Write replies and polish text

Three actions, three jobs

The distinction matters because the prompts are different. Reply is allowed to add a position (“I'll review it this morning”); Polish is explicitly told not to add information that is not in the source.

Reply

Reply treats the selection as a message from a colleague and writes the response as you. Its default instructions:

• Use the earlier discussion and conclusions in the context.
• Keep the reply specific, concise, and friendly — ready to send.
• Reply in the language of the incoming message.
• Output only the reply, with no explanation.

The context is what separates this from pasting a message into a chat window. If the incoming message says “can you take a look before Friday?”, Typeme can see the store for that project and the recent log entries, so the draft can refer to the actual change instead of answering generically.

The second version is not “more creative”; it is using facts you already captured. That is the whole point of the context layer.

Polish

Polish is for text you wrote. Its default instructions are conservative on purpose:

• Keep the original language, meaning, and roughly the same length.
• Do not add information that is not in the source.
• Follow the tone in your profile and context.
• Output only the polished text.

It is most useful when:

• You are writing in a second language and want the sentence to read naturally.
• A Slack message came out terser than you meant.
• A commit message, release note, or ticket description needs to be unambiguous.
• You dictated or pasted something and want the punctuation and flow fixed.

A reply workflow

1. Select the message in Slack, Mail, or your issue tracker.
2. Press ⌥D. The panel opens next to the selection.
3. Press Tab until Reply is highlighted, then Return. Or press ⌘2 if Reply is the second action.
4. Edit the draft in the result area. You can also edit the source message and press Return to regenerate.
5. Press ⌘Return to write the reply back into the message box, then send it yourself.

If you reply often, give Reply its own global shortcut under Settings › Actions. Then you can select a message and press that shortcut directly, skipping the action switcher.

Make it sound like you

The model can only follow the voice you describe. Three places to put that description, in order of impact:

1. profile.md. Add rules, not adjectives. “No exclamation marks”, “answer in the language of the incoming message”, “never invent ticket numbers” all change output. “Friendly and professional” usually does not.
2. The store background. A sentence about the project's current state gives Reply something concrete to be specific about.
3. The action prompt. If your team has a house style — no em dashes, always link the ticket, address people by first name — put it in the Reply prompt.

## Voice

- Direct, warm, no exclamation marks.
- Prefer short sentences. One idea per sentence.
- Always name the ticket when replying about a bug.
- If you do not know, say so and name the next step.

These rules apply to every action, not just Reply. That is why the profile is short and stable rather than a biography.

Review before sending

A generated reply is a draft, not an autopilot. It can be confidently wrong about a date, a version, or who agreed to what. The context helps, but it is a record of what you captured — not a source of truth about the project.

• Check names, dates, ticket numbers, and commitments.
• Remove anything you would not say to the person directly.
• Keep the final send in your hands. Typeme writes into the message box; it does not send.

Questions