caveman vs terse
caveman is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by Alireza Rezvani. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Community GitHub marketplaces). terse is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by Karl Lowenbjer. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Community GitHub marketplaces). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-28. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace | ||
|---|---|---|
| Community marketplace alirezarezvani/claude-skills | Listed Version: 2.14.2 Forks (GitHub): 4 002 Stars (GitHub): 28 836 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Community marketplace lowenbjer/claude-terse | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.2.2 Forks (GitHub): 2 Stars (GitHub): 52 Not marked · First seen |
Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.
The facts side by side
| Fact | caveman | terse |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 28 836 (better) | 52 (worse) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 4 002 (better) | 2 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | 2026-10-26 | Not published |
| Where it runs | Installs as a plugin bundle | Installs as a plugin bundle |
| Transport | Not stated | Not stated |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for | Not published | Not published |
| Hooks it runs (differs) | Not published | 2 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 3 | 5 |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills | github.com/lowenbjer/claude-terse |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 3 | 2 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-14 | 2026-10-26 |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.
What each says it does
caveman
Ultra-compressed communication mode. Cuts token usage 20-50% (75% upper bound) by dropping filler, articles, pleasantries, and hedging while keeping full technical accuracy. Derived from Matt Pocock's MIT-licensed caveman with: (1) 3 stdlib Python tools (deterministic compressor, token-savings estimator with $/Mtok cost extrapolation, lint that detects banned vocab with code-block + exception-zone whitelisting), (2) 3 references citing 7-8 sources (compression principles, when caveman backfires, companion tooling), (3) cs-caveman-mode persona agent + /cs-caveman slash command. Matt's persistence rules + auto-clarity exception preserved verbatim per MIT.
terse
Cuts Claude Code reply length in half and removes mannered prose. 22 writing rules as a forced output style, a per-turn reminder against drift in long sessions, the same rules for subagents, and a context meter for the status line. Measured on 20 prompts against a real codebase: about half the words at 30% to 50% lower cost. Rules, method and numbers per model: github.com/lowenbjer/claude-terse
How to run each
caveman As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add alirezarezvani/claude-skills
/plugin install caveman@claude-code-skillsterse As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add lowenbjer/claude-terse
/plugin install terse@terseCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
Neither one's marketplaces publish the settings it asks for.
What it can do: caveman · What it can do: terse · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.