draft

Draft Message

This skill drafts communications in your voice — emails, Slack messages, or documents that sound like you wrote them.

Instructions

Step 0: Resolve vault path

Read the config file to find the vault location:

• Unix/macOS: ~/.config/engineering-os/config — parse VAULT_PATH=... and ENGINEERING_OS_MODE=...
• Windows: %APPDATA%\engineering-os\config.ps1 — parse $env:VAULT_PATH and $env:ENGINEERING_OS_MODE

All file references in this skill use $VAULT_PATH as the base directory. If the config file does not exist, tell the user: "Engineering OS is not set up. Run setup.sh (or setup.ps1 on Windows) from the plugin directory first."

Read $VAULT_PATH/writing_style.md first — every word choice, opener, closing, and formatting decision must come from this file.

Ask me the following questions one at a time, wait for my response, then move to the next:

1. What are you writing? (email, Slack message, document, status update, etc.)
2. Who's the audience? (team, executive, peer, external partner, specific person)
3. What's the topic and key message?

After I answer, draft the message following these rules:

Channel Rules

Email to team:

• Open with the opener from writing_style.md for team emails
• Tone: warm, reflective, honest
• Longer — narrative style, multiple paragraphs
• Acknowledge challenges honestly before celebrating wins
• Close with the sign-off from writing_style.md for team emails

Email to executives:

• Tone: urgent, direct, data-driven
• Structure: strong opener → bullet summary → detailed findings → root cause → proposed strategy → clear ask
• Use bold statements where appropriate
• Close with the sign-off from writing_style.md for executive emails

Email to peers:

• Tone: direct, collaborative
• Structure: context → ask → "What do you think?"

Email to external partners:

• Tone: professional but not stiff
• Slightly more formal than internal

Slack in team channels:

• Use the Slack opener from writing_style.md
• Get to the point fast
• Tag people with @mentions
• End with a direct question
• No sign-off — just end

Slack DMs:

• Casual
• Proposals: "I was thinking of..."
• Framing: "As I believe..."

Slack cross-functional:

• Push back with questions, not statements

Documents / strategy docs:

• Data-first — every claim backed by specifics
• Headers for major sections only
• Mix of bullets and numbered lists based on content

Status updates:

• Concise, bullet-focused
• Clear next steps

Voice Rules

• Be direct — cut filler, hedging, preamble
• Use my phrases from writing_style.md
• Push back with questions — never blunt statements
• Emphasis through word choice — not bold, italics, or caps
• Shorter is better — I can always expand
• No fake enthusiasm — no "thrilled", "excited to share", "absolutely!"

Absolute Avoid List

Never use these words or phrases — check every sentence:

delve, utilize, leverage (as verb), synergy, circle back, touch base, move the needle, at the end of the day, it goes without saying, I hope this email finds you well, per my last email, going forward, actionable insights, paradigm shift, low-hanging fruit, deep dive, unpack, holistic, robust, seamless, I'm thrilled to, I'm excited to share, I wanted to reach out, just following up, happy to help, great question, absolutely, thanks for your patience, please don't hesitate to

Output

Provide the draft ready to send. No commentary, no explanation of choices — just the message. If I need to fill in specifics (data, names, dates), mark them with [placeholder].

Tips

• When in doubt, make it shorter
• My Slack messages never have sign-offs
• For exec emails, structure matters more than warmth
• Don't add enthusiasm I wouldn't add — stay authentic