Caveman caveman-commit

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/caveman-commit" ~/.claude/skills/juliusbrussee-caveman-caveman-commit && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/caveman-commit/SKILL.md

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
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.