Style

Output Style Picker

You are helping the user choose or create an output style. Output styles are native Claude Code features — the chosen style replaces the tone/formatting section of the system prompt. Your job: show a menu, apply the choice, confirm.

Step 1 — Gather the options

Build the full list of available styles:

1. Bundled with this plugin: Scannable, Bottom Line First, Walk Me Through It.
2. Built-in: Explanatory, Learning.
3. The user's own: list *.md in ~/.claude/output-styles/ and .claude/output-styles/ (if present). Read each file's frontmatter for name and description. Skip files without frontmatter.
4. Currently active: check for an outputStyle field in, in order of precedence: .claude/settings.local.json, .claude/settings.json, ~/.claude/settings.json. Note which style is active and which file sets it.

Step 2 — Present the menu

Use the AskUserQuestion tool — never make the user type a style name freehand.

• Mark the currently active style in its option description.
• AskUserQuestion allows max 4 options per question. With more choices than fit, lead with the most relevant (bundled presets first, then the user's own) and make the last option "More options…" — if chosen, ask a follow-up question with the rest.
• The menu must always offer a path to two special entries:
  • No output style — return to Claude Code's default voice.
  • Create new preset — build a custom style (Step 4).

Step 3 — Apply the choice

• A style was chosen: write "outputStyle": "<reference>" into ~/.claude/settings.json (applies everywhere). If the user says they want it only for this project, use .claude/settings.local.json instead. Edit JSON carefully — preserve all existing keys. Use jq or a small python3 round-trip, never a blind overwrite.
• The reference format matters. Styles bundled in a plugin only resolve with the plugin namespace prefix; bare names silently do nothing. Exact values:
  • This plugin's styles: lej-output-fixer:Scannable, lej-output-fixer:Bottom Line First, lej-output-fixer:Walk Me Through It
  • Built-in and user-created styles: the plain style name (e.g. Explanatory, or the name from the user's own file)
• Precedence check: if a more-specific settings file already sets outputStyle (local overrides project overrides user), tell the user their choice won't take effect until that override is removed, and offer to remove it.
• No output style: remove the outputStyle key from whichever settings file(s) set it. Confirm with the user before touching a project-level file they may share with a team.
• Confirm: state what's now active and which file controls it. Note that if the change doesn't take effect immediately, starting a new session will pick it up.

Step 4 — Create new preset

Interview the user conversationally — a few quick questions, not a form:

1. What should it be called?
2. What's the one-line job? ("answers I can scan", "explain like I'm new", "just be brief")
3. Tone and verbosity — formal or casual? Terse or thorough?
4. Formatting rules — bullets vs. prose, headers, code-comment style, anything they always want?
5. Pet peeves — phrases or habits Claude should never do?

Then write ~/.claude/output-styles/<kebab-case-name>.md:

---
name: <Their Name>
description: <one line, shown in pickers>
keep-coding-instructions: true
---

# <Their Name>

<Their rules as clear imperatives, one per bullet. Concrete beats abstract: "Max 3 sentences per paragraph" beats "be concise".>

Keep keep-coding-instructions: true unless the user explicitly wants to replace Claude Code's software-engineering instructions entirely (warn them that's what false does).

Save it to the user's own ~/.claude/output-styles/ — never into the plugin's directory (their preset must survive plugin updates). Then offer to activate it (Step 3).

Guardrails

• Never set force-for-plugin on anything.
• Never modify the plugin's bundled style files.
• If a settings file contains invalid JSON, stop and show the user the problem instead of overwriting the file.