stop-slop

Use it when:: The agent is drafting, editing or reviewing prose and you don't want it to read as AI-written.
It does:: Applies eight rules, such as cutting filler and every adverb, active voice with a human subject, no "not X, it's Y" contrasts and no em dashes.
Checks:: Each draft before delivery against a list of tells, and can score it 1–10 on five dimensions, revising anything under 35 of 50.
Unlike unslop:: You call that one to rewrite a finished text; this one is a rule set the agent applies whenever it writes or edits prose.

TL;DR

Stop Slop is a short rule set for prose that doesn't read as generated. Its eight rules: cut filler phrases and all adverbs; break formulaic structures such as binary contrasts, negative lists, dramatic fragments and rhetorical setups; use active voice with a human subject, never an inanimate thing doing a human action; name the specific thing instead of a vague declarative; put the reader in the room, with "you" over "people"; vary sentence length and paragraph endings, prefer two items to three and use no em dashes; state facts without softening; and rewrite anything that sounds like a pull-quote. Before delivering, the agent runs a checklist of the same tells, plus sentences that open with a Wh- word and meta-joiners such as "the rest of this essay". A score from 1 to 10 on directness, rhythm, trust, authenticity and density sends anything under 35 of 50 back for revision. Lists of phrases and structures to cut, and before-and-after examples, are in its reference files.

Summarizes the skill at 8da1f03.

npx skills add https://github.com/hardikpandya/stop-slop --skill stop-slop

skills.sh page Source on GitHub All skills from hardikpandya/stop-slop

Weekly Downloads week to Nov 9, 2026

613

-13% in 8 weeks

More weekly downloads than 68% of skills

Weekly values

Week to	Installs
Sep 21	704
Sep 28	654
Oct 5	647
Oct 12	633
Oct 19	621
Oct 26	622
Nov 2	636
Nov 9	613

Total Downloads on skills.sh

19,300

More downloads than 71% of skills

Repo stars hardikpandya/stop-slop

18,748

More stars than 65% of repos

Age published Jan 20, 2026

9 months

Older than 82% of skills

Category	category:writing Articles, docs, internal comms, research write-ups and prose that doesn't read as generated.
Type	type:guidelines Knowledge and rules the agent applies while it works: best practices, design principles, API references.
Effect	effect:none Adds no side effects of its own. It shapes how the agent thinks, writes or reviews. Guidelines and routers are always effect:none, even when the task they support edits code.
Needs	needs:none Instructions only. Works in any agent that supports skills.
Publisher	by:community Everyone else. Unverified vendor claims default to community.
Topics	anti-slop writing

SKILL.md

From hardikpandya/stop-slop at 8da1f03. Checked daily, last changed Nov 6, 2026.

Frontmatter

name: stop-slop
description: Remove AI writing patterns from prose. Use when drafting, editing, or reviewing text to eliminate predictable AI tells.
metadata:
  trigger: Writing prose, editing drafts, reviewing content for AI patterns
  author: Hardik Pandya (https://hvpandya.com)

Stop Slop

Eliminate predictable AI writing patterns from prose.

Core Rules

Cut filler phrases. Remove throat-clearing openers, emphasis crutches, and all adverbs. See references/phrases.md.
Break formulaic structures. Avoid binary contrasts, negative listings, dramatic fragmentation, rhetorical setups, false agency. See references/structures.md.
Use active voice. Every sentence needs a human subject doing something. No passive constructions. No inanimate objects performing human actions ("the complaint becomes a fix").
Be specific. No vague declaratives ("The reasons are structural"). Name the specific thing. No lazy extremes ("every," "always," "never") doing vague work.
Put the reader in the room. No narrator-from-a-distance voice. "You" beats "People." Specifics beat abstractions.
Vary rhythm. Mix sentence lengths. Two items beat three. End paragraphs differently. No em dashes.
Trust readers. State facts directly. Skip softening, justification, hand-holding.
Cut quotables. If it sounds like a pull-quote, rewrite it.

Quick Checks

Before delivering prose:

Any adverbs? Kill them.
Any passive voice? Find the actor, make them the subject.
Inanimate thing doing a human verb ("the decision emerges")? Name the person.
Sentence starts with a Wh- word? Restructure it.
Any "here's what/this/that" throat-clearing? Cut to the point.
Any "not X, it's Y" contrasts? State Y directly.
Three consecutive sentences match length? Break one.
Paragraph ends with punchy one-liner? Vary it.
Em-dash anywhere? Remove it.
Vague declarative ("The implications are significant")? Name the specific implication.
Narrator-from-a-distance ("Nobody designed this")? Put the reader in the scene.
Meta-joiners ("The rest of this essay...")? Delete. Let the essay move.

Scoring

Rate 1-10 on each dimension:

Dimension	Question
Directness	Statements or announcements?
Rhythm	Varied or metronomic?
Trust	Respects reader intelligence?
Authenticity	Sounds human?
Density	Anything cuttable?

Below 35/50: revise.

Examples

See references/examples.md for before/after transformations.

License

MIT