Settings

Open Settings from the user menu (bottom of the sidebar). The dialog has five tabs.

Style Rules

TechWrit AI ships with 25 default style rules covering common technical writing standards:

Rule	Description
Avoid "Please"	Use direct, imperative language
Avoid "and/or"	Use "or" or "and" explicitly
Title case in titles	Distinguish main titles from subsections
Sentence case in headings	Capitalize only first word and proper nouns
Avoid "may"	Use "can" for ability, "might" for possibility
"Ensure" vs "confirm"	Avoid "verify," "check," "make sure," and "validate." Use "ensure" or "confirm" appropriately
Prefer active voice	Unless passive is clearer or actor unknown
Use present tense	"The system returns" not "will return"
Use second person	Address the reader as "you"
Minimize future tense	Avoid "will" for system behavior
Parallel structure in lists	Start all items with the same part of speech
Define jargon on first use	Spell out acronyms and technical terms
Be concise	Eliminate filler words
Minimize "there is/are"	Restructure these sentences
Consistent terminology	Same term for same concept throughout
Remove redundant content	Eliminate sentences that repeat the same idea as a neighbor
Descriptive link text	Avoid generic text like "click here" or "here"
Avoid "This topic describes..."	Use outcome-oriented intros instead
User-focused writing	Write from the user's perspective, not the product's
Avoid Latin abbreviations	Use "for example" not "e.g." and "that is" not "i.e."
Lowercase "v" for version	Use v4.8 not V4.8
Short paragraphs	Keep paragraphs between 50-150 words
Short sentences	Keep sentences under 20 words
Procedures as numbered lists	Convert sequential steps from prose to numbered lists
No redundant headings above steps	Don't add a heading that repeats the numbered step below it
Screenshots need text instructions	Always pair screenshots with written instructions

Style guide templates

The style guide selector at the top of the Style Rules tab lets you apply a pre-built rule set from a major style guide. Three templates are available:

Template	Key differences
Microsoft Writing Style Guide	Direct tone, sentence case for H2+ subheadings, title case for H1. This is the default.
Google Developer Docs Style Guide	Sentence case for all headings, no "easy" or "simple," 26-word sentence limit, "select" not "click"
Apple Style Guide	Formal tone, no contractions, title case for all headings, Oxford comma, em dashes without spaces

To switch style guides:

1. Select a style guide from the dropdown at the top of the Style Rules tab.
2. Select Apply.
3. In the confirmation dialog, choose how to apply it:
   • Replace — Removes all built-in rules and replaces them with the selected style guide's rules. Custom rules are preserved.
   • Merge — Keeps your current rules and adds any new rules from the selected style guide that you don't already have.

The active style guide is auto-detected based on your current rule set. If your rules match a template exactly, the selector shows that template as active.

Toggle rules on or off with the switch next to each rule. Only active rules are included in the AI prompt.

Add custom rules (Pro tier) by selecting "Add custom rule" and providing a name and description.

Team rules — Team members see team-enforced rules with a lock icon. These remain active and cannot be toggled off or deleted. Personal custom rules are added below team rules and count against your personal tier limits separately.

Terminology

Terminology substitutions enforce word choice. Each entry has a preferred term and a list of terms to avoid.

Default substitutions:

• Use select instead of "click on", "click", "hit"
• Use enter instead of "type in", "input"
• Use repository instead of "repo"
• Use ensure instead of "make sure"

The AI enforces these during writing and rewriting. The input pane flags violations in real time.

Add, edit, or delete substitutions in this tab. The Free tier supports 3 substitutions; the Pro tier supports unlimited substitutions.

Team terminology — Team members see team-enforced substitutions with a lock icon. These cannot be edited or deleted. Personal substitutions are added separately.

Glossary

The product glossary gives the AI semantic understanding of your domain terms. Each entry includes:

• Term — The canonical name
• Definition — What it means (1-2 sentences)
• Synonyms (optional) — Alternative names the AI should flag

The AI uses glossary definitions when writing, flags synonym misuse in reviews, and generates glossary sections from your content.

Add, edit, or delete entries in this tab. The Free tier supports 3 terms; the Pro tier supports unlimited terms.

Team glossary — Team members see team-enforced glossary entries with a lock icon. These cannot be edited or deleted. Personal entries are added separately.

Prompt Library

The Prompt Library contains reusable structured prompts that pre-fill the input area with placeholders you fill in before submitting. They save time on recurring document types.

Built-in prompts

TechWrit AI ships with four built-in prompts:

Prompt	Auto-sets	Description
Feature Requirements Doc	Mode: Write	Structured inputs for feature name, purpose, target users, problem statement, and business goal
Release Notes	Mode: Write, Type: Release notes	Inputs for product name, version, and changes — outputs categorized release notes
API Endpoint Doc	Mode: Write, Type: API reference	Inputs for endpoint, purpose, parameters, and response — outputs full API reference
Troubleshooting Guide	Mode: Write, Type: Troubleshooting guide	Inputs for product, issue description, error messages, and steps — outputs structured troubleshooting content

Built-in prompts cannot be edited or deleted. They display in both the Prompt Library dropdown on the context bar and in the Prompt Library tab in Settings.

Using a prompt

1. Select the Prompt Library dropdown in the context bar (next to Audience, Type, and Mode).
2. Select a prompt from the list.
3. The input area fills with the prompt content. Mode and doc type are auto-set if the prompt specifies them.
4. Replace the [placeholder] text with your actual content.
5. Select Go to submit.

Prompts are a one-shot action — selecting a prompt replaces the current input text.

Custom prompts

Create your own prompts in the Prompt Library tab in Settings:

1. Select Add prompt.
2. Enter a name and the prompt content (use [placeholder] syntax for fields the user fills in).
3. Optionally set an auto-set mode and doc type.
4. Select Add.

Custom prompts appear alongside built-in prompts in the Prompt Library dropdown. You can edit or delete custom prompts at any time.

General

Custom Instructions

Custom instructions are freeform guidance appended to your input before each API call. You can set a global instruction that applies to all modes, or set per-mode instructions that override the global default for specific modes.

Use the mode selector dropdown to switch between editing the global instruction and any of the 17 mode-specific instructions. Modes that have custom instructions are marked with a dot indicator in the dropdown.

Examples:

• Global: "Our audience is enterprise IT admins. Keep paragraphs under 4 sentences."
• Review mode: "Focus on security concerns and OWASP compliance."
• Rewrite mode: "Always use Oxford commas. Prefer bullet lists for non-sequential content."
• Simplify mode: "Target a 6th-grade reading level for this project."

Export / Import

• Export — Downloads a techwrit-config.json file containing your rules, terminology, glossary, custom instructions (global and per-mode), and custom prompts.
• Import — Loads a previously exported JSON file, replacing your current configuration.

Use export/import to share configurations across teams or back up your standards. Imported files from older versions without newer fields (like per-mode instructions or prompts) work — the missing fields are left unchanged.

See Configuration Reference for the full JSON schema, valid field values, and examples you can use to hand-edit or generate config files.