--- name: caveman-compress description: >- Compress a memory file such as CLAUDE.md or a todo list into caveman format to save input tokens, keeping a readable backup. Sends the file's text to the configured model provider. Trigger: /caveman-compress. title: caveman-compress canonical_url: https://skilld.dev/gh/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress last_updated: 2026-10-13T20:11:21.000Z --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://skilld.dev/llms.txt) > **Skill from skilld.dev.** Follow the user's requested action. > If the user asked to fork this Skill, follow the fork workflow below. Do not execute the Skill instructions while copying it. > Otherwise, follow the instructions below for this session. You do not need to install anything. > > Supporting files, fetch one when the Skill refers to it: [README.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress/README.md), [scripts/__init__.py](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress/scripts/__init__.py), [scripts/__main__.py](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress/scripts/__main__.py), [scripts/benchmark.py](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress/scripts/benchmark.py), [scripts/cli.py](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress/scripts/cli.py), [scripts/compress.py](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py), [scripts/detect.py](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress/scripts/detect.py), [scripts/validate.py](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress/scripts/validate.py), [SECURITY.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress/SECURITY.md). > > If the user asked to install this Skill, run `npx skilld install juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress`. Install writes the Skill files into the project, so every session loads them. > > ## Fork workflow > > A fork creates an editable local Skill with its original author and licence. The request authorizes copying and local installation. > 1. Check `./skills/caveman-compress`, the project lockfile, and selected Agent targets together. If the local directory or installed Skill exists, stop. Never overwrite an existing directory or Agent target. > 2. Read [source metadata](https://skilld.dev/api/v1/skills/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-compress) once. Use sourceUrl, sourceCommit, skillPath, sourceGone, and license. If the source is gone or its path is missing, stop. If license is null, read licence files at the source commit. > 3. Fetch only the source commit into a temporary Git repository. Do not clone full history. Derive repository_url from sourceUrl, including repository renames. If sourceCommit is absent, resolve the sourceUrl ref once. Set source_commit to that actual commit. Run these commands in one shell call: > > ```sh > git init --quiet "$temporary_dir" > git -C "$temporary_dir" fetch --quiet --depth=1 "$repository_url" "$source_commit" > git -C "$temporary_dir" checkout --quiet --detach FETCH_HEAD > ``` > > Read applicable licence declarations and notices at that commit. If copying is not permitted, report the restriction and stop. > 4. Inspect source entries together, then copy the directory containing skillPath into `./skills/caveman-compress`. Use the user's path if selected. Keep the original SKILL.md, relative links, scripts, binary assets, and executable modes. Exclude .git metadata. Reject symlinks and paths outside the Skill directory. After checking entries, use cp -a where available. A regular source directory needs no custom copy script. Do not save this page wrapper as SKILL.md. > Preserve author credit, notices, and applicable licence files from repository or parent directories. Add PROVENANCE.md with the Skill page, source URL, actual commit, original path, and licence. Retain any existing PROVENANCE.md and record new provenance separately. Batch source inspection, copying, and provenance work where practical. > 5. In the project root, run `skilld install ./skills/caveman-compress --mode copy --plain`. If skilld is unavailable, use `npx skilld install ./skills/caveman-compress --mode copy --plain`. This known command needs no help lookup. Install does not support --json. Use detected Agent targets, or add --agent for the targets the user selected. Install the local path, never the upstream selector. If installation fails, preserve the local copy and report the exact failure. > 6. Confirm the local lockfile source and installed Agent copies once. Report the local path, actual commit, and Agent targets. After edits, reinstall the same local path. Upstream updates must not replace it. Do not publish or push unless the user asks. # Caveman Compress ## Purpose > **Data leaves the machine.** Compression sends the file's full text to the model provider that `scripts/compress.py` is configured for: the `claude` CLI, the Anthropic API, or an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Files whose names look like secrets (`.env`, `credentials`, `secrets`, `.netrc`, …) are refused before they are read. Don't compress a file the provider shouldn't see. Compress natural language files (CLAUDE.md, todos, preferences) into caveman-speak to reduce input tokens. Compressed version overwrites original. Human-readable backup saved as `.original.md`, but NOT beside the source file — it lives in an out-of-tree data dir (`$XDG_DATA_HOME/caveman-compress/backups//`, or `%LOCALAPPDATA%\caveman-compress\backups\\` on Windows) so skill auto-loaders don't re-ingest it as a live file. ## Trigger `/caveman-compress ` or when user asks to compress a memory file. **Requires an explicit filepath.** If the user pastes raw text instead of naming a file, do NOT improvise an inline compression — ask them for the filepath to compress, or offer to save the pasted text to a file first. Writing your own reasoning/commentary about the request into the compressed output (e.g. "User passed text directly, not a filepath...") is the exact failure this guards against — never let that leak into a saved file. ## Process 1. The compression scripts live in `scripts/` (adjacent to this SKILL.md). If the path is not immediately available, search for `scripts/__main__.py` next to this SKILL.md. 2. From the directory containing this SKILL.md, run: python3 -m scripts 3. The CLI will: - detect file type (no tokens) - call Claude to compress - validate output (no tokens) - if errors: cherry-pick fix with Claude (targeted fixes only, no recompression) - retry up to 2 times - if still failing after 2 retries: report error to user, leave original file untouched 4. Return result to user ## Compression Rules ### Remove - Articles: a, an, the - Filler: just, really, basically, actually, simply, essentially, generally - Pleasantries: "sure", "certainly", "of course", "happy to", "I'd recommend" - Hedging: "it might be worth", "you could consider", "it would be good to" - Redundant phrasing: "in order to" → "to", "make sure to" → "ensure", "the reason is because" → "because" - Connective fluff: "however", "furthermore", "additionally", "in addition" ### Preserve EXACTLY (never modify) - Code blocks (fenced ``` and indented) - Inline code (`backtick content`) - URLs and links (full URLs, markdown links) - File paths (`/src/components/...`, `./config.yaml`) - Commands (`npm install`, `git commit`, `docker build`) - Technical terms (library names, API names, protocols, algorithms) - Proper nouns (project names, people, companies) - Dates, version numbers, numeric values - Environment variables (`$HOME`, `NODE_ENV`) ### Preserve Structure - All markdown headings (keep exact heading text, compress body below) - Bullet point hierarchy (keep nesting level) - Numbered lists (keep numbering) - Tables (compress cell text, keep structure) - Frontmatter/YAML headers in markdown files ### Compress - Use short synonyms: "big" not "extensive", "fix" not "implement a solution for", "use" not "utilize" - Fragments OK: "Run tests before commit" not "You should always run tests before committing" - Drop "you should", "make sure to", "remember to" — just state the action - Merge redundant bullets that say the same thing differently - Keep one example where multiple examples show the same pattern CRITICAL RULE: Anything inside ``` ... ``` must be copied EXACTLY. Do not: - remove comments - remove spacing - reorder lines - shorten commands - simplify anything Inline code (`...`) must be preserved EXACTLY. Do not modify anything inside backticks. If file contains code blocks: - Treat code blocks as read-only regions - Only compress text outside them - Do not merge sections around code ## Pattern Original: > You should always make sure to run the test suite before pushing any changes to the main branch. This is important because it helps catch bugs early and prevents broken builds from being deployed to production. Compressed: > Run tests before push to main. Catch bugs early, prevent broken prod deploys. Original: > The application uses a microservices architecture with the following components. The API gateway handles all incoming requests and routes them to the appropriate service. The authentication service is responsible for managing user sessions and JWT tokens. Compressed: > Microservices architecture. API gateway route all requests to services. Auth service manage user sessions + JWT tokens. ## Boundaries - ONLY compress natural language files (.md, .txt, .typ, .typst, .tex, extensionless) - NEVER modify: .py, .js, .ts, .json, .yaml, .yml, .toml, .env, .lock, .css, .html, .xml, .sql, .sh - If file has mixed content (prose + code), compress ONLY the prose sections - If unsure whether something is code or prose, leave it unchanged - Original file is backed up as FILE.original.md before overwriting — in the out-of-tree backup data dir (see Purpose), not beside the source file - Never compress FILE.original.md (skip it)