caveman-code

# Caveman Code — terminal coding agent

> Caveman Code is a terminal coding agent that uses 2× fewer tokens than
> Codex CLI on identical tasks, supports 20+ providers with 6 OAuth flows,
> and ships under the MIT license. Four-layer Caveman Mode compression
> gives ~85% reduction on tool output. Plan mode, autonomous goal loop,
> worktree-isolated subagents, native MCP, cavemem-backed memory.

This file is the LLM-friendly entry point to Caveman Code's documentation.
Each linked page is plain markdown.

## Install

```
npm install -g @juliusbrussee/caveman-code
```

Requires Node.js 20+. Binaries `caveman` (primary) and `caveman-code` (alias)
are both registered on PATH.

## npm package

- Main CLI: `@juliusbrussee/caveman-code`
- Sub-packages (auto-installed):
  - `@juliusbrussee/caveman-agent`
  - `@juliusbrussee/caveman-ai`
  - `@juliusbrussee/caveman-tui`
  - `@juliusbrussee/caveman-sdk`
  - `@juliusbrussee/caveman-markdown-preview`
- Optional surfaces: `@juliusbrussee/caveman-mom`, `@juliusbrussee/caveman-pods`, `@juliusbrussee/caveman-web-ui`

## Top-level docs

- [Quickstart](docs/getting-started/quickstart.md): zero-to-first-prompt in 30 seconds
- [Install](docs/getting-started/installation.md): macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Homebrew, npm
- [Auth & Providers](docs/getting-started/auth.md): 20+ providers, 6 OAuth flows
- [Models](docs/getting-started/models.md): default models, thinking levels, architect/editor split

## Reference

- [Slash Commands](docs/reference/slash-commands.md): built-ins + authoring markdown commands
- [Recipes](docs/reference/recipes.md): YAML pipelines, Goose-style schema
- [MCP](docs/reference/mcp.md): client + cave-as-server, stdio/HTTP/inproc transports
- [Daemon](docs/reference/daemon.md): caveman serve, multi-client attach, worker mode

## Migration

- [From Claude Code](docs/migration/from-claude-code.md): paste your config, it works
- [From Codex](docs/migration/from-codex.md): AGENTS.md, .mcp.json, sandbox parity
- [From Aider](docs/migration/from-aider.md): repo map and edit-format-per-model

## Cookbook & API

- [Cookbook](docs/cookbook.md): GitHub Actions, multi-agent review, daemon pair programming
- [Comparison](docs/comparison.md): Caveman Code vs Claude Code / Codex / Aider / Crush / opencode
- [Troubleshooting](docs/troubleshooting.md): install, auth, sessions, tools, hooks, MCP
- [API](docs/api.md): SDK, JSON-RPC, OpenAPI, extension API

## Differentiators (one-line each)

1. Caveman Mode compression: 4 layers, ~85% reduction on tool output
2. 20+ providers + 6 OAuth flows (Claude Pro, ChatGPT Plus, Copilot, Gemini, Antigravity)
3. Session branching (`/tree`, `/fork`)
4. Plan mode + autonomous goal loop
5. Worktree-isolated subagents via Task tool
6. Native MCP client; caveman-code can serve as MCP server
7. Aider-grade repo map (PageRank) + edit-format-per-model
8. Daemon (`caveman serve`) survives SSH drops; multi-client attach
9. Shadow-git checkpoints + `/rollback N`
10. cavemem-backed memory with episodic-to-semantic consolidation
11. Claude Code authoring formats (settings.json, commands, skills, agents) — paste-and-go compat
12. MIT licensed; no telemetry by default

## Repo

- Source: https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman-cli
- Issues: https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman-cli/issues
- Releases: https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman-cli/releases
- npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@juliusbrussee/caveman-code