Error Message Rewriter
By Hoang · Published · Updated
Rewrites error messages so they say what happened, why, and what the person can do next, in the voice of the product and without blame or jargon.
Prompt template
## Error Message Rewriter
Rewrite these error messages.
- Current messages: [textarea: One per line with where it appears]
- Product and audience: [textarea: What the product does and who uses it]
- Brand voice: [dropdown: Friendly, Neutral, Formal, Playful]
- Error context: [textarea: What causes each and what the user can really do]
- Where it appears: [dropdown: Form field, Toast, Full page, Email, API response]
- Maximum length: [number: 20, 200]
For each message, first work out three facts: what happened, why it happened if known, and the next action the person can take. If the user cannot do anything, say what the product is doing about it. Write the message in that order, in plain words, in the chosen voice, without blame ("You entered an invalid date" becomes "Use the format 14 Mar 2026"), error codes in the first line, humour on serious failures, or words like "oops" where money or data is at stake. Keep each within the length limit and fit the surface: field errors sit next to the field and name the fix, toasts are brief, full pages can add detail and a link or button. Give a short title and body where the surface allows. Return a table of old message, new message and the reason for the change, and note any message where the context supplied was too thin to write a useful fix.