Plugin idea: writing help for letters and CVs (local checks, optional services) #1258

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opened 2026-11-13 10:51:54 +00:00 by tiagoagueda · 0 comments

tiagoagueda commented

2026-11-13 10:51:54 +00:00

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Idea

Optional help while writing: a spell and grammar check, a readability and length check on a cover letter, a check that a letter names the company and role (placeholders filled), a gender-neutral wording hint, a translation helper. Each is a plugin the person enables; the default is a local check with no data sent.

What to settle

Local first (an offline dictionary and rule set); a service only when the person turns it on, with the host and the text sent shown on the consent screen, since a letter holds personal data.
Where it shows (the editor's side, in the preview) and how it announces itself to a screen reader; a suggestion is never applied without the person.
The relation to the placeholder checks core already has, so there is one list of problems, not two.

Wanted

The contract (text in, a list of spans with a message and a proposed replacement out), the preview display, and a reference local plugin.

Rules that apply to every plugin

Off until the person enables it; a plugin that calls a service names the host and the data it sends in its manifest and on the consent screen (plugins/consent.py); nothing is fetched on page load.
Core keeps no import of it: the application runs with it absent, and data it created stays readable as plain data when it is removed.
The plugin surface (plugins/api.py, the published postulo.plugins.testing check) gets a contract test for any new kind; the plugin ships its own translation catalogues (the plugin locale rule); strings go through Weblate only.
Its own repository if it is not bundled (see the plugin repositories and #1170's shared CI).

Filed as an idea after a discussion on plugin kinds, with #1252 (reference data and lookups as plugins). Not started; the maintainer decides if and when.

## Idea Optional help while writing: a spell and grammar check, a readability and length check on a cover letter, a check that a letter names the company and role (placeholders filled), a gender-neutral wording hint, a translation helper. Each is a plugin the person enables; the default is a local check with no data sent. ## What to settle - Local first (an offline dictionary and rule set); a service only when the person turns it on, with the host and the text sent shown on the consent screen, since a letter holds personal data. - Where it shows (the editor's side, in the preview) and how it announces itself to a screen reader; a suggestion is never applied without the person. - The relation to the placeholder checks core already has, so there is one list of problems, not two. ## Wanted The contract (text in, a list of spans with a message and a proposed replacement out), the preview display, and a reference local plugin. ## Rules that apply to every plugin - Off until the person enables it; a plugin that calls a service names the host and the data it sends in its manifest and on the consent screen (`plugins/consent.py`); nothing is fetched on page load. - Core keeps no import of it: the application runs with it absent, and data it created stays readable as plain data when it is removed. - The plugin surface (`plugins/api.py`, the published `postulo.plugins.testing` check) gets a contract test for any new kind; the plugin ships its own translation catalogues (the plugin locale rule); strings go through Weblate only. - Its own repository if it is not bundled (see the plugin repositories and #1170's shared CI). Filed as an idea after a discussion on plugin kinds, with #1252 (reference data and lookups as plugins). **Not started; the maintainer decides if and when.**

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2026-11-13 10:51:54 +00:00