CleanMM/Docs/COPY_GUIDELINES.md

Copy Guidelines

Tone

• Calm
• Direct
• Reassuring
• Technical only when necessary

Product Voice

• Explain what happened first.
• Explain impact second.
• Offer a next step every time.
• Avoid fear-based maintenance language.

Good Patterns

• Results may be incomplete without Full Disk Access.
• You can keep using limited mode and grant access later.
• Most selected actions are recoverable.

Avoid

• Critical error
• Illegal operation
• You must allow this
• Your Mac is at risk

CTA Style

• Use clear verbs: Retry, Open System Settings, Review Plan, Restore
• Avoid generic CTA labels such as OK and Continue

Glossary

• Scan — read-only analysis that collects findings; it never removes anything by itself.
• Cleanup Plan / Uninstall Plan — the actionable set of reviewed steps Atlas proposes from current findings.
• Review — the user checks the plan before it runs. Avoid using preview as the primary noun when the UI is really showing a plan.
• Run Plan / Run Uninstall — apply a reviewed plan. Use this for the action that changes the system.
• Reclaimable Space — the estimated space the current plan can free. Make it explicit when the value recalculates after execution.
• Recoverable — Atlas can restore the result from History while the retention window is still open.
• App Footprint — the current disk space an app uses.
• Leftover Files — extra support files, caches, or launch items related to an app uninstall.
• Limited Mode — Atlas works with partial permissions and asks for more access only when a specific workflow needs it.

Consistency Rules

• Prefer plan over preview when referring to the actionable object the user can run.
• Use review for the decision step before execution, not for the execution step itself.
• If a button opens macOS settings, label it Open System Settings instead of implying Atlas grants access directly.
• Distinguish current plan from remaining items after execution whenever reclaimable-space values can change.
• Keep permission language calm and reversible: explain what access unlocks, whether it can wait, and what the next step is.