🪨 why use many token when few token do trick — Claude Code skill that cuts 65% of tokens by talking like caveman
This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of JuliusBrussee/caveman, a JavaScript project with 89,222 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 15,252 lines of code across 137 source files, recording 150 pattern matches distributed across 11 syntactic categories. The overall adjusted score of 17.5 places this repository in the Moderate AI signal band.
The scanner applied 160+ deterministic lexical heuristics, multi-line block detectors, abstract syntax tree depth profilers, and a cross-file Jaccard similarity matrix to construct a statistically normalised synthetic code estimate. All matches are individually weighted by severity coefficient and contextual multiplier before summation, and the resulting headline score is temporally discounted to account for the repository's development history relative to the commercial emergence of large language model coding tooling (November 2022 onward).
This chart maps the temporal evolution of the adjusted synthetic code score across successive scan runs. An upward trajectory indicates ongoing incorporation of AI-generated code or expanding LLM-assisted scaffolding; a stable or declining trajectory may reflect active human refactoring, code removal, or the adoption of stricter authorship policies. The dashed secondary line (right axis) independently tracks total raw pattern hit count, which can diverge from the normalised score when codebase size changes significantly between scans.
Classifies detected patterns by their diagnostic confidence and structural impact. CRITICAL patterns (coefficient 10) represent definitive synthetic signatures — hallucinated imports, explicit LLM attribution metadata — virtually never produced by human authors. HIGH (5) indicates strong structural tells such as cross-file repetition or cross-linguistic idioms. MEDIUM (2) covers recognisable conversational padding and AI-specific vocabulary. LOW (1) captures subtle indicators like tautological comments and generic boilerplate that require density to carry independent signal.
This horizontal bar chart decomposes the repository's raw synthetic code score by top-level directory, allowing you to pinpoint precisely which modules or components carry the highest AI authorship density. Directories with disproportionately high scores relative to their size warrant targeted manual review: concentrated AI signatures often trace back to mass-generated configuration layers, auto-ported test suites, LLM-scaffolded boilerplate classes, or entire subsystems authored under heavy copilot assistance. Use this view to prioritise your human code-review effort.
The scanner identified 150 distinct pattern matches across 11 syntactic categories. Each entry below represents a discrete location in the source code where the engine recorded a statistically significant AI authorship indicator. Expand any category row to inspect the individual file paths, line numbers, code snippets, and the lexical context (CODE, COMMENT, or STRING) in which each match was detected.
Reading the findings table: The Severity column indicates the diagnostic confidence level (CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW). The Context column identifies whether the match occurred inside executable code, an inline comment, or a string literal — comment-context matches receive a ×1.5 weight because LLMs systematically over-annotate. The ⚡ bolt icon marks clustered matches: three or more patterns within a 10-line window, each receiving an additional ×1.5 density multiplier as dense clusters constitute far stronger evidence of synthetic authorship than isolated hits.
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 55 | // ── Argv ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 157 | // ── Color helpers ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 167 | // ── Env guards ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 191 | // ── Provider matrix ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 263 | // ── Detection ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 373 | // ── Repo root resolution ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 386 | // ── Run helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 451 | // ── Per-provider installers ──────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 595 | // ── hermes native install ────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 652 | // ── opencode native install ─────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 881 | // ── OpenClaw native install ─────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 912 | // ── Hooks installer ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 1030 | // ── MCP shrink wiring ───────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 1067 | // ── Init writers (per-repo rule files) ──────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 1095 | // ── HTTPS download via stdlib ───────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 1121 | // ── Integrity verification for downloaded hooks (#262) ───────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 1121 | // ── Integrity verification for downloaded hooks (#262) ───────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 1150 | // ── Uninstall ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 1328 | // ── Interactive prompt (TTY-only) ───────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 1346 | // ── --list ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 1364 | // ── Help ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/install.js | 1415 | // ── Main ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/openclaw.js | 44 | // ── Frontmatter helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/openclaw.js | 81 | // ── Bootstrap snippet load ──────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/openclaw.js | 118 | // ── SOUL.md marker-block append/strip ───────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/openclaw.js | 200 | // ── Public API ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 25 | // ── stripJsonComments ────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 63 | // ── stripTrailingCommas ──────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 94 | // ── readSettings ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 115 | // ── writeSettings ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 125 | // ── validateHookFields ──────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 155 | // ── Idempotency probe ────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 