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Microcopy guide

Words that ship trust. Every label, button, and error message inside Meridian follows these rules.

Voice

  • Do Direct, calm, precise. Write like a senior engineer telling you exactly what happened.
  • Don't Cute, quirky, or apologetic. Never “Oops!” or “Something went wrong.”

Buttons

  • Use verbs. “Save key” not “OK.”
  • Destructive actions get a trailing ellipsis only if they open a confirmation: “Revoke license…”
  • Never “Click here.”

Errors

  • State what failed, why, and what to do next.
  • License not found. Paste the full key from your dashboard.
  • Never expose stack traces or internal codes to users.

Empty states

  • Tell them what belongs there and how to get it.
  • No keys yet. Generate one to start.
  • Never show a blank panel with zero explanation.

Capitalization

  • Sentence case everywhere: labels, headings, toasts.
  • Product name is always “Meridian” with capital M.
  • All-caps reserved for key status badges only.

Numbers

  • Use commas for thousands: 1,024 not 1024.
  • Durations under 60s spell out: “12 seconds.”
  • Dates: “May 26, 2026” in prose, ISO 8601 in logs.