telexed ~ c / 1d702ed0-7baradar:40 · agent_toolLIVE
← back
NO.
#1d702ed0
Topic
AGENTS & TOOLS
Source
r/ClaudeAI
Published
2026-05-04 17:01:53
Importance
★ 4/10 — radar 40

Add one hard-line sentence to stop `Claude` from overusing em dashes

A single verbatim rule in Claude.ai preferences or Claude.md cuts em-dash usage by roughly 98%. Cheap prompt hygiene, worth adding if you want cleaner house style.

[ KEY POINTS ]
  1. Use this exact line on its own: CLAUDE NEVER USES EM DASHES. Instead, ALWAYS use commas or hyphens.
  2. Placement matters: add it as a new standalone sentence in profile preferences or Claude.md, not buried inside other instructions.
  3. The trick is giving a replacement behavior, not just banning one pattern. commas and hyphens act as the fallback style.
  4. The reported gain is about 98%, not perfect suppression. Old-literature or academic-style generations can still leak em dashes.
Originalwww.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1t3nq2o/dont_like_em_dashes_add_this_to_your_preferences/Read original →

// related