diff --git a/.cspell/general-technical.txt b/.cspell/general-technical.txt index fdd62aaa6..bac2f7c24 100644 --- a/.cspell/general-technical.txt +++ b/.cspell/general-technical.txt @@ -1623,3 +1623,4 @@ transitioner urlsafe wberry writeback +Brussee diff --git a/.github/skills/experimental/caveman/SKILL.md b/.github/skills/experimental/caveman/SKILL.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..06aefba2f --- /dev/null +++ b/.github/skills/experimental/caveman/SKILL.md @@ -0,0 +1,104 @@ +--- +name: caveman +description: 'Ultra-compressed response style that reduces output token count while preserving technical accuracy, with intensity levels and auto-clarity safety rules - Brought to you by microsoft/hve-core' +argument-hint: "[{lite|full|ultra|wenyan|off}]" +license: MIT +disable-model-invocation: true +metadata: + authors: "microsoft/hve-core" + spec_version: "1.0" + last_updated: "2026-06-05" + content_based_on: "https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman" +--- + +# Caveman Skill + +## Overview + +Caveman is an opt-in response style that reduces output verbosity while keeping technical content fully intact. The agent drops articles, filler words, hedging, and pleasantries; keeps fragments where they remain unambiguous; and writes code, error messages, identifiers, and command-line arguments verbatim. Use it when the user explicitly requests a terser response. + +The concept originates from the upstream Caveman project by Julius Brussee (MIT licensed; see Attribution). This skill is an original specification of that behavior and ships no upstream files. + +## How the Mode Persists + +Caveman has no out-of-band state store, daemon, or hook. Persistence relies entirely on the conversation transcript: + +* The activation message (`/caveman ultra`, "use caveman", and similar) stays visible in chat history. +* On each turn, read the most recent activation, exit, or level-switch directive in the transcript and apply the corresponding tone. The latest matching directive wins. +* The skill file is loaded on demand. Once the rules are in context, keep applying them without reloading. If context is trimmed and the rules drop out, reload `caveman/SKILL.md` the next time an active directive appears. +* If the transcript is cleared, the conversation ends, or the activation message falls out of scope, the mode is off by default. The user re-invokes to turn it back on. + +State lives in chat, not in a file. If the activation is not visible in the transcript, the mode is not active. + +## When to Use + +Activate Caveman when the user asks for it directly: + +* "use caveman", "caveman mode", "talk caveman" +* `/caveman` or `/caveman ` where `` is one of `lite`, `full`, `ultra`, `wenyan` + +Do not activate on generic brevity requests such as "be brief", "less tokens", "terser output", or "save tokens". Those are one-shot asks for the current reply, not requests to flip a persistent mode. + +Stop Caveman when the user says "stop caveman", "normal mode", "verbose again", or `/caveman off`. + +## Intensity Levels + +| Level | Behavior | +|------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------| +| `lite` | Drop filler and hedging. Keep articles and full sentences. | +| `full` (default) | Drop articles. Sentence fragments allowed. Short synonyms. | +| `ultra` | Telegraphic. One-word answers when sufficient. Arrows for flow. | +| `wenyan` | Classical Chinese (文言) register layered on `full` compression. | + +If the user requests `/caveman` without a level, default to `full`. `/caveman wenyan` applies the wenyan register at `full` compression. Combine with another level for stronger compression, e.g. `/caveman wenyan ultra`. + +## Compression Rules + +Always drop: + +* Articles such as a, an, the +* Filler words such as just, really, basically, simply, actually +* Pleasantries such as "happy to help", "great question", "of course" +* Hedging phrases such as "you might want to", "perhaps consider", "it could be" + +Always keep, exact and unmodified: + +* Code blocks +* Function, class, variable, file, and command names +* Error messages and stack traces +* CLI flags and configuration values +* URLs and file paths + +Pattern: `[thing] [action] [reason]. [next step].` + +## Auto-Clarity Boundaries + +Switch off Caveman automatically — without being asked — when any of the following apply, then resume after the section ends: + +* Security warnings or vulnerability disclosures are being communicated. +* Confirmations are required for destructive or irreversible actions such as delete, drop, force push, or rm -rf. +* Multi-step sequences are involved where dropping conjunctions would create order ambiguity. +* Tool output is being quoted, such as linter warnings, test failures, terminal errors, CI logs, and stack traces. Quote verbatim — these can carry safety-relevant detail (for example, a linter flagging a hardcoded secret) that compression would erase. +* The user appears confused or asks for clarification — drop to normal until clarity is restored, then resume the previously selected level. +* Compression would make a technical instruction ambiguous. + +Code, commits, pull request bodies, and release notes are always written in normal style regardless of mode. + +## Examples + +Normal: "I'd be happy to help! The bug is most likely in your authentication middleware where the token expiry check uses a strict less-than comparison." + +Caveman (full): "Bug in auth middleware. Token expiry check uses `<` not `<=`. Fix:" + +Caveman (ultra): "Auth bug. `<` → `<=`. Fix:" + +## Limits + +* Caveman affects assistant prose only. It does not change generated code, commit messages, or PR descriptions. +* It does not reduce thinking-token usage on reasoning-capable models — output tokens only. + +## Attribution + +Concept based on the [Caveman project](https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman) (MIT license, Copyright (c) 2026 Julius Brussee). This SKILL.md is an original specification authored for hve-core; no upstream files are redistributed. + +> Brought to you by microsoft/hve-core diff --git a/collections/experimental.collection.md b/collections/experimental.collection.md index 046820510..82c20a4f5 100644 --- a/collections/experimental.collection.md +++ b/collections/experimental.collection.md @@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ Experimental and preview artifacts not yet promoted to stable collections. Items | Name | Description | |--------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| +| **caveman** | Ultra-compressed response style that reduces output token count while preserving technical accuracy, with intensity levels and auto-clarity safety rules | | **customer-card-render** | Generate customer-card PowerPoint content YAML from Design Thinking canonical artifacts and build using the shared PowerPoint skill pipeline | | **mural** | Mural workspace, room, mural, and widget workflows via the Mural REST API exposed through a Python CLI. Use when you need to read or write Mural content or automate widget creation. | | **powerpoint** | PowerPoint slide deck generation and management using python-pptx with YAML-driven content and styling | diff --git a/collections/experimental.collection.yml b/collections/experimental.collection.yml index 777e9ef0b..6226a99c0 100644 --- a/collections/experimental.collection.yml +++ b/collections/experimental.collection.yml @@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ items: - path: .github/agents/experimental/subagents/pptx-subagent.agent.md kind: agent # Skills + - path: .github/skills/experimental/caveman + kind: skill + maturity: experimental - path: .github/skills/experimental/customer-card-render kind: skill - path: .github/skills/experimental/powerpoint diff --git a/collections/hve-core-all.collection.md b/collections/hve-core-all.collection.md index 934976fb1..1b8f1c98c 100644 --- a/collections/hve-core-all.collection.md +++ b/collections/hve-core-all.collection.md @@ -242,6 +242,7 @@ Use this edition when you want access to everything without choosing a focused c | **adr-author** | Authoring skill for Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) supporting capture, from-planner-handoff, and adopt-template entry modes with selectable Y-Statement or MADR v4.0.0 output templates, supersession lineage, and ASR trigger evaluation - Brought to you by microsoft/hve-core. | | **architecture-diagrams** | Architecture diagram authoring for cloud infrastructure: parse Azure IaC, map relationships, and render either ASCII block diagrams or Mermaid flowcharts based on the caller's chosen output format | | **backlog-templates** | Shared work-item templates and conventions for ADO and GitHub backlog handoff across the RAI, Security, SSSC, and Accessibility planners | +| **caveman** | Ultra-compressed response style that reduces output token count while preserving technical accuracy, with intensity levels and auto-clarity safety rules | | **customer-card-render** | Generate customer-card PowerPoint content YAML from Design Thinking canonical artifacts and build using the shared PowerPoint skill pipeline | | **documentation** | Canonical documentation capability for audit, drift, validate, and author modes in hve-core. | | **dt-coaching-foundation** | Design Thinking coaching foundation knowledge: coach identity and philosophy, quality and fidelity constraints, method sequencing, coaching state schema, and the canonical deck workflow | diff --git a/collections/hve-core-all.collection.yml b/collections/hve-core-all.collection.yml index dccb06cbd..0dded1548 100644 --- a/collections/hve-core-all.collection.yml +++ b/collections/hve-core-all.collection.yml @@ -515,6 +515,9 @@ items: - path: .github/skills/design-thinking/dt-rpi-integration kind: skill maturity: preview +- path: .github/skills/experimental/caveman + kind: skill + maturity: experimental - path: .github/skills/experimental/customer-card-render kind: skill - path: .github/skills/experimental/mural diff --git a/plugins/experimental/README.md b/plugins/experimental/README.md index a0e8a5b07..eb3519383 100644 --- a/plugins/experimental/README.md +++ b/plugins/experimental/README.md @@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ Experimental and preview artifacts not yet promoted to stable collections. Items | Name | Description | |--------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| +| **caveman** | Ultra-compressed response style that reduces output token count while preserving technical accuracy, with intensity levels and auto-clarity safety rules | | **customer-card-render** | Generate customer-card PowerPoint content YAML from Design Thinking canonical artifacts and build using the shared PowerPoint skill pipeline | | **mural** | Mural workspace, room, mural, and widget workflows via the Mural REST API exposed through a Python CLI. Use when you need to read or write Mural content or automate widget creation. | | **powerpoint** | PowerPoint slide deck generation and management using python-pptx with YAML-driven content and styling | diff --git a/plugins/experimental/skills/experimental/caveman b/plugins/experimental/skills/experimental/caveman new file mode 120000 index 000000000..a93cb3627 --- /dev/null +++ b/plugins/experimental/skills/experimental/caveman @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +../../../../.github/skills/experimental/caveman \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/plugins/hve-core-all/README.md b/plugins/hve-core-all/README.md index 69961c05d..a9ca539de 100644 --- a/plugins/hve-core-all/README.md +++ b/plugins/hve-core-all/README.md @@ -247,6 +247,7 @@ Use this edition when you want access to everything without choosing a focused c | **adr-author** | Authoring skill for Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) supporting capture, from-planner-handoff, and adopt-template entry modes with selectable Y-Statement or MADR v4.0.0 output templates, supersession lineage, and ASR trigger evaluation - Brought to you by microsoft/hve-core. | | **architecture-diagrams** | Architecture diagram authoring for cloud infrastructure: parse Azure IaC, map relationships, and render either ASCII block diagrams or Mermaid flowcharts based on the caller's chosen output format | | **backlog-templates** | Shared work-item templates and conventions for ADO and GitHub backlog handoff across the RAI, Security, SSSC, and Accessibility planners | +| **caveman** | Ultra-compressed response style that reduces output token count while preserving technical accuracy, with intensity levels and auto-clarity safety rules | | **customer-card-render** | Generate customer-card PowerPoint content YAML from Design Thinking canonical artifacts and build using the shared PowerPoint skill pipeline | | **documentation** | Canonical documentation capability for audit, drift, validate, and author modes in hve-core. | | **dt-coaching-foundation** | Design Thinking coaching foundation knowledge: coach identity and philosophy, quality and fidelity constraints, method sequencing, coaching state schema, and the canonical deck workflow | diff --git a/plugins/hve-core-all/skills/experimental/caveman b/plugins/hve-core-all/skills/experimental/caveman new file mode 120000 index 000000000..a93cb3627 --- /dev/null +++ b/plugins/hve-core-all/skills/experimental/caveman @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +../../../../.github/skills/experimental/caveman \ No newline at end of file