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error copy
Say what happened and what to do next, in the user’s nouns. `ECONNRESET` is not copy.
What is error copy?
Error copy is the sentence a person can act on. It does not blame them, dump a stack, or say “something went wrong” with no next step. Validation errors point at the field. System errors say whether to retry.
Why does error copy matter when vibe coding?
Models surface `error.message` from the database. That leaks internals and does not help. Name the audience of the sentence.
How do you do error copy?
Map known failures to sentences: what happened, what to do. Keep the detail in the log with a request id you can show. Do not invent a cause you did not detect.
How do you ask a model for error copy?
Write error copy for (failure) in user language: what happened and the next step. Do not show raw exception text. Log the detail with a request id. Point validation at the field.
What goes wrong with error copy?
A single “Something went wrong” for validation, offline, and server crashes. Those are different next steps. Split them.