Caveman vs Superpowers
A skill and proxy that make coding agents say less and read less. A software development method for coding agents, built from composable skills. Compare the capabilities you need, then check hosting, licensing and maintenance. This pair is shown for browsing but is not indexed (not among the leading projects of a shared category).
| Attribute | Caveman | Superpowers |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | A skill and proxy that make coding agents say less and read less. | A software development method for coding agents, built from composable skills. |
| Documented capabilities | Terse agent replies with exact code, Optional proxy that trims input tokens, Compact web pages through caveman browse, Measured with repeated Claude Code runs | Spec-first brainstorming before code, Written implementation plans, Subagent-driven development with task review, Skills that trigger automatically |
| Best-fit workflow | Heavy agent users who want lower token use and shorter replies. | Teams that want coding agents to plan and review before they write code. |
| Check before choosing | Token savings are the project's own measurements. The proxy sits between your agent and the model API, so review what it forwards. | It changes how your agent works on every task. Try it on a side project first, and install it separately for each agent you use. |
| Deployment options | npx skills, Proxy | Claude Code plugin, Gemini CLI extension, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode |
| GitHub stars | 111,124 | 297,987 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Docker noted | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Cloud / hosted | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Primary language | Go | Shