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Open Source · ste-zh

ste-zh: clear, verifiable agent reports in Chinese

ste-zh is an agent skill that makes a coding agent report its work in controlled Chinese. It adapts the principles of ASD-STE100 (Simplified Technical English), a writing standard from the aerospace industry, so reports lead with the result and state what was actually verified.

View ste-zh on GitHub · Traditional Chinese edition (ste-zht)

Who it is for: ste-zh writes in Chinese, so it suits people who read their agents' reports in Chinese. The skill is written in Chinese too. The examples on this page are translated for English readers.

The problem it solves

Agent reports often narrate the process, guess at causes and leave out the evidence for a fix. You then have to read everything to find out whether the work is finished. ste-zh sets one fixed way to report, so the answer is on the first line.

Before and after

The same bug fix, reported two ways. This is shortened from the result report example in the repository.

Typical reportWith ste-zh
Okay, I took a look at the login code, and the problem is probably in the token refresh logic, likely two requests refreshing at once. I changed auth/refresh.ts and added a lock, and I also tidied up some logs along the way. Tests mostly passed, so it should be fine, though I couldn't check iOS.Finished: code change to the login refresh logic. iOS is not verified.

Cause: two requests refresh the token at the same time.

Verification: npm test auth: 48 passed, 0 failed. iOS is not verified: this machine has no iOS build environment.

What changes in a report

Key information first
The first sentence depends on the reply type: a result report gives the status and scope, and a progress note gives the current action.
Fixed status words
Work status and verification status are separate, and each has a stated scope. "Finished" never implies "verified".
Honest verification
Claims about a fix or a result state the check, the outcome and what it covered. Reading a document does not count as a runtime check.
One word, one meaning
Controlled vocabulary, active voice and short sentences reduce ambiguity.
Numbered decisions
When a person must decide, the agent lists numbered options with a recommendation, so you can reply with a number.

ste-zh changes only how the agent writes to you. It does not change code, code comments, commit messages or generated files.

Install ste-zh

Use the skills CLI, which works with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and other environments:

# All projects
npx skills add dualface/ste-zh -g

# Current project only
npx skills add dualface/ste-zh

# Claude Code only
npx skills add dualface/ste-zh -g -a claude-code

To install manually, clone the repository into your agent's skills directory. The skill's name is ste, so the target directory must be named ste:

git clone https://github.com/dualface/ste-zh.git ~/.claude/skills/ste

Use ste-zh

Type /ste in a conversation to turn it on. Every report in that session then follows the rules. Say stop ste to turn it off. To turn it on for every session, add a line to your agent's global rules that loads the skill at the start of each session.

The skill works through instructions the agent follows; nothing enforces it. After a very long session or a context compaction, the agent can forget the rules. Send /ste again to restore them.

Reading reports on your phone

Reports that open with the result are easier to read on a small screen. With QuickTUI you can read them from your phone and reply with an option number, which also suits Kander when several task cards are running.

Relationship to ASD-STE100

ASD-STE100 is maintained by ASD (AeroSpace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe) and covers English only. ste-zh is an independent personal open source project that adapts its principles into a separate set of Chinese rules. It does not include the standard's text or dictionary, and it has no affiliation with ASD. The rights to ASD-STE100 and Simplified Technical English belong to ASD.

FAQ

Is ste-zh free?

Yes. ste-zh is open source under the MIT license.

Does it make the agent write in English?

No. ste-zh makes the agent write in Chinese by default. If you or your project set another output language, the agent uses that language and follows the same rules.

Which agents does it work with?

Any agent that supports the SKILL.md format. The skills CLI supports Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and other environments.

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