Ultra-compressed commit message generator. Cuts noise from commit messages while preserving intent and reasoning. Conventional Commits format. Subject ≤50 chars, body only when "why" isn't obvious. Use when user says "write a commit", "commit message", "generate commit", "/commit", or invokes /caveman-commit. Auto-triggers when staging changes.
Installation
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
Ultra-compressed commit message generator. Cuts noise from commit messages while preserving intent and reasoning. Conventional Commits format. Subject ≤50 chars, body only when "why" isn't obvious. Use when user says "write a commit", "commit message", "generate commit", "/commit", or invokes /caveman-commit. Auto-triggers when staging changes.
Write commit messages terse and exact. Conventional Commits format. No fluff. Why over what.
Imperative mood: "add", "fix", "remove" — not "added", "adds", "adding"
≤50 chars when possible, hard cap 72
No trailing period
Match project convention for capitalization after the colon
Body (only if needed):
Skip entirely when subject is self-explanatory
Add body only for: non-obvious why, breaking changes, migration notes, linked issues
Wrap at 72 chars
Bullets - not *
Reference issues/PRs at end: Closes #42, Refs #17
What NEVER goes in:
"This commit does X", "I", "we", "now", "currently" — the diff says what
"As requested by..." — use Co-authored-by trailer
"Generated with Claude Code" or any AI attribution
Emoji (unless project convention requires)
Restating the file name when scope already says it
Examples
Diff: new endpoint for user profile with body explaining the why
❌ "feat: add a new endpoint to get user profile information from the database"
✅
feat(api): add GET /users/:id/profile
Mobile client needs profile data without the full user payload
to reduce LTE bandwidth on cold-launch screens.
Closes #128
Diff: breaking API change
✅
feat(api)!: rename /v1/orders to /v1/checkout
BREAKING CHANGE: clients on /v1/orders must migrate to /v1/checkout
before 2026-06-01. Old route returns 410 after that date.
Auto-Clarity
Always include body for: breaking changes, security fixes, data migrations, anything reverting a prior commit. Never compress these into subject-only — future debuggers need the context.
Boundaries
Only generates the commit message. Does not run git commit, does not stage files, does not amend. Output the message as a code block ready to paste. "stop caveman-commit" or "normal mode": revert to verbose commit style.
