---
title: "caveman"
type: "tool"
slug: "juliusbrussee-caveman"
canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/tools/juliusbrussee-caveman"
github_url: "https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman"
homepage_url: "https://caveman.so/"
stars: 86150
forks: 4795
primary_language: "JavaScript"
license: "MIT"
categories: ["llm-frameworks", "developer-tools"]
tags: ["llm", "ai", "tokens", "claude-code", "anthropic", "prompt-engineering"]
updated_at: "2026-07-07T18:58:06.658677+00:00"
---

# caveman

> Cuts 65% of tokens in AI coding agent responses.

A skill/plugin for various AI agents, including Claude Code and other platforms, reducing output tokens for more concise, direct communication while maintaining accuracy.

## Facts

- Repository: https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman
- Homepage: https://caveman.so/
- Stars: 86,150 · Forks: 4,795 · Open issues: 370 · Watchers: 199
- Primary language: JavaScript
- License: MIT
- Last pushed: 2026-07-03T11:10:42+00:00

## Categories

- [LLM Frameworks](/categories/llm-frameworks.md)
- [Developer Tools](/categories/developer-tools.md)

## Tags

llm, ai, tokens, claude-code, anthropic, prompt-engineering

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## README (excerpt)

```text
<p align="center">
  <img src="docs/assets/caveman-logo-banner.png" alt="Caveman" width="720">
</p>

<p align="center">
  <strong>why use many token when few do trick</strong>
</p>

<p align="center">
  Make your AI coding agent talk like a caveman.<br>
  Same answers, <strong>65% fewer output tokens</strong>. Brain still big. Mouth small.
</p>

<p align="center">
  <a href="https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman/stargazers"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/JuliusBrussee/caveman?style=flat&color=yellow" alt="Stars"></a>
  <a href="./INSTALL.md"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/works_with-30%2B_agents-orange?style=flat" alt="30+ agents"></a>
  <a href="https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman/commits/main"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/JuliusBrussee/caveman?style=flat" alt="Last commit"></a>
  <a href="LICENSE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/license/JuliusBrussee/caveman?style=flat" alt="License"></a>
</p>

<p align="center">
  <a href="#before--after">See it</a> ·
  <a href="#install">Install</a> ·
  <a href="#pick-your-grunt">Levels</a> ·
  <a href="#what-you-get">What you get</a> ·
  <a href="#benchmarks">Benchmarks</a> ·
  <a href="#the-whole-cave">Ecosystem</a> ·
  <a href="#caveman-2">Caveman 2</a>
</p>

---

Caveman is a skill/plugin for [Claude Code](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code), Codex, Gemini, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Copilot, and 30+ other agents. Install once. Agent drops the filler and answers in tight caveman-speak, keeping code, commands, and errors byte-for-byte exact. You save output tokens on every reply, forever.

## Before / After

<table>
<tr>
<th width="50%">🗣️ Normal agent — 69 tokens</th>
<th width="50%"><img src="docs/assets/dancing-rock.svg" width="18" height="18" alt=""> Caveman agent — 19 tokens</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">

> 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.

</td>
<td valign="top">

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

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">

> Sure! I'd be happy to help you with that. The issue you're experiencing is most likely caused by your authentication middleware not properly validating the token expiry. Let me take a look and suggest a fix.

</td>
<td valign="top">

> Bug in auth middleware. Token expiry check use `<` not `<=`. Fix:

</td>
</tr>
</table>

Same fix. Third of the words. Nothing technical lost.

```
┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   output tokens saved   █████████       65% │
│   input tokens saved    ░░░░░░░░░         0% │
│   technical accuracy    █████████      100% │
│   vibes                 █████████       OOG │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

Caveman no make brain smaller. Caveman make *mouth* smaller. Shrinks what the agent **says**, not what it knows.

## Install

**One command. Finds every agent on your machine. Installs for each.**

```bash
# macOS · Linux · WSL · Git Bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman/main/install.sh | bash
```

```powershell
# Windows · PowerShell 5.1+
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman/main/install.ps1 | iex
```

~30 seconds. Needs Node ≥18. Skips agents you no have. Safe to re-run.

> [!TIP]
> **Turn it on:** type `/caveman` or say *"talk like caveman"*. **Turn it off:** say *"normal mode"*. On Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini it's already on from message one. No command needed.

<details>
<summary><strong>Install for one agent, or any of 30+ others</strong></summary>

<br>

Every agent has its own path (plugin, extension, rule file, or `npx skills add`). The full per-agent matrix, all flags, dry-run, and uninstall live in **[INSTA
```

---

**Machine-readable endpoints**

- JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/tools/juliusbrussee-caveman`](/api/graphcanon/tools/juliusbrussee-caveman)
- LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt)
- Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt)

_GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_