Caveman Plus

Install

Install as a Claude Code plugin:

claude plugin marketplace add 88plug/caveman-plus
claude plugin install caveman-plus@caveman-plus

Or install for every supported agent with one script:

# macOS / Linux / WSL / Git Bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/88plug/caveman-plus/main/install.sh | bash

# Windows (PowerShell 5.1+)
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/88plug/caveman-plus/main/install.ps1 | iex

The script needs Node 18 or newer, takes about 30 seconds, skips agents you do not have, and is safe to re-run. Full matrix and per-agent flags are in INSTALL.md.

Quickstart

After install, turn it on in any session:

• Type /caveman (or say "talk like caveman").
• Ask a question. The reply comes back compressed.
• Turn it off with "normal mode" or "stop caveman".

The result is visible in the first reply. A verbose answer like this:

The reason your React component is re-rendering is likely because you're creating a new object reference on each render cycle. When you pass an inline object as a prop, React's shallow comparison sees it as a different object every time, which triggers a re-render. I'd recommend using useMemo to memoize the object.

becomes this, with the same fix:

New object ref each render. Inline object prop = new ref = re-render. Wrap in useMemo.

Same answer, far fewer tokens.

[!NOTE] caveman-plus changes output tokens only. Reasoning and thinking tokens are untouched, so the model is not made less capable. The main wins are readability, speed, and lower output cost.

What it does

caveman-plus installs a skill that instructs the agent to drop filler, pleasantries, hedging, and articles while keeping every piece of technical substance: code blocks, function names, API names, paths, and error strings stay byte-exact. You get the same correctness in a fraction of the words.

This is the 88plug edition. It ships full-plus as the default intensity, an English-only mode tuned for artifact-first replies (newest ask only, one default path, smallest usable artifact, plain prose for explainers, direct root-cause-plus-fix for bugs).

It is a fork of JuliusBrussee/caveman. Credit for the original caveman goes to Julius Brussee.

Features

• Compresses every reply until you turn it off; the chosen intensity persists for the session.
• Seven intensity levels, switchable with one command.
• Slash commands for commits, PR review, session stats, and memory-file compression.
• Statusline badge in Claude Code showing lifetime tokens saved.
• Caveman subagents that keep your main context window lasting longer.
• MCP middleware that compresses tool descriptions from any MCP server.
• Works across Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Copilot, and 30+ more agents.

Intensity levels

Switch with /caveman <level>. Levels stick until the session ends.

Level	What it does
lite	Drop filler and hedging; keep articles and full sentences. Professional but tight.
full	Drop articles, allow fragments, use short synonyms. Classic caveman.
full-plus	English-only full tuned for artifact-first replies. 88plug edition default.
ultra	Abbreviate prose words, strip conjunctions, use arrows for causality, one word where one word works. Code and error strings never abbreviated.
wenyan-lite	Semi-classical Chinese register; keep grammar, drop filler.
wenyan-full	Maximum classical Chinese terseness (文言文), 80-90% character reduction.
wenyan-ultra	Extreme classical-Chinese abbreviation. Maximum compression.

Auto-activation is built in for Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini. Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and Copilot get always-on rule files via --with-init. Other agents activate per session with /caveman.

Commands and skills