Google developer documentation style

A Claude skill that writes and reviews text in the style of the Google developer documentation style guide: second person, active voice, present tense, plain words, and no hype.

Use it when you want documentation that reads like a knowledgeable colleague explaining something to someone who is busy and might not be a native English speaker.

What the skill does

When the skill is active, Claude:

• Addresses the reader as you, and names the actor in every sentence.
• Writes in active voice and present tense.
• Puts the condition before the instruction.
• Cuts filler such as just, simply, easily, currently, and please note.
• Uses sentence case for headings, code font for code, and bold for UI labels.
• Calls the same concept by the same name every time.
• Replaces idioms, metaphors, and culture-specific references with plain terms.
• Avoids claims the reader can't verify.

The skill covers writing new text and reviewing text you already have.

Files

File	Contents
SKILL.md	The main guidance: voice and tone, grammar, jargon, recommendations versus requirements, formatting, accessibility, and a pre-send checklist.
references/word-list.md	Words to use, words to avoid, words never to use, and inclusive-language replacements.
references/formatting.md	Punctuation, capitalization, lists, procedures, numbers, code formatting, and cross-references.
references/principles.md	Excessive claims, timeless documentation, third-party content, anthropomorphism, and naming conventions.

Claude reads SKILL.md first and loads a reference file when it needs the detail.

Install

To install the skill for yourself, clone the repository into your personal skills directory:

git clone https://github.com/johnbhiggins7/google-style.git ~/.claude/skills/google-devdocs-style

To install it for a single project instead, clone it into .claude/skills/google-devdocs-style in that project.

The directory name matters. Claude matches it against the name field in SKILL.md, which is google-devdocs-style. Restart Claude Code after you clone, so it picks up the new skill.

Use

Ask for the style by name, and Claude loads the skill:

• "Rewrite this README in Google style."
• "Review these release notes against the Google developer style guide."
• "Use Google developer documentation style for the rest of this conversation."

Claude also loads the skill when you ask for clearer, less hypey, or more translatable writing, even if you never mention Google.

To apply the style across a whole conversation, say so once at the start. The "Adapting this to conversation" section of SKILL.md sets out which rules carry over to chat and which ones only make sense on a documentation page.

Source and limitations

The authority is the Google developer documentation style guide. This skill paraphrases that guide and links to it rather than reproducing it. When the two disagree, follow the guide.

This repository isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Google.

Two limits are worth knowing before you rely on the skill:

• The word list covers A through S from the published page. Entries from T onward come from prior knowledge and are unverified. references/word-list.md marks which terms those are.
• Some sections of the guide were read as search excerpts rather than in full, and a few weren't read at all. The "Coverage" section of SKILL.md lists which sections fall into each group.