caveman adoption decision

README excerpt

README.md

caveman

why use many token when few do trick

Before/After •

Install •

Levels •

Skills •

Benchmarks •

Evals

🪨 Caveman Ecosystem ·

caveman talk less (you are here) ·

cavemem remember more ·

cavekit build better

A Claude Code skill/plugin and Codex plugin that makes agent talk like caveman — cutting ~75% of output tokens while keeping full technical accuracy. Now with 文言文 mode, terse commits, one-line code reviews, and a compression tool that cuts ~46% of input tokens every session.

Based on the viral observation that caveman-speak dramatically reduces LLM token usage without losing technical substance. So we made it a one-line install.

📜 文言文

"物出新參照，致重繪。useMemo Wrap之。"

Same answer. You pick how many word.

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  TOKENS SAVED          ████████ 75% │
│  TECHNICAL ACCURACY    ████████ 100%│
│  SPEED INCREASE        ████████ ~3x │
│  VIBES                 ████████ OOG │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

• Faster response — less token to generate = speed go brrr
• Easier to read — no wall of text, just the answer
• Same accuracy — all technical info kept, only fluff removed (science say so)
• Save money — ~71% less output token = less cost
• Fun — every code review become comedy

Install

Pick your agent. One command. Done.

Install once. Use in every session for that install target after that. One rock. That it.

What You Get

Auto-activation is built in for Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and the repo-local Codex setup below. npx skills add installs the skill for other agents, but does not install repo rule/instruction files, so Caveman does not auto-start there unless you add the always-on snippet below.

[!NOTE]

Auto-activation works differently per agent: Claude Code uses SessionStart hooks, this repo's Codex dogfood setup uses .codex/hooks.json, Gemini uses context files. Cursor/Windsurf/Cline/Copilot can be made always-on, but npx skills add installs only the skill, not the repo rule/instruction files.

>

¹ Codex uses $caveman syntax, not /caveman. This repo ships .codex/hooks.json, so caveman auto-starts when you run Codex inside this repo. The installed plugin itself gives you $caveman; copy the same hook into another repo if you want always-on behavior there too. caveman-commit and caveman-review are not in the Codex plugin bundle — use the SKILL.md files directly.

² Add the "Want it always on?" snippet below to those agents' system prompt or rule file if you want session-start activation.

³ Cursor and Windsurf receive the full SKILL.md with all intensity levels. Mode switching works on-demand via the skill; no slash command.

⁴ Available in Claude Code, but plugin install only nudges setup. Standalone install.sh / install.ps1 configures it automatically when no custom statusLine exists.

claude plugin marketplace add JuliusBrussee/caveman
claude plugin install caveman@caveman

Standalone hooks (without plugin): If you prefer not to use the plugin system:

## Usage

Trigger with:
- `/caveman` or Codex `$caveman`
- "talk like caveman"
- "caveman mode"
- "less tokens please"

Stop with: "stop caveman" or "normal mode"

SKILL.md excerpt

skills/caveman/SKILL.md

Respond terse like smart caveman. All technical substance stay. Only fluff die.

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

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 for: security warnings, irreversible action confirmations, multi-step sequences where fragment order risks misread, 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.