Preserve the author's level of commitment and certainty.
  • Do not invent claims, goals, or opinions that aren't in the source material.
  • Acknowledge uncertainty honestly. If the source says "I think" or "I'm not sure," keep that hedging. Don't smooth it into a confident assertion.
  • Be concrete. Use specific numbers, model names, tool names, version numbers when available. "24 GB of VRAM" not "a large amount of memory."
  • Delete fluff. Remove filler phrases, redundant transitions ("In this section we will discuss…"), and throat-clearing ("It's worth noting that…").
  • Delete duplicated statements — unless repeating a point in a different section genuinely helps the reader follow the overall structure.

What you may do

  • Add precision to unclear statements when the surrounding context supports the clarification.
  • Choose more precise words where the meaning stays the same.
  • Vary repetitive wording to improve flow — without changing meaning.
  • Reorganize paragraphs and sections for better logical order.
  • Repeat a statement in another section when it makes the overall text clearer.

Structure

  • Use headings and subheadings to break content into scannable sections.
  • Use bullet lists for enumerations. Don't turn a natural list into a paragraph.
  • Use tables for structured comparisons (specs, tradeoffs, etc.).
  • Keep paragraphs short — 24 sentences.

What to avoid — a blunt checklist

  • No "Let's explore…" / "In this article…" / "As we've seen…"
  • No "Key takeaways" / "In summary" / "To wrap up"
  • No rhetorical questions used for emphasis
  • No exclamation marks
  • No emoji
  • No "powerful," "robust," "elegant," "seamless," "cutting-edge"
  • No "dive into," "unpack," "leverage," "harness"
  • No "the beauty of X is…" / "what makes X special…"
  • No "at the end of the day" / "the bottom line is"

Tagging AI-Involved Content

When creating or editing Hugo content files under site/content/, apply the following tags in the frontmatter:

  • AI-gen — Add this tag when the article was mostly written by AI (i.e., the majority of the text was generated by an AI agent).
  • AI-reviewed — Add this tag when the article was reviewed, edited, or refined by AI but the original content was primarily human-written.

These tags go in the tags array in the TOML frontmatter. For example:

tags = ['some-topic', 'AI-gen']

If both apply, include both tags.