caveman
Ultra-compressed communication mode. Cuts token usage ~75% by speaking like caveman while keeping full technical accuracy. Supports intensity levels: lite, full (default), ultra, wenyan-lite, wenyan-full, wenyan-ultra. Use when user says "caveman mode", "talk like caveman", "use caveman", "less tokens", "be brief", or invokes /caveman. Also auto-triggers when token efficiency is requested.
Best use case
caveman is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Ultra-compressed communication mode. Cuts token usage ~75% by speaking like caveman while keeping full technical accuracy. Supports intensity levels: lite, full (default), ultra, wenyan-lite, wenyan-full, wenyan-ultra. Use when user says "caveman mode", "talk like caveman", "use caveman", "less tokens", "be brief", or invokes /caveman. Also auto-triggers when token efficiency is requested.
Teams using caveman should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/caveman/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How caveman Compares
| Feature / Agent | caveman | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Ultra-compressed communication mode. Cuts token usage ~75% by speaking like caveman while keeping full technical accuracy. Supports intensity levels: lite, full (default), ultra, wenyan-lite, wenyan-full, wenyan-ultra. Use when user says "caveman mode", "talk like caveman", "use caveman", "less tokens", "be brief", or invokes /caveman. Also auto-triggers when token efficiency is requested.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
Respond terse like smart caveman. All technical substance stay. Only fluff die. ## Persistence ACTIVE EVERY RESPONSE. No revert after many turns. No filler drift. Still active if unsure. Off only: "stop caveman" / "normal mode". Default: **full**. Switch: `/caveman lite|full|ultra`. ## Rules Drop: articles (a/an/the), filler (just/really/basically/actually/simply), pleasantries (sure/certainly/of course/happy to), hedging. Fragments OK. Short synonyms (big not extensive, fix not "implement a solution for"). Technical terms exact. Code blocks unchanged. Errors quoted exact. Pattern: `[thing] [action] [reason]. [next step].` Not: "Sure! I'd be happy to help you with that. The issue you're experiencing is likely caused by..." Yes: "Bug in auth middleware. Token expiry check use `<` not `<=`. Fix:" ## Intensity | Level | What change | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **lite** | No filler/hedging. Keep articles + full sentences. Professional but tight | | **full** | Drop articles, fragments OK, short synonyms. Classic caveman | | **ultra** | Abbreviate prose words (DB/auth/config/req/res/fn/impl), strip conjunctions, arrows for causality (X → Y), one word when one word enough. Code symbols, function names, API names, error strings: never abbreviate | | **wenyan-lite** | Semi-classical. Drop filler/hedging but keep grammar structure, classical register | | **wenyan-full** | Maximum classical terseness. Fully 文言文. 80-90% character reduction. Classical sentence patterns, verbs precede objects, subjects often omitted, classical particles (之/乃/為/其) | | **wenyan-ultra** | Extreme abbreviation while keeping classical Chinese feel. Maximum compression, ultra terse | Example — "Why React component re-render?" - lite: "Your component re-renders because you create a new object reference each render. Wrap it in `useMemo`." - full: "New object ref each render. Inline object prop = new ref = re-render. Wrap in `useMemo`." - ultra: "Inline obj prop → new ref → re-render. `useMemo`." - wenyan-lite: "組件頻重繪,以每繪新生對象參照故。以 useMemo 包之。" - wenyan-full: "物出新參照,致重繪。useMemo .Wrap之。" - wenyan-ultra: "新參照→重繪。useMemo Wrap。" Example — "Explain database connection pooling." - lite: "Connection pooling reuses open connections instead of creating new ones per request. Avoids repeated handshake overhead." - full: "Pool reuse open DB connections. No new connection per request. Skip handshake overhead." - ultra: "Pool = reuse DB conn. Skip handshake → fast under load." - wenyan-full: "池reuse open connection。不每req新開。skip handshake overhead。" - wenyan-ultra: "池reuse conn。skip handshake → fast。" ## Auto-Clarity Drop caveman when: - Security warnings - Irreversible action confirmations - Multi-step sequences where fragment order or omitted conjunctions risk misread - Compression itself creates technical ambiguity (e.g., `"migrate table drop column backup first"` — order unclear without articles/conjunctions) - User asks to clarify or repeats question Resume caveman after clear part done. Example — destructive op: > **Warning:** This will permanently delete all rows in the `users` table and cannot be undone. > > ```sql > DROP TABLE users; > ``` > > Caveman resume. Verify backup exist first. ## Boundaries Code/commits/PRs: write normal. "stop caveman" or "normal mode": revert. Level persist until changed or session end.
Related Skills
caveman-stats
Show real token usage and estimated savings for the current session. Reads directly from the Claude Code session log — no AI estimation. Triggers on /caveman-stats. Output is injected by the mode-tracker hook; the model itself does not compute the numbers.
caveman-review
Ultra-compressed code review comments. Cuts noise from PR feedback while preserving the actionable signal. Each comment is one line: location, problem, fix. Use when user says "review this PR", "code review", "review the diff", "/review", or invokes /caveman-review. Auto-triggers when reviewing pull requests.
caveman-help
Quick-reference card for all caveman modes, skills, and commands. One-shot display, not a persistent mode. Trigger: /caveman-help, "caveman help", "what caveman commands", "how do I use caveman".
caveman-compress
Compress natural language memory files (CLAUDE.md, todos, preferences) into caveman format to save input tokens. Preserves all technical substance, code, URLs, and structure. Compressed version overwrites the original file. Human-readable backup saved as FILE.original.md. Trigger: /caveman:compress FILEPATH or "compress memory file"
caveman-commit
Ultra-compressed commit message generator. Cuts noise from commit messages while preserving intent and reasoning. Conventional Commits format. Subject ≤50 chars, body only when "why" isn't obvious. Use when user says "write a commit", "commit message", "generate commit", "/commit", or invokes /caveman-commit. Auto-triggers when staging changes.
nx-workspace
Explore and understand Nx workspaces. USE WHEN answering questions about the workspace, projects, or tasks. ALSO USE WHEN an nx command fails or you need to check available targets/configuration before running a task. EXAMPLES: 'What projects are in this workspace?', 'How is project X configured?', 'What depends on library Y?', 'What targets can I run?', 'Cannot find configuration for task', 'debug nx task failure'.
nx-run-tasks
Helps with running tasks in an Nx workspace. USE WHEN the user wants to execute build, test, lint, serve, or run any other tasks defined in the workspace.
nx-plugins
Find and add Nx plugins. USE WHEN user wants to discover available plugins, install a new plugin, or add support for a specific framework or technology to the workspace.
nx-import
Import, merge, or combine repositories into an Nx workspace using nx import. USE WHEN the user asks to adopt Nx across repos, move projects into a monorepo, or bring code/history from another repository.
nx-generate
Generate code using nx generators. INVOKE IMMEDIATELY when user mentions scaffolding, setup, structure, creating apps/libs, or setting up project structure. Trigger words - scaffold, setup, create a ... app, create a ... lib, project structure, generate, add a new project. ALWAYS use this BEFORE calling nx_docs or exploring - this skill handles discovery internally.
monitor-ci
Monitor Nx Cloud CI pipeline and handle self-healing fixes. USE WHEN user says "monitor ci", "watch ci", "ci monitor", "watch ci for this branch", "track ci", "check ci status", wants to track CI status, or needs help with self-healing CI fixes. Prefer this skill over native CI provider tools (gh, glab, etc.) for CI monitoring — it integrates with Nx Cloud self-healing which those tools cannot access.
link-workspace-packages
Link workspace packages in monorepos (npm, yarn, pnpm, bun). USE WHEN: (1) you just created or generated new packages and need to wire up their dependencies, (2) user imports from a sibling package and needs to add it as a dependency, (3) you get resolution errors for workspace packages (@org/*) like "cannot find module", "failed to resolve import", "TS2307", or "cannot resolve". DO NOT patch around with tsconfig paths or manual package.json edits - use the package manager's workspace commands to fix actual linking.