165 | // ── addCommandHook ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 181 | // ── Managed hook scripts ────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 220 | // ── removeCavemanHooks ──────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 245 | // ── rewriteLegacyManagedHookCommands ────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 273 | // ── pruneOrphanedManagedHooks ───────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | bin/lib/settings.js | 343 | // ── claudeConfigDir ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tests/test_caveman_stats.js | 463 | // ── Output-reduction share (never a "usage"/"budget" claim) ──────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tests/test_caveman_stats.js | 535 | // ── Mid-session mode-change attribution (#601) ───────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tests/test_caveman_stats.js | 535 | // ── Mid-session mode-change attribution (#601) ───────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tests/test_mcp_shrink.js | 183 | // ── Packaging (#597) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tests/test_mcp_shrink.js | 183 | // ── Packaging (#597) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 57 | # ── #598: deactivation word orders ────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 96 | # ── #598: activation guards ───────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 135 | # ── slash commands ────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 146 | # ── #599: one-shot independent modes ──────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tests/test_cavecrew_model_overrides.js | 30 | // ── patchFrontmatterModel ────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tests/test_cavecrew_model_overrides.js | 155 | // ── resolvePluginRoot ────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tests/test_cavecrew_model_overrides.js | 165 | // ── applyOverrides ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tests/test_cavecrew_model_overrides.js | 283 | // ── Summary ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | src/hooks/caveman-stats.js | 147 | // ── Per-mode attribution (#601) ───────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | src/hooks/caveman-stats.js | 147 | // ── Per-mode attribution (#601) ───────────────────────────────────────────── | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | bin/lib/settings.js | 251 | function rewriteLegacyManagedHookCommands(settings, absoluteNode) { | CODE |
| LOW | bin/lib/settings.js | 290 | function pruneOrphanedManagedHooks(settings, configDir) { | CODE |
| LOW | tests/verify_repo.py | 104 | def verify_skill_frontmatter_upload_compatibility() -> None: | CODE |
| LOW | tests/verify_repo.py | 157 | def verify_manifests_and_syntax() -> None: | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_detect.py | 68 | def test_known_names_case_insensitive(self): | STRING |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_detect.py | 74 | def test_cmakelists_txt_not_compressible_despite_txt_extension(self): | STRING |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_detect.py | 80 | def test_shebang_script_is_code(self): | STRING |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_detect.py | 86 | def test_extensionless_prose_still_compressible(self): | STRING |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_detect.py | 92 | def test_markdown_still_compressible(self): | STRING |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 59 | def test_turn_caveman_mode_off_deactivates(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 65 | def test_turn_caveman_off_deactivates(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 70 | def test_turn_off_caveman_deactivates(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 75 | def test_stop_caveman_multiline_deactivates(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 81 | def test_normal_mode_command_deactivates(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 86 | def test_back_to_normal_mode_deactivates(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 91 | def test_vim_normal_mode_does_not_deactivate(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 98 | def test_enable_caveman_with_stop_elsewhere_activates(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 105 | def test_question_does_not_activate(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 111 | def test_scoped_brevity_does_not_activate(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 115 | def test_unscoped_brevity_activates(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 119 | def test_activate_caveman_still_works(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 123 | def test_turn_on_caveman_mode_still_works(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 127 | def test_talk_like_caveman_still_works(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 131 | def test_bare_caveman_mode_still_works(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 137 | def test_slash_caveman_level_switch(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 148 | def test_commit_restores_prior_level_on_next_prompt(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 156 | def test_commit_with_no_prior_mode_deactivates_after(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 163 | def test_chained_independent_modes_keep_original_prev(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 171 | def test_namespaced_commit_and_review_recognized(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 180 | def test_no_reinforcement_during_independent_turn(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_mode_tracker.py | 185 | def test_deactivation_clears_saved_prev(self): | CODE |
| LOW | tests/test_hooks.py | 30 | def test_install_upgrades_old_two_file_install(self): | CODE |
| LOW | tests/test_hooks.py | 48 | def test_install_reconfigures_missing_statusline(self): | CODE |
| LOW | tests/test_hooks.py | 92 | def test_uninstall_preserves_custom_statusline(self): | CODE |
| LOW | tests/test_hooks.py | 141 | def test_activate_does_not_nudge_when_custom_statusline_exists(self): | CODE |
| LOW | tests/test_hooks.py | 165 | def test_activate_emits_skill_md_not_fallback_from_repo_layout(self): | CODE |
| LOW | tests/test_hooks.py | 178 | def test_activate_finds_skill_beside_config_dir_hooks(self): | CODE |
| LOW | tests/test_hooks.py | 198 | def test_activate_prefers_claude_plugin_root(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_compress_safety.py | 40 | def test_empty_compressed_output_does_not_touch_disk(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_compress_safety.py | 50 | def test_whitespace_only_compressed_output_does_not_touch_disk(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_compress_safety.py | 60 | def test_identical_compressed_output_does_not_touch_disk(self): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | tests/test_compress_safety.py | 70 | def test_real_compression_writes_backup_and_target(self): | CODE |
| LOW | tests/test_validate_inline.py | 18 | def test_fenced_blocks_excluded(self): | CODE |
| LOW | tests/test_validate_inline.py | 75 | def test_validate_inline_codes_wired(self): | STRING |
| LOW | src/mcp-servers/caveman-shrink/compress.js | 116 | function compressDescriptionsInPlace(obj, fieldNames) { | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | install.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | bin/install.js | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env node | COMMENT |
| LOW | bin/lib/openclaw.js | 1 | // caveman → OpenClaw install / uninstall helper. | COMMENT |
| LOW | bin/lib/opencode-agent.js | 1 | 'use strict'; | COMMENT |
| LOW | bin/lib/settings.js | 1 | // caveman — JSONC-tolerant settings.json read/write + defensive hook validation. | COMMENT |
| LOW | bin/lib/settings.js | 281 | // …caveman-activate.js` (issue #471). rewriteLegacyManagedHookCommands can't | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/tools/caveman-init.js | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env node | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/plugins/opencode/plugin.js | 1 | // caveman — opencode plugin | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/plugins/opencode/plugin.js | 21 | // activation, and per-turn reinforcement. | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/plugins/opencode/plugin.js | 41 | import path from 'node:path'; | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/hooks/caveman-mode-tracker.js | 41 | /\bturn\s+off\s+(the\s+)?caveman\b/.test(prompt) || | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/hooks/caveman-mode-tracker.js | 161 | } | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/hooks/cavecrew-model-overrides.js | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env node | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/hooks/caveman-stats.js | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env node | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/hooks/caveman-statusline.sh | 1 | #!/bin/bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/hooks/caveman-config.js | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env node | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/hooks/caveman-config.js | 101 | if (repoMode) return repoMode; | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/hooks/caveman-config.js | 121 | // while still refusing attacker-planted symlinks pointing to dirs owned by | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/mcp-servers/caveman-shrink/index.js | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env node | COMMENT |
| LOW | src/mcp-servers/caveman-shrink/compress.js | 1 | // caveman-shrink — pure-Node prose compressor for MCP tool descriptions | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | evals/llm_run.py | 60 | except Exception: | CODE |
| MEDIUM | evals/llm_run.py | 54 | def claude_version() -> str: | CODE |
| LOW | plugins/caveman/skills/caveman-compress/scripts/cli.py | 19 | except Exception: | CODE |
| LOW | plugins/caveman/skills/caveman-compress/scripts/cli.py | 79 | except Exception as e: | CODE |
| LOW | skills/caveman-compress/scripts/cli.py | 19 | except Exception: | CODE |
| LOW | skills/caveman-compress/scripts/cli.py | 79 | except Exception as e: | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | evals/measure.py | 17 | CODE | |
| LOW | evals/plot.py | 12 | CODE | |
| LOW | evals/llm_run.py | 27 | CODE | |
| LOW | tests/verify_repo.py | 4 | CODE | |
| LOW | tests/verify_repo.py | 211 | CODE | |
| LOW | tests/verify_repo.py | 213 | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | src/hooks/caveman-stats.js | 289 | // limit usage — input + cache tokens dominate agentic sessions, count against | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | src/hooks/caveman-stats.js | 412 | // on the line above, and input + cache tokens (which dominate agentic | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | plugins/caveman/skills/caveman-compress/scripts/cli.py | 55 | # Check if compressible | COMMENT |
| LOW | …ns/caveman/skills/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py | 261 | # Check if backup already exists to prevent accidental overwriting | STRING |
| LOW | skills/caveman-compress/scripts/cli.py | 55 | # Check if compressible | COMMENT |
| LOW | skills/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py | 261 | # Check if backup already exists to prevent accidental overwriting | STRING |
| LOW | src/hooks/install.sh | 48 | # Check if already installed (unless --force). Older installs only had two hook | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | …gins/caveman/skills/caveman-compress/scripts/detect.py | 56 | CODE | |
| LOW | tests/verify_repo.py | 70 | CODE | |
| LOW | skills/caveman-compress/scripts/detect.py | 56 | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | …ns/caveman/skills/caveman-compress/scripts/__init__.py | 7 | __all__ = ["cli", "compress", "detect", "validate"] | CODE |
| LOW | skills/caveman-compress/scripts/__init__.py | 7 | __all__ = ["cli", "compress", "detect", "validate"] | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | …ns/caveman/skills/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py | 279 | # Step 1: Compress (body only, frontmatter excluded) | STRING |
| LOW | …ns/caveman/skills/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py | 315 | # Step 2: Validate + Retry | STRING |
| LOW | skills/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py | 279 | # Step 1: Compress (body only, frontmatter excluded) | STRING |
| LOW | skills/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py | 315 | # Step 2: Validate + Retry | STRING |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | …ns/caveman/skills/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py | 279 | # Step 1: Compress (body only, frontmatter excluded) | STRING |
| LOW | …ns/caveman/skills/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py | 315 | # Step 2: Validate + Retry | STRING |
| LOW | skills/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py | 279 | # Step 1: Compress (body only, frontmatter excluded) | STRING |
| LOW | skills/caveman-compress/scripts/compress.py | 315 | # Step 2: Validate + Retry | STRING |