Issue 09 | /caveman-help and Always-On Configuration — Making Caveman Ubiquitous

🎯 Learning Objectives

Upon completing this issue, you will master:

1. The content and usage of the /caveman-help quick reference card
2. Configuring Always-On permanent activation on five major platforms
3. The location and loading mechanism of rule files on each platform
4. Committing Caveman configurations to a Git repository for team-level sharing

📖 Core Content

9.1 /caveman-help — Your Portable Cheat Sheet

When you forget a command or mode, type /caveman-help to get the complete reference card:

> /caveman-help

🪨 CAVEMAN QUICK REFERENCE
═══════════════════════════════════════

MODES:
  /caveman              → Full mode (default, ~75% savings)
  /caveman lite         → Lite mode (~55% savings)
  /caveman ultra        → Ultra mode (~87% savings)
  /caveman wenyan       → 文言文 mode
  /caveman wenyan-lite  → 文言文 lite
  /caveman wenyan-ultra → 文言文 ultra

SKILLS:
  /caveman-commit       → Terse commit message (Conventional Commits)
  /caveman-review       → One-line code review (L42: 🔴 bug: ...)
  /caveman:compress     → Compress context files (~46% input savings)
  /caveman-help         → This reference card

CONTROL:
  "stop caveman"        → Deactivate
  "normal mode"         → Deactivate
  "caveman mode"        → Reactivate

STATUS BAR:
  [CAVEMAN]             → Full mode active
  [CAVEMAN:ULTRA]       → Ultra mode active
  [CAVEMAN:WENYAN]      → 文言文 mode active

Trigger methods for each platform:

9.2 Always-On Configuration Principle

By default, Caveman requires manual activation for each session on some platforms. The goal of Always-On configuration is: to use Caveman mode from the very first message, automatically effective for every session.

graph TB
    subgraph Default["Default Behavior"]
        A1["Session Start"] --> A2["Normal Mode"]
        A2 -->|"User says /caveman"| A3["Caveman Activated"]
    end
    
    subgraph AlwaysOn["After Always-On Configuration"]
        B1["Session Start"] --> B2["Automatically Reads Rule File"]
        B2 --> B3["Caveman Immediately Active"]
        B3 --> B4["Caveman from First Message"]
    end
    
    style Default fill:#FFF3E0
    style AlwaysOn fill:#E8F5E9

9.3 General Always-On Code Snippet

Below is the Always-On rule snippet applicable to all platforms. Paste it into the corresponding platform's rule file:

## Caveman Mode (Always-On)

Terse like caveman. Technical substance exact. Only fluff die.
Drop: articles, filler (just/really/basically), pleasantries, hedging.
Fragments OK. Short synonyms. Code unchanged.
Pattern: [thing] [action] [reason]. [next step].
ACTIVE EVERY RESPONSE. No revert after many turns. No filler drift.
Code/commits/PRs: normal.
Off: "stop caveman" / "normal mode".

9.4 Detailed Always-On Configuration for Five Major Platforms

Claude Code

After installation via Plugin, Claude Code is already automatically Always-On (implemented via SessionStart Hook). However, if you use a Standalone installation or want extra assurance, you can add rules to CLAUDE.md in the project root directory:

<!-- CLAUDE.md -->
# Project Rules

## Caveman Mode
Terse like caveman. Technical substance exact. Only fluff die.
Drop: articles, filler, pleasantries, hedging. Fragments OK.
Pattern: [thing] [action] [reason]. [next step].
ACTIVE EVERY RESPONSE.
Off: "stop caveman" / "normal mode".

Configuration File Location:

• Project-level: <project>/CLAUDE.md
• User-level: ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

Antigravity

Antigravity does not have a Hook system, so Always-On must be implemented via the GEMINI.md rule file:

<!-- GEMINI.md (project root directory) -->
# Agent Rules

## Caveman Mode (Always-On)
Terse like caveman. Technical substance exact. Only fluff die.
Drop: articles, filler (just/really/basically), pleasantries, hedging.
Fragments OK. Short synonyms. Code unchanged.
Pattern: [thing] [action] [reason]. [next step].
ACTIVE EVERY RESPONSE. No revert after many turns.
Off: "stop caveman" / "normal mode".

Configuration File Location:

• Project-level: <project>/GEMINI.md

Gemini CLI

Gemini CLI automatically activates after installation via Extensions (GEMINI.md context injection). For extra reinforcement, you can add rules to GEMINI.md in your project:

<!-- GEMINI.md -->
## Caveman Mode
Terse like caveman. Technical substance exact. Only fluff die.
Fragments OK. Code unchanged.
Pattern: [thing] [action] [reason]. [next step].
ACTIVE EVERY RESPONSE.

Codex (OpenAI)

Codex supports automatic activation via .codex/hooks.json and .codex/config.toml:

// .codex/hooks.json
{
  "hooks": [
    {
      "event": "SessionStart",
      "command": "echo 'Terse like caveman. Technical substance exact. Only fluff die. Drop: articles, filler, pleasantries. Fragments OK. Code unchanged. Pattern: [thing] [action] [reason]. [next step]. ACTIVE EVERY RESPONSE.'"
    }
  ]
}

# .codex/config.toml
[features]
codex_hooks = true

Configuration File Location:

• Project-level: <project>/.codex/hooks.json + .codex/config.toml
• Global: AGENTS.md

OpenCode

OpenCode uses AGENTS.md as its rule file:

<!-- .config/opencode/AGENTS.md -->
## Caveman Mode (Always-On)
Terse like caveman. Technical substance exact. Only fluff die.
Drop: articles, filler, pleasantries, hedging.
Fragments OK. Short synonyms. Code unchanged.
Pattern: [thing] [action] [reason]. [next step].
ACTIVE EVERY RESPONSE.
Off: "stop caveman" / "normal mode".

Configuration File Location:

• <project>/.config/opencode/AGENTS.md

9.5 Overview of Rule Files for Each Platform

graph TB
    subgraph Files["Rule File Locations for Each Platform"]
        CC["Claude Code
───────────
📄 CLAUDE.md
📄 ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md"]
        AG["Antigravity
───────────
📄 GEMINI.md"]
        GC["Gemini CLI
───────────
📄 GEMINI.md"]
        CX["Codex
───────────
📄 .codex/hooks.json
📄 .codex/config.toml
📄 AGENTS.md"]
        OC["OpenCode
───────────
📄 .config/opencode/AGENTS.md"]
    end
    
    subgraph Extra["Other Agents"]
        CU["Cursor → .cursor/rules/caveman.mdc"]
        WS["Windsurf → .windsurf/rules/caveman.md"]
        CL["Cline → .clinerules/caveman.md"]
        CP["Copilot → .github/copilot-instructions.md"]
        RO["Roo → .roo/rules/caveman.md"]
    end

9.6 Team Sharing: Committing Caveman Configuration to Git

When your team also wants to use Caveman, simply commit the configuration files to the repository:

# Commit Caveman configuration to the repository for team-wide sharing
git add CLAUDE.md GEMINI.md .codex/hooks.json .codex/config.toml
git commit -m "chore: add caveman always-on config for team"
git push

graph LR
    A["Developer A
Configures Caveman"] --> B["Commits to Git"]
    B --> C["Developer B
git pull"]
    B --> D["Developer C
git pull"]
    B --> E["CI/CD
Automatic Usage"]
    
    C --> F["Automatic Caveman Always-On"]
    D --> F
    E --> F

Benefits of Team Sharing:

• Unified Agent behavior standards
• Automatically effective for new members after cloning the repository
• Agent reviews in CI/CD also use Caveman style
• Entire team saves on Token costs

📝 Key Takeaways from This Issue

1. /caveman-help is your portable cheat sheet; use it when you forget a command
2. Always-On is achieved by adding a fixed snippet to the rule file, ensuring automatic activation for every session
3. Rule files vary across the five major platforms (CLAUDE.md / GEMINI.md / hooks.json / AGENTS.md)
4. Claude Code and Gemini CLI are automatically Always-On after installation; other platforms require manual configuration
5. Committing rule files to Git enables team-level Caveman sharing

🔗 References

• Caveman Help Skill
• npx skills - 40+ Agent Support
• Claude Code Memory Documentation