global-skills/skills/caveman/SKILL.md

name, description, concerns

name	description	concerns
caveman	Token-compression encoding dialect for SPEC.md and spec-adjacent writes (~75% reduction vs prose). Preserves code identifiers and invariants verbatim while dropping filler and using formal symbols. Use when writing or editing SPEC.md, when asked to "caveman", "compress this", or "be brief".	system-one-balance

Caveman — Spec Encoding

Applies to SPEC.md writes, spec-referencing text, and backprop entries. Does NOT apply to code, error strings, commit messages, or PR descriptions.

---

Phase 0: Setup and Protocols

1. Grammar Invariants:
   • Drop articles (a, an, the).
   • Drop filler (just, really, basically, simply, actually).
   • Drop auxiliary verbs where fragments work (is, are, was, were, being).
   • Drop pleasantries and hedging ("might", "perhaps", "could be worth").
   • Short synonyms: fix > implement, big > extensive, run > execute.
2. Symbol Table:
   • → leads to / becomes / on <x>
   • ∴ therefore / fix
   • ∀ for all / every
   • ∃ exists / some
   • ! must / required
   • ? may / optional / unknown
   • ⊥ never / forbidden / nil
   • ≠ not equal
   • ∈ in, ∉ not in
   • ≤ at most, ≥ at least
   • & and, | or
   • § section reference
3. Preserve Verbatim:
   • Never compress code blocks, paths (src/auth/mw.go), URLs, identifiers (function_name), numbers/versions, error strings, SQL/JSON/YAML, or quoted strings.

---

Phase 1: Ingest and Check

1. Confirm target document: SPEC.md section, backprop row, or prompt.
2. Verify target is spec or technical invariant, NOT human prose, code, or commit messages.
3. If user asks for prose explanation, switch to standard English.

---

Phase 2: Processing (Core Logic)

Encode into canonical Caveman shapes:

1. Invariant (§V)

V<n>: <subject> <relation> <condition>
V1: ∀ req → auth check before handler
V2: token expiry ≤ current_time → reject

2. Bug Row (§B pipe table)

id|date|cause|fix
B1|2026-04-20|token `<` not `≤`|V2

3. Task Row (§T pipe table)

id|status|task|cites
T3|x|add auth mw|V1,I.api

Status: x done, ~ wip, . todo. Escape literal | as \|.

4. Interface (§I)

<kind>: <name> → <shape>
api: POST /x → 200 {id:string}
cmd: `foo bar <arg>` → stdout JSON
env: FOO_KEY ! set

---

Phase 3: The System One Balance Pass

• Compression, Not Amputation:
  • If cutting a word loses an invariant or factual boundary, keep the word.
  • Never sacrifice precision for token brevity.
  • Fail open to standard English when ambiguous.

---

Phase 4: Output Execution & Verification

1. Output compressed text in valid Markdown.
2. Verify:
   • All code tokens, identifiers, and paths are intact.
   • All symbols use standard UTF-8 characters (→, ∀, ⊥, !).
   • Pipe tables parse cleanly with balanced delimiters.