What do I need to use Empty State Writer?

The screen / feature; Why it's empty; The primary action; Voice & constraints.

Is Empty State Writer free to use?

Yes — run it free in the browser playground (no API key needed for the sponsored trial, or bring any provider key), or install it into Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT and more via npx pm-claude-skills. MIT-licensed and open source.

Empty State Writer

Q: How do I know the Empty State Writer output is good?

The skill verifies itself against its own quality checks: First-use state explains the value and offers one clear primary action — not just "No items"; The distinct types (first-use, cleared, no-results, error/permission) are handled differently and correctly; "All done"/cleared states feel positive, not like something is broken; No-results states offer a way forward, not a dead end.

🔵 Stable🕐 updated 2026-06-30 🔷 SkillSpec L3 pm-uxwriting

Write empty-state content that turns a blank screen into a next step. Use when asked to write an empty state, a zero-data / first-run state, a no-results state, or onboarding placeholder content. Produces empty-state copy — a clear headline, a helpful line, and a primary action — for each type (first-use, user-cleared, no-results, error/permission), so a blank screen guides instead of confuses.

▶ Run it free — no key needed 📝 Grade your existing draft View SKILL.md ↗

What to give it

▸The screen / feature — what normally lives here and its value to the user.

▸Why it's empty — first use, the user cleared/completed everything, a search/filter returned nothing, or no access.

▸The primary action — what you want them to do (create, connect, invite, import, adjust filters).

▸Voice & constraints — tone, and any space/illustration limits.

✅ The bar it holds itself to

Every skill in this library self-verifies — these are this skill's own quality checks, straight from its definition.

✓First-use state explains the value and offers one clear primary action — not just "No items"

✓The distinct types (first-use, cleared, no-results, error/permission) are handled differently and correctly

✓"All done"/cleared states feel positive, not like something is broken

✓No-results states offer a way forward, not a dead end

✓Copy is concise and matches the product voice

✓Each state has a headline, a helpful line, and an action

⚠️ What it refuses to do

Do not ship a bare "No data" / blank screen — it wastes the best activation moment

Do not treat every empty state the same — "nothing yet" is opposite to "all caught up"

Do not make a cleared/complete state look like an error

Do not offer no action on a first-use state — give the one next step

Do not over-explain — a headline, a line, and a button, not a paragraph

Install

npx pm-claude-skills add --agent claude   # or codex · cursor · gemini · hermes
# or one-line MCP (every skill, any client):
claude mcp add pm-skills -- npx -y pm-claude-skills-mcp

Related skills

🔌 Embed this skill

Drop this on your blog, docs, or site — it renders a "Run this skill" card:

<div data-pm-skill="empty-state-writer"></div>
<script src="https://mohitagw15856.github.io/pm-claude-skills/embed.js" async></script>

💬 Discussion

Empty State Writer is one of 599 open-source professional AI agent skills — all SkillSpec L3. Try them all in the browser · ⭐ Star on GitHub · Browse the full catalog