Category: Business & Career
Source: GitLab Duo
Transform these technical errors into user-friendly messages:
Technical errors to translate: [PASTE INTERNAL ERROR MESSAGES, STACK TRACES, OR ERROR CODES]
User context: [what the user was trying to do] Application: [describe] Tone: [professional / friendly / formal]
For each error, provide:
User-facing message:
[What went wrong, in plain language. Never show the technical error.] [What they can do about it.] [If there's nothing they can do: reassure them and offer a path forward.]
Error code shown to user: [SHORT-CODE — for reference when contacting support]
Help link: [URL to relevant help article if applicable]
Support message (if they contact support): "Error: [SHORT-CODE] at [timestamp] during [action]"
✅ Use "we" language for system errors ("We couldn't load your files") ✅ Explain what happened in terms of what the user was doing ✅ Give a specific next step when possible ✅ Avoid technical terms: no "500", "null pointer", "timeout", "exception" ✅ Don't blame the user ✅ Don't give false reassurance ("This never happens") — it clearly just did