explain-better

---

name: explain-better description: Explain a topic, code, or model output in a form that is easier to understand than plain prose. Picks one of four formats, from simple to rich - ASD-STE100 writing, a diagram, an HTML page, or an explainer video. Use when the user says "/explain-better", "help me understand", "explain this visually", "make a diagram of", "explain it as a page", or "make an explainer video". Based on Andrej Karpathy's tips for understanding LLM output. argument-hint: "[format: writing|diagram|html|video] " disable-model-invocation: true

Goal: help the user understand something fast. Oversight and understanding is the bottleneck now, not output. Output is cheap, so make a custom, throwaway artifact.

Input: $ARGUMENTS

Pick the format

If the first word of the input is writing, diagram, html, or video, use that format. Otherwise pick the lowest rung that fits. Each rung is richer than the one before.

Rung	Format	Use when
1	ASD-STE100 writing	The idea is a sequence, a rule, or a definition.
2	Diagram	The idea has parts and links, a flow, or a hierarchy.
3	HTML page	The idea needs interaction, many diagrams, or animation.
4	Explainer video	The idea is a process that changes over time, and the user wants to watch it.

Do not ask which format. State the pick in one line, then do it. If the user is unsure, offer the next rung up at the end.

1. Writing: ASD-STE100

ASD-STE100 is Simplified Technical English. It was made for aerospace maintenance manuals.

• Maximum 20 words per instruction sentence. Maximum 25 for descriptive text.
• One instruction per sentence.
• Active voice. Simple tenses. No -ing verb forms except technical nouns.
• One word for one meaning. Never rotate synonyms.
• Plain, short words. Define each technical term at first use.
• Paragraphs: one topic, maximum 6 sentences. Use lists for 3 or more steps.

The full spec is strict. If the result reads stiff, relax to "80% of the way to ASD-STE100": keep the short sentences and the one-word-one-meaning rule, and allow some passive voice and tenses.

2. Diagram

Load the artifact-diagramming skill first. Draw the real mechanism: the parts, the links, and the direction of data or control. Label every arrow with what travels on it. Use inline SVG or Mermaid. Add at most 3 sentences of text.

3. HTML page

Load the artifact-design skill, then build one self-contained .html file. Put these in it:

• A short summary at the top.
• Diagrams, with hover or click to show detail.
• Small interactive parts where they help (sliders, step buttons, toggles).
• No external build step.

Check the page with a headless browser tool such as Playwright. Open it in the browser with a local file URL.

4. Explainer video (3Blue1Brown style)

1. Write a short script first: 5 to 10 scenes, one idea per scene. Show the script to the user only if the topic is large.
2. Build the scenes with Manim (pip install manim) or Remotion. Use Manim for math and diagrams. Use Remotion for UI and text.
3. Narration, in this order:
   1. ElevenLabs, if the user has a key. Read it from an environment variable or a secrets manager. Never print the key or write it to a file. If no key is found, go to step 2.
   2. A free local option: macOS say, or Piper or Kokoro TTS.
4. Render to .mp4, then open it for the user. Name the output path in the reply.

Render a low-quality preview first (manim -ql). Render the final file only after the preview works.

Rules

• Do not ship a diagram, page, or video for a trivial question. Use rung 1.
• Keep the artifact discardable. Write it in the scratchpad or a explain/ folder, not in a project repo, unless the user names a path.
• End with one line: what was made, where it is, and what the next rung up would add.