Benchmarking Caveman compression plugin: "Be brief" achieves same results
By
max-t-dev
1mo ago· 7 min readenInsight
100/100
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Summary
A developer benchmarks the Caveman Claude Code compression plugin against simply using the prompt "be brief." The findings show that Caveman offers no meaningful advantage over the two-word instruction — both produce similar quality and token ranges. The article argues that the plugin is unnecessary overhead when a simple, free instruction achieves the same result.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledSame quality. Same range of tokens. The plugin didn't beat the boring default on either axis.
Caveman is a popular Claude Code compression plugin. The pitch is in the name: ultra-compressed responses, ~75% fewer tokens, all the technical accuracy.
I benchmarked it against two words: 'be brief.'
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