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juliusbrussee on GitHub

Caveman Help

Free

Quick-reference for Caveman commands and modes.

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Free · Opens the source repo

What Caveman Help does

Caveman Help is a straightforward reference tool designed for users of the Caveman command interface. When invoked, it provides a one-shot display of available modes and skills without altering the current mode or writing persistent files. This makes it particularly useful for users who need quick access to commands without the overhead of navigating through extensive documentation or remembering complex syntax. The command can be triggered using phrases like /caveman-help, caveman help, or what caveman commands.

The skill categorizes its functionality into various modes, each offering a different level of verbosity. Users can choose from modes like Lite, Full, Ultra, and Wenyan styles, which adjust the output style to suit their needs, whether they prefer detailed explanations or terse fragments. This flexibility allows developers and designers to communicate in a way that best fits their workflow, enhancing productivity and clarity.

In addition to modes, Caveman Help outlines several skills that can be utilized within the Caveman framework. These include commands for generating concise commit messages, providing one-line pull request comments, and compressing Markdown files into more efficient prose. This integration of skills allows users to streamline their development processes, making it an invaluable resource for anyone working in a collaborative coding environment.

Overall, Caveman Help is aimed at developers and designers who utilize the Caveman command interface and require a quick, efficient way to reference commands and modes. Its one-shot display format ensures that users can access the information they need without disrupting their current workflow, making it a practical addition to any developer's toolkit.

When to use it

Use this skill when you need a quick reference for Caveman commands and modes without altering your current session.

When not to use it

This skill is not suitable for users who require persistent changes or detailed documentation, as it only provides a temporary display of information.

What you can build with it

Quick Command Lookup

When you forget a specific command in Caveman, use `/caveman-help` to instantly recall it.

Adjusting Output Style

If you need to switch to a more concise output, simply invoke the appropriate mode before running your commands.

Streamlining Development Workflows

Use Caveman Help to quickly access skills like `/caveman-commit` to enhance your commit message efficiency.

How to install Caveman Help

View source

1. Install with the skills CLI

npx skills add juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-help --agent claude-code

2. Or install it manually

Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.

Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs

Inside SKILL.md

Written by juliusbrussee

Caveman Help

Display this reference card when invoked. One-shot — do NOT change mode, write flag files, or persist anything. Output in caveman style.

Modes

ModeTriggerWhat change
Lite/caveman liteDrop filler. Keep sentence structure.
Full/cavemanDrop articles, filler, pleasantries, hedging. Fragments OK. Default.
Ultra/caveman ultraExtreme compression. Bare fragments. Tables over prose.
Wenyan-Lite/caveman wenyan-liteClassical Chinese style, light compression.
Wenyan-Full/caveman wenyanFull 文言文. Maximum classical terseness.
Wenyan-Ultra/caveman wenyan-ultraExtreme. Ancient scholar on a budget.

Mode stick until changed or session end.

Skills

SkillTriggerWhat it do
caveman-commit/caveman-commitTerse commit messages. Conventional Commits. ≤50 char subject.
caveman-review/caveman-reviewOne-line PR comments: L42: bug: user null. Add guard.
caveman-compress/caveman-compress <file>Compress .md files to caveman prose. Saves ~46% input tokens.
caveman-help/caveman-helpThis card.

Deactivate

Say "stop caveman" or "normal mode". Resume anytime with /caveman.

Language

Keep user's language by default. User write Portuguese → reply Portuguese caveman. Compress the style, not the language. Technical terms, code, commands, commit types, and exact error strings stay verbatim unless user ask for translation.

Configure Default Mode

Default mode = full. Change it:

Environment variable (highest priority):

export CAVEMAN_DEFAULT_MODE=ultra

Config file (~/.config/caveman/config.json macOS/Linux, %APPDATA%\caveman\config.json Windows):

{ "defaultMode": "lite" }

Set "off" to disable auto-activation on session start. User can still activate manually with /caveman.

Resolution: env var > config file > full.

More

Full docs: https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman

Frequently asked questions about Caveman Help

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