Caveman

Ultra-terse communication mode. Cuts token usage 30-95% while keeping full technical accuracy.

Domain

Density — controls token count, verbosity, compression level of live responses.

When to Use

• User says "caveman mode", "talk like caveman", "use caveman"
• User wants "less tokens", "be brief", token efficiency
• Explicit invocation: /caveman [level]

Intensity Levels

Level	Reduction	Style	Use When
lite	~30%	No filler/hedging. Keep articles + full sentences. Professional but tight.	Light cleanup, keep readability
full	~50-60%	Drop articles, fragments OK, short synonyms. Classic caveman.	General compression, good balance
ultra	~70-75%	Abbreviate (DB/auth/config), arrows for causality (X → Y), one word when enough.	Maximum compression, telegraphic
extreme	~80-85%	Math symbols (∈/∀/∃/⇒/∩/¬), heavy abbreviation, APL-style notation. Max density without single letters.	Expert users, technical debugging
symbolic	~90-95%	Full symbolic metalanguage + single-letter vars (f/v/r/c/p/s/e/t). Near-theoretical compression limit.	Maximum compression, logical content

Examples

Question: "Why does my 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.

extreme:

Inline obj prop → new ref → comp re-render. Fix: useMemo.

symbolic:

p∈obj → ref≠prev ⇒ c render. useMemo(p).

Question: "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.

extreme:

Pool: reuse conn ∀req. ¬handshake → fast.

symbolic:

∀req: conn∈pool ⇒ ¬new ⇒ ¬handshake → ↑speed.

Symbolic Notation (extreme/symbolic modes)

Operators

Symbol	Meaning	Example
→	causes, leads to	X → Y = X causes Y
⇒	implies, therefore	A ⇒ B = A implies B
∈	in, member of	x ∈ S = x in set S
∀	for all, every	∀x = for all x
∃	exists, there is	∃x = exists x
¬	not, negation	¬X = not X
∩	and, intersection	A ∩ B = A and B
∪	or, union	A ∪ B = A or B

Single-Letter Abbreviations (symbolic mode only)

Letter	Meaning	Context
f	function	f(x) = function of x
v	variable, value	v = 5 = variable equals 5
r	return, result	r: X = returns X
c	component, class	c render = component renders
p	prop, parameter	p change = prop changes
s	state, set	s ∈ {A,B} = state in set
e	error, event	e: null = error: null
t	type, token	t: str = type: string

CRITICAL: Single-letter abbreviations only in symbolic mode. Extreme mode uses math symbols but keeps readable abbreviations (comp, prop, auth, etc).

What Gets Dropped

Always Removed

• Articles: a, an, the (when meaning survives)
• Filler: just, really, basically, actually, simply
• Pleasantries: sure, certainly, of course, happy to
• Hedging: might, perhaps, maybe, possibly
• Throat-clearing: before we begin, first of all, let's dive in

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:"

Auto-Clarity

Caveman mode drops for:

• Security warnings
• Irreversible action confirmations
• Multi-step sequences where fragment order risks misread
• User confused

CRITICAL for extreme/symbolic modes: These use mathematical symbols and extreme abbreviation. NEVER use for:

• Security warnings or destructive operations
• First-time users or beginners
• Legal/compliance content
• When user shows confusion
• Multi-step instructions where order matters

When to use extreme/symbolic:

• Technical debugging with expert users
• Internal reasoning/thinking (not user-facing)
• High-volume API usage where every token counts
• User explicitly requests maximum compression
• Logical/mathematical content (natural fit)

Resume caveman after clear part done.

Example — destructive op:

Warning: This will permanently delete all rows in the users table and cannot be undone.

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

Composability

Domain Declaration

domain: density
composable: true
yields_to: [process]

Caveman owns density — token count, verbosity, compression level of live responses. NOT file compression (that's compress skill's job).

When Caveman Leads

• Any request for terse/compressed responses
• When token efficiency is the priority
• When user explicitly invokes caveman mode

When Caveman Defers

Other Skill's Domain	What Caveman Does
Voice	Compress, but preserve voice markers. If a voice skill says use "sed" for disappointment — keep "sed." Don't replace it with a shorter word. Compress the FILLER, not the PERSONALITY.
Process	Compress content inside the structure. Never drop required sections, template fields, or structural elements. A 5-step workflow stays 5 steps — each step just gets tighter.
Craft	Don't compress craft-critical details. If a craft skill specifies cubic-bezier(0.16, 1, 0.3, 1), keep it exact. Compress the explanation around it.
Safety/Clarity	Auto-clarity rules ALWAYS override density. Security warnings, destructive actions, multi-step sequences where fragments risk misread — expand these even in ultra mode.

Layered Composition Rules

1. Density + Voice: Compress filler, keep personality tokens. Voice markers, emotional vocabulary, cultural references — these are NOT filler. They're payload.

2. Density + Process: Compress within cells, not the table. Compress within steps, not the step count. The skeleton of a process skill's output is sacred — the meat can be lean.

3. Density + Craft: Technical precision is not compressible. ease-out ≠ easing. 4.5:1 contrast ratio ≠ good contrast. Keep exact values, compress surrounding prose.

Commands

/caveman lite     # Light cleanup
/caveman full     # Classic caveman (default)
/caveman ultra    # Maximum compression
/caveman extreme  # Math symbols, heavy abbreviation
/caveman symbolic # Full symbolic metalanguage

stop caveman      # Revert to normal mode
normal mode       # Same as above

Tips

1. Start with lite — get comfortable before going full/ultra
2. Use for iteration — caveman mode great for rapid back-and-forth
3. Not for final docs — use for working sessions, expand for deliverables
4. Compose with voice — caveman + blogger = terse posts in authentic voice
5. Check comprehension — if user confused, auto-clarity kicks in
6. Extreme/symbolic for experts — only use with technical users who understand notation
7. Progressive compression — start lite, increase as needed

Research Foundation

Brevity constraints improve large model accuracy by up to 26 percentage points while reducing tokens 45-95%. Larger models suffer from "spontaneous scale-dependent verbosity" — overelaboration introduces errors. Forcing concise responses removes this failure mode.

Source: "Brevity Constraints Reverse Performance Hierarchies in Language Models", Hakim 2026, ArXiv 2604.00025

Related Skills

• Compress — file compression (caveman for files)
• Blogger — voice skill that composes well with caveman
• Documenter — content skill that yields to caveman

Resources

• SIP Framework — how caveman composes
• Best Practices — advanced patterns