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Caveman Commit Messages

Writes terse Conventional Commits messages that explain intent, not the diff

Source Download skill
Repository
JuliusBrussee/caveman
Stars
116,835
Licence
Apache-2.0
Files
2 files

What it does

When you ask your AI agent to write a commit message, this skill makes it follow a strict, short style: a one-line subject in the form type(scope): summary, plus a body only when the reason behind the change isn't obvious. It leaves out filler like 'this commit does' or AI attribution, and outputs the message as a code block you can paste into git yourself. It does not run git commands or change any files.

Great for

  • Developers who want consistent Conventional Commits history without typing the format by hand
  • Teams that prefer short commit subjects and explanations of why a change was made
  • People who already use an AI agent for coding and want commit messages in the same flow

Skip it if

  • Projects with a different commit convention, since the rules are fixed to Conventional Commits and may conflict with local style (the skill only partly defers to project convention)
  • Anyone expecting the agent to actually commit, stage, or amend, because the skill explicitly does none of these
  • Changes where a long explanatory body is required by policy, if the skill's 'skip body when obvious' rule would drop needed context

Try asking

  • “write a commit for these staged changes”
  • “/commit”
  • “Give me a commit message for the auth refactor, explain the why”
  • “/caveman-commit”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Caveman Commit MessagesInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 2 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.

    caveman-commit.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip caveman-commit.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip caveman-commit.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Ask for the message after staging your changes, then paste the code block into git commit yourself, reviewing it first
  • Mention the reason for the change in your request, since the skill favours explaining why over what
  • Say 'normal mode' to switch back to verbose commit style for a particular commit

What's inside

  • README.md
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from JuliusBrussee/caveman under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.