caveman-commit

Use it when: you want a short commit message that skips what the diff already shows
It does: writes a Conventional Commits message, like "feat(api): add GET /users/:id/profile", with a subject of 50 characters when possible
You get: the message in a code block to paste; it never stages, commits or amends
Adds a body: only to explain why, and always for breaking changes, security fixes, data migrations and reverts
Leaves out: "I", "we", "this commit", emoji and AI attribution, unless your project's rules ask for them

Skill 2 of 12 in the Caveman bundle · Before it: caveman · After it: caveman-review

TLDR

Caveman is a skill set whose main mode makes the agent reply in short, plain fragments to save tokens. That mode keeps commit messages in normal prose; this skill makes them terse too. The subject follows Conventional Commits, with a type such as feat, fix, refactor or docs, in the imperative ("add", not "added"), at most 50 characters when possible and never over 72, with no trailing period. A body is added only for a reason the diff doesn't show, a breaking change, migration notes or linked issues, wrapped at 72 characters and ending with references like "Closes #42". It drops whatever the diff already says, such as "this commit does X" or a file name the scope already gives. Breaking changes, security fixes, data migrations and reverts always get a body, for whoever debugs them later. It only writes the message; you run git. Say "stop caveman-commit" to get verbose messages back.

Summarizes the skill at bad48a0.

npx skills add https://github.com/juliusbrussee/caveman --skill caveman-commit

skills.sh page · Source on GitHub · All skills from juliusbrussee/caveman

Installs: 369,532 on skills.sh, Sep 21, 2026
Repo stars: 106,976 juliusbrussee/caveman
First seen: Apr 8, 2026 on skills.sh

Weekly installs

14.4K

-6% over 8 weeks · week to Sep 21

Weekly values

Week to	Installs
Aug 3	15,213
Aug 10	15,525
Aug 17	10,645
Aug 24	10,197
Aug 31	10,229
Sep 7	12,612
Sep 14	13,741
Sep 21	14,357

Category	category:output-style category:engineering category:software-engineering Change how the agent replies: shorter, clearer, fewer tokens. Test-first work, implementation from specs, git hygiene and scope control. Everything for building software: planning, coding, debugging, design, frameworks, cloud, agents and skills.
Type	type:command A one-shot action you invoke by name, such as turning the conversation into a PRD.
Effect	effect:none Adds no side effects of its own. It shapes how the agent thinks, writes or reviews. Guidelines and routers are always effect:none, even when the task they support edits code.
Needs	needs:none Instructions only. Works in any agent that supports skills.
Publisher	by:community Everyone else. Unverified vendor claims default to community.
Topics	git output-style token-saving
Stack	stack:git

SKILL.md

From juliusbrussee/caveman at bad48a0. Checked daily, last changed Oct 20, 2026.

Frontmatter

name: caveman-commit
description: >
  Write a Conventional Commits message compressed to intent only. Use for
  "write a commit", "commit message", /commit or /caveman-commit.

Write commit messages terse and exact. Conventional Commits format. No fluff. Why over what.

Rules

Subject line:

<type>(<scope>): <imperative summary> — <scope> optional
Types: feat, fix, refactor, perf, docs, test, chore, build, ci, style, revert
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 — unless the user's own rule requires an Assisted-by/AI-attribution trailer, then add it as a trailer
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.