shrink memory file. save token every session.

---

A Claude Code skill that compresses your project memory files (CLAUDE.md, todos, preferences) into caveman format — so every session loads fewer tokens automatically.

Claude read CLAUDE.md on every session start. If file big, cost big. Caveman make file small. Cost go down forever.

/caveman-compress CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md          ← compressed (Claude reads this — fewer tokens every session)
CLAUDE.original.md ← human-readable backup (you edit this)

Original never lost. You can read and edit .original.md. Run skill again to re-compress after edits.

Real results on real project files:

File	Original	Compressed	Saved
claude-md-preferences.md	706	285	59.6%
project-notes.md	1145	535	53.3%
claude-md-project.md	1122	687	38.8%
todo-list.md	627	388	38.1%
mixed-with-code.md	888	574	35.4%
Average	898	494	45%

All validations passed ✅ — headings, code blocks, URLs, file paths preserved exactly.

📄 Original (706 tokens) "I strongly prefer TypeScript with strict mode enabled for all new code. Please don't use any type unless there's genuinely no way around it, and if you do, leave a comment explaining the reasoning. I find that taking the time to properly type things catches a lot of bugs before they ever make it to runtime."

🪨 Caveman (285 tokens) "Prefer TypeScript strict mode always. No any unless unavoidable — comment why if used. Proper types catch bugs early."

Same instructions. 60% fewer tokens. Every. Single. Session.

cp -r ~/.claude/skills/caveman-compress <path-to-skill>

Or if you have the caveman repo:

cp -r skills/caveman-compress ~/.claude/skills/caveman-compress

Requires: Python 3.10+

/caveman-compress <filepath>

Examples:

/caveman-compress CLAUDE.md
/caveman-compress docs/preferences.md
/caveman-compress todos.md

Type	Compress?
.md, .txt, .rst	✅ Yes
Extensionless natural language	✅ Yes
.py, .js, .ts, .json, .yaml	❌ Skip (code/config)
*.original.md	❌ Skip (backup files)

/caveman-compress CLAUDE.md
        ↓
detect file type        (no tokens)
        ↓
Claude compresses       (tokens — one call)
        ↓
validate output         (no tokens)
  checks: headings, code blocks, URLs, file paths, bullets
        ↓
if errors: Claude fixes cherry-picked issues only   (tokens — targeted fix)
  does NOT recompress — only patches broken parts
        ↓
retry up to 2 times
        ↓
write compressed → CLAUDE.md
write original   → CLAUDE.original.md

Only two things use tokens: initial compression + targeted fix if validation fails. Everything else is local Python.

Caveman compress natural language. It never touch:

• Code blocks (``` fenced or indented)
• Inline code (`backtick content`)
• URLs and links
• File paths (/src/components/...)
• Commands (npm install, git commit)
• Technical terms, library names, API names
• Headings (exact text preserved)
• Tables (structure preserved, cell text compressed)
• Dates, version numbers, numeric values

CLAUDE.md loads on every session start. A 1000-token project memory file costs tokens every single time you open a project. Over 100 sessions that's 100,000 tokens of overhead — just for context you already wrote.

Caveman cut that by ~45% on average. Same instructions. Same accuracy. Less waste.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  TOKEN SAVINGS PER FILE    ████████  45% │
│  SESSIONS THAT BENEFIT     ████████ 100% │
│  INFORMATION PRESERVED     ████████ 100% │
│  SETUP TIME                █         1x  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────┘

This skill is part of the caveman toolkit — making Claude use fewer tokens without losing accuracy.

• caveman — make Claude speak like caveman (cuts response tokens ~65%)
• caveman-compress — make Claude read less (cuts context tokens ~45%)