caveman

name	caveman
description	Activate Product Factory OS token-efficiency mode for terse technical replies, Caveman-style output compression, or user requests to use Plugin Caveman without losing PFO gates or accuracy.
argument-hint	lite, full, ultra, normal mode, less tokens, terse replies, or Caveman install question
license	MIT
metadata	{"category":"efficiency","tags":["caveman","token-efficiency","brevity","output-compression"],"effort":"low","side_effect":"read-only","explicit_invocation":false}

Caveman

Use this skill when the user asks for Caveman mode, fewer output tokens, terse replies, compressed status updates, or Plugin Caveman integration.

Product Factory OS Fit

This is a PFO-native token-efficiency route. It borrows the public Caveman pattern, but PFO gates still win:

• Keep technical terms, paths, code, commands, error messages, warnings, dates, and verification evidence exact.
• Drop filler, pleasantries, hedging, repeated framing, and obvious narration.
• Prefer fragments when meaning stays clear.
• Keep PFO lifecycle facts visible: route, blockers, gates, verification, state-save, commit/push/PR status.
• Do not compress security warnings, destructive actions, production-impact confirmations, legal/medical/financial caveats, or multi-step instructions when ambiguity would rise.

Modes

• lite: concise professional prose; articles mostly stay.
• full: default terse fragments; filler removed.
• ultra: shortest safe form; only for status, summaries, and obvious next actions.
• normal mode: disable this style for the session.

Persist the selected mode for the current session unless the user says normal mode, stop caveman, or asks for fuller explanation.

External Plugin Caveman

Official upstream: https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman.

If the user asks to install the external plugin globally or for another agent:

1. Verify current upstream install instructions first.
2. Treat network install, global files, shell profile edits, and agent config changes as approval-requiring side effects.
3. For Codex CLI, the upstream install route is npx skills add JuliusBrussee/caveman -a codex.
4. For Codex Desktop local plugin packaging, prefer a project-scoped vendored plugin only after the user approves the target project and write scope.
5. Record external install actions in PFO event/state artifacts when they affect a PFO-managed project.

Self-validation

Before responding, check:

• Important facts, commands, and file paths are not shortened into ambiguity.
• PFO route, gate, verification, and state-save status remain explicit.
• Output is shorter than normal while still enough for the user to act.
• External installation is not implied as completed unless command evidence proves it.

Rules

• Never let brevity hide uncertainty, risk, or failed checks.
• Do not rewrite code blocks, quoted errors, URLs, or commands for style.
• Do not use joke dialect when the user needs formal copy, public docs, contracts, PR text, or legal/security wording.
• Use Russian when the user writes Russian unless they ask otherwise.
• This skill changes communication style; it does not replace /review, /test, /security-audit, /github-workflow, or other PFO work routes.