mini-caveman

mini-caveman

A minimized, Claude Code-only extraction of the caveman toolkit by Julius Brussee. Strips all non-Claude runtimes and external dependencies down to the surface that matters: terse compressed responses in Claude Code, with no npm install, no pip install, no API keys beyond what you already have.

Security-audited for work-machine use. See docs/security-audit.md.

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What it does

Activates "caveman mode" on every session start. Claude replies with terse, technically accurate output — dropping articles, filler, pleasantries, and hedging — while keeping code blocks, error strings, paths, and commands exactly as-is.

Typical output token reduction: 65–75%. Technical accuracy: unchanged. Code/commits/PRs are always written in normal prose.

Safety valve: Claude automatically drops caveman for security warnings, irreversible-action confirmations, and any step where fragment order could be misread.

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Commands

Command	What it does
/caveman	Activate full mode (default)
/caveman lite	Drop filler; keep sentence structure and articles
/caveman full	Drop articles, filler, pleasantries, hedging; fragments OK
/caveman ultra	Maximum compression; abbreviate prose words; arrows for causality
/caveman wenyan-lite	Classical Chinese register, light compression
/caveman wenyan	Full 文言文; 80–90% character reduction
/caveman wenyan-ultra	Extreme classical compression
/caveman off	Deactivate for the session
normal mode	Natural language — same as /caveman off
/caveman-help	One-shot reference card
/caveman-compress <file>	Rewrite a Markdown file into caveman prose (input-token saver)

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/caveman-compress

Rewrites a Markdown memory file (e.g. CLAUDE.md, notes, todos) into compressed caveman prose so every future session that loads that file pays fewer input tokens.

• Saves a <name>.original.md backup before overwriting
• Preserves code blocks, inline code, URLs, file paths, commands, headings, and tables exactly — only natural-language prose is compressed
• Runs the rewrite in an isolated headless claude --print session so the current session never ingests the file contents
• Built-in denylist refuses files with sensitive names (.env, credentials.*, id_rsa, *.pem, etc.) before any read
• Note: the target file's prose is sent to Anthropic via the claude CLI — the same endpoint Claude Code already uses. Do not point it at restricted content.

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Subagents (cavecrew)

Three terse subagent presets that return compressed output. Because subagent tool results are injected verbatim into main context, compressed output extends how far the context budget goes across a long session.

Agent	Purpose
cavecrew-investigator	Read-only code locator — find symbols, callers, usages
cavecrew-builder	Surgical editor for 1–2 file changes when the site is already known
cavecrew-reviewer	Diff/file reviewer; returns structured findings, not prose

Use /cavecrew (the skill) to decide when delegation makes sense vs. working in the main thread.

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Default mode configuration

Default is full. Override via environment variable or config file.

Environment variable (highest priority):

export CAVEMAN_DEFAULT_MODE=lite

Config file:

// ~/.config/caveman/config.json  (macOS/Linux)
// %APPDATA%\caveman\config.json  (Windows)
{ "defaultMode": "lite" }

Set "off" to disable auto-activation on session start while keeping manual /caveman available.

Resolution order: CAVEMAN_DEFAULT_MODE env var > config file > full.

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Dependencies

None beyond what Claude Code already ships.

• Hooks and the compress script are pure Node stdlib — Node ships with Claude Code
• /caveman-compress additionally requires the claude CLI on PATH (already present if you are using Claude Code)
• No npm install, no pip install, no additional API keys

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Install

Option 1 — local marketplace (recommended):

/plugin marketplace add /i/ai/claude/mini-cavemen/mini-caveman
/plugin install mini-caveman

Option 2 — plugin dir flag at launch:

claude --plugin-dir /i/ai/claude/mini-cavemen/mini-caveman

After install, start a new session and say "talk like caveman" or run /caveman. Stop with "normal mode".

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Repository layout