---
source: https://cli.eloqnt.dev/docs/styleguides
docs_index: https://cli.eloqnt.dev/llms.txt
---

# Styleguides

A styleguide is free-form markdown document that steers aspects like tone, terminology, and consistency. You write what is specific to your project, and eloqnt/engine layers on translation best practices automatically.

## `styleguide.md`

Applies to every locale and contains overall guidance.

```markdown title=".eloqnt/styleguide.md"
# Styleguide

## Audience

A few sentences about who your users are and how your site/app serves them.

## Voice and tone

- Friendly and concise.
- Address the user as "you", and prefer active voice.

## Do not translate

- eloqnt
- API key
```

Styleguides are self-contained. eloqnt/engine doesn't follow local or external links inside them, so any guidance the engine needs must live in the file itself.

## `styleguide.<locale>.md`

Layers on top of the global styleguide and takes precedence wherever the two conflict.

```markdown title=".eloqnt/styleguide.es.md"
# `es` styleguide

## Tone

- Use informal "tú", never formal "usted".

## Formatting

- Use straight quotation marks (`"…"`), not Spanish guillemets.
- Always include the `many` case in `plural` statements. It covers millions, which need "de" before the noun ("1.000.000 de archivos").

## Glossary

- "dashboard": "panel"
```

---

For an index of every eloqnt/cli documentation page, see [https://cli.eloqnt.dev/llms.txt](https://cli.eloqnt.dev/llms.txt).