mcpbeat

Caveman Commit

dbt-labs/caveman-commit

> Ultra-compressed commit message generator. Cuts noise from commit messages while preserving intent and reasoning. Conventional Commits format. Subject ≤50 chars, body only when "why" isn't obvious. Use when user says "write a commit", "commit message", "generate commit", "/commit", or invokes /caveman-commit. Auto-triggers when staging changes.

953 tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
2
files
instructions only
0
copies elsewhere
how many repositories repackaged it
205
stars on the repo
on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository 
npx skills add https://github.com/dbt-labs/docs.getdbt.com --skill caveman-commit

What comes with it

1 226 bytes besides the instruction
README.md

The instruction itself

4 sections, as written by the author

Write commit messages terse and exact. Conventional Commits format. No fluff. Why over what.

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 — unless the user's own rule requires an Assisted-by/AI-attribution trailer, then add it as a trailer
  • 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.

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take dbt-labs/caveman-commit from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.