dhh-writing — independently scanned and version-tracked by SaferSkills.
SaferSkills independently audited dhh-writing (Agent Skill) and scored it 100/100 (green). The audit ran 55 deterministic rules across Security, Supply Chain, Maintenance, Transparency, and Community; it found 0 high-severity and 0 lower-severity findings. The full rule-by-rule trace and per-finding evidence are below. Free, methodology-open.
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Every scanned point with the score it earned and what moved between them.
First recorded scan — no prior version to compare against.
The primary manifest — the file an agent reads to learn what this artifact does.
Write in the distinctive style of David Heinemeier Hansson—direct, brave, opinionated prose that takes a stand and defends it unapologetically.
This skill applies when:
"Strong opinions, weakly held" is half-right. You need strong opinions, strongly expressed. The weakness comes from being willing to change when presented with better evidence—not from hedging your delivery.
DHH's writing is characterized by:
Reference techniques.md for the complete guide.
Every piece must have a thesis you can disagree with.
❌ "There are pros and cons to remote work that teams should consider."
✅ "Remote work is the future. Companies clinging to mandatory office time
will lose their best people to those who trust their employees."Remove qualifiers that weaken your position.
Words to eliminate:
Punch. Impact. Clarity.
Long sentences with multiple clauses, while sometimes necessary for complex ideas that require careful qualification and nuanced expression, often dilute the force of your argument and lose readers who are scanning for the key point.
Short sentences work better.
They're memorable.
They're quotable.
They're true.
Start by identifying what "everyone knows." Then challenge it.
"Everyone knows you need to move fast and break things."
Actually, you don't. Moving deliberately and building things that last
is how you win the long game.Don't argue about philosophies. Argue about practices.
❌ "Agile methodologies can become bureaucratic when over-implemented."
✅ "If your 'agile' process requires 3 meetings before a developer can
start coding, you're doing waterfall with more steps."Three examples. Three reasons. Three beats.
"We don't have meetings about meetings. We don't have process for process. We don't have documentation about documentation."
Frame business decisions as ethical choices, not just practical ones.
"Requiring everyone in the office isn't a productivity strategy. It's a trust issue. You either trust your people to do their jobs or you don't."
Reference your opponent's best argument—then demolish it.
"Yes, in-person collaboration has value. Yes, some conversations are better face-to-face. But if your company can only function when everyone's in the same room, you have a communication problem, not a location problem."
The last line should be quotable.
Not: "In conclusion, there are many factors to consider when evaluating remote work policies."
Instead: "The future of work is here. Catch up or get left behind."
Show you have skin in the game.
"We've run Basecamp remotely for 20 years. This isn't theory—it's practice. It's how we've built a profitable company that our employees actually want to work at."
Structure:
See anti-patterns.md for detailed examples.
"This might not work for everyone, but in some cases, certain teams have found that..."
"There are valid points on both sides of this debate..." (Pick a side. Defend it.)
"Of course, this is just my personal view and others may disagree..." (They know. Say what you mean.)
"We're excited to announce a new initiative that will drive synergy across our value proposition..." (What are you actually doing?)
Before publishing, verify:
~30 seconds. Free. No account. Every finding cites a rule and a line of evidence.