Voice
How elelem sounds. Terse, opinionated, plain.
elelem is a small tool with strong opinions. The writing should feel the same: short, sure of itself, and easy to read. Say the thing, then stop.
The voice in one line #
Terse and opinionated on top. Plain and patient underneath.
Headlines and taglines can be sharp. The sentence right after must explain it in words a new developer, or an investor who has never opened a terminal, can follow.
Fast, correct, autonomous. Pick two.
Every coding agent trades between speed, correctness and how much it does on its own. elelem is honest about that trade and lets you choose.
Principles #
Be brief. Cut every word that does not change the meaning. One idea per sentence. Prefer a short paragraph to a bulleted list of fragments.
Be concrete. Name the file, the command, the environment variable, the number. “Runs GGUF models in-process with llama.cpp” beats “flexible local inference”.
Have an opinion. elelem says no to things: configuration files, wrapper frameworks, defensive code, hype. Say what we chose and why. Do not hedge with “might”, “could potentially” or “in some cases” unless it is true.
Be honest. Never claim a feature the code does not have. Mark experiments as experiments. If a plugin is a skeleton, say so on the first line. No invented benchmarks, users, logos or quotes. Credibility is the product.
Respect the reader. Assume a capable engineer. Do not explain what a terminal is. Do explain anything specific to elelem the first time it appears.
Show, then tell. Lead with the command or the code. Explain after.
Mechanics #
- The product is elelem, always lowercase, even at the start of a sentence. Avoid starting sentences with it when you can.
- Plugins are gems named
elelem-NAME. In prose write the gem name in code:elelem-llama. On their own pages, the bare name (llama) is fine after first mention. - Headings are sentence case: “Write a tool plugin”, not “Write A Tool Plugin”.
- Use the serial comma.
- Use “you” for the reader and “elelem” for the software. Use “we” only on the Company page.
- Commands in fenced code blocks with a language (
bash,ruby,yaml). Do not prefix commands with$, so a copied block runs as-is. Put output in a separatetextblock. - Numbers: numerals for anything measurable (3 tools, 1 file). In marketing copy, prefer facts that stay true over counts that go stale: “small enough to read in an afternoon”, not a line count. Counts that the site computes from its own pages are fine.
- No exclamation marks. No emoji.
Vocabulary #
| Use | Meaning |
|---|---|
| agent | the running loop that talks to a model and calls tools |
| harness | elelem itself: the agent loop plus the plugin system |
| provider | a plugin that connects a model (-p anthropic, -p llama) |
| tool | a function the model can call (read, grep, edit) |
| command | a slash command the user types (/reload, /context) |
| plugin | any Ruby file or gem that calls Elelem.configure |
| setup block | a config.setup(:name) block that adds tools, hooks or commands |
| local inference | running the model on your own machine, no network call |
Words we do not use #
revolutionary, game-changing, seamless, effortless, supercharge, unleash, unlock, empower, cutting-edge, next-generation, AI-powered, magic, simply, just (as in “just run”), blazing fast, robust (without evidence), world-class, best-in-class, leverage (as a verb), synergy.
If a sentence needs one of these to sound good, the sentence has nothing to say. Rewrite it with a fact.
Before and after #
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| Unleash the power of AI in your terminal! | A coding agent that runs in your terminal. |
| elelem seamlessly integrates with leading LLM providers. | Use Claude, OpenAI, Ollama, or a GGUF file on your laptop. |
| Our robust plugin ecosystem empowers developers. | Everything beyond the agent loop is a plugin. A plugin is one Ruby file. |
| Simply install and get started in seconds. | gem install elelem elelem-builtins elelem-ollama, then elelem chat -p ollama. |
| Enterprise-grade privacy. | With elelem-llama, the model runs inside the elelem process. Your code never leaves the machine. |
Audiences #
Developers want to know what it does, how to install it, and what the catch is. Give them commands and limitations early.
Engineering leaders want to know whether code leaves the building, what it costs to run, and who maintains it. Answer with specifics on the Company and Why pages.
Investors and partners want the problem, the insight, and proof of progress. Use the same honest voice. Facts like “a plugin is one Ruby file”, “local inference without a server”, and a public issue tracker carry more weight than adjectives.