---
name: caveman-help
description: >-
  Quick-reference card for the three caveman skills and their commands. Trigger: /caveman-help or "caveman help".
title: caveman-help
canonical_url: https://skilld.dev/gh/juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-help
last_updated: 2026-10-08T15:31:41.000Z
---

> 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-help/README.md).
>
> If the user asked to install this Skill, run `npx skilld install juliusbrussee/caveman/caveman-help`. 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-help`, 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-help) 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-help`. 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-help --mode copy --plain`. If skilld is unavailable, use `npx skilld install ./skills/caveman-help --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 Help

Display this reference card when invoked. One-shot — do NOT change mode, write flag files, or persist anything. Output in caveman style.

## Modes

| Mode | Trigger | What change |
|------|---------|-------------|
| **caveman** | `/caveman` | The voice. Answer first, no fluff, every fact kept. Default. |
| **ultracave** | `/ultracave` (alias `/caveman ultra`) | Grammar stripped. Fragments, one word when enough, each fact once. |
| **megacave** | `/megacave` (alias `/caveman wenyan`) | Classical Chinese 文言文. Far fewer characters, technical terms verbatim. |

Mode stick until changed or session end.
`/caveman status` reports current mode without changing it. Claude Code and the standalone OpenCode plugin read stored state; other hosts answer from the conversation and mark it `(not tracked by this host)`.

## Skills

| Skill | Trigger | What it do |
|-------|---------|-----------|
| **caveman-commit** | `/caveman-commit` | Terse commit messages. Conventional Commits. ≤50 char subject. |
| **caveman-review** | `/caveman-review` | One-line PR comments: `L42: bug: user null. Add guard.` |
| **caveman-compress** | `/caveman-compress <file>` | Compress .md files to caveman prose. 33.2% fewer tokens on the repo's five test files. |
| **caveman-help** | `/caveman-help` | This card. |

## Deactivate

Say "stop caveman" or "normal mode". Resume anytime with `/caveman`.

## Language

Keep user's language by default — reply in the language user writes, never switch regardless of example text or multilingual context elsewhere. Compress the style, not the language. Technical terms, code, commands, commit types, and exact error strings stay verbatim unless user ask for translation.

## Configure Default Mode

Default mode = `caveman`. Change it:

**Environment variable** (highest priority):
```bash
export CAVEMAN_DEFAULT_MODE=ultracave
```

**Config file** (`~/.config/caveman/config.json`):
```json
{ "defaultMode": "ultracave" }
```

For opt-in activation in Claude Code, set `defaultMode` to `manual`. Sessions start off; `/caveman` or `talk like caveman` activates caveman. `off` also disables bare-command activation. `manual` is a startup policy, not a mode. OpenCode still starts in caveman mode because its installer also supplies static activation rules.

Set `"off"` to suppress automatic and bare-command activation. Use `"manual"` when bare `/caveman` should activate.

Resolution: env var > repo config > user config > `caveman`. Legacy values `lite`, `full`, `ultra`, `wenyan*` still resolve.

## More

Full docs: https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman