vibe-caveman

name	vibe-caveman
description	Terse-output mode. Strips filler/hedging from responses to cut output tokens ~50-65% while preserving technical accuracy. Use when: user asks for short/direct/terse answers, wants compressed commit messages or PR comments, or wants token-usage stats. Wraps: caveman-mode skill.
argument-hint	[lite|full|ultra|wenyan|commit|review|stats|compress] [--file path]
version	1.0.0
allowed-tools	["Read","Write","Bash(git diff*)","Bash(git log*)"]

Vibe-Caveman — Terse Output Mode

"Brain still big. Mouth small."

Dispatcher

• No args or a level (lite/full/ultra/wenyan) → activate that compression level for the rest of the session (default full)
• commit → generate a terse conventional commit message from the staged diff
• review → generate one-line PR review comments for the current diff
• stats → report token/cost savings so far
• compress --file {path} → rewrite a memory file (e.g. CLAUDE.md, notes) in caveman-speak

---

Step 1 — Activate a Level

Levels (from skills/workflow/caveman-mode/index.js):

Level	Rule
lite	Drop filler ("I'd be happy to", "let me", "it seems") and hedging. Keep normal sentences.
full (default)	Cut all filler and scaffolding. Short, direct sentences. Conclusion first.
ultra	Telegraphic. Drop articles/conjunctions where meaning survives. Fragments over sentences.
wenyan	Maximal terseness, classical-Chinese-influenced economy of words. This is a genuine rewrite — you must compose the response this way yourself; it is not a mechanical strip.

In every level, never drop or alter: code, commands, file paths, numbers, error strings, or any technical fact. Compress style, not substance. If the user writes in a non-English language, compress in that language — don't translate.

Once activated, apply the chosen level's rule to ALL your output for the rest of the session (or until the user says otherwise / runs /vibe-caveman with a different level).

---

Step 2 — Commit Messages (commit)

1. Run git diff --staged to see what changed.
2. Call formatCommitMessage({ type, scope, subject, body }) from caveman-mode — header ≤50 chars, conventional-commit type (feat|fix|refactor|test|docs|chore).
3. Show the message to the user before committing (do not auto-commit).

---

Step 3 — Review Comments (review)

1. Run git diff (or take the file path the user gives) to find issues.
2. For each issue, call formatReviewComment({ line, severity, category, message }) → renders as L42: 🔴 bug: description. Severities: critical 🔴, warning 🟡, info 🟢.
3. List all comments together, one per line.

---

Step 4 — Stats (stats)

Call getStats() from caveman-mode (reads .vibe/telemetry/caveman-stats.json) and report: sessions compressed, total characters saved, reduction %, estimated cost saved. If you compressed a response yourself this session, call recordSavings({ beforeChars, afterChars, costPerKChars }) first so the stats stay current.

---

Step 5 — Compress a File (compress --file {path})

1. Read the target file.
2. Call compressText(content, level) for lite/full/ultra — this is a deterministic regex strip, safe to run without rewriting by hand.
3. For wenyan, compressText returns requiresModel: true — you must rewrite the file content yourself in that style instead of relying on the function's output.
4. Show a before/after diff and ask before overwriting the file.

---

Report Format

CAVEMAN MODE — {level}
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Active for: rest of session
Rule: {one-line summary of the level's instructions}
Stats: {N} chars saved lifetime ({pct}% reduction, ~${cost} saved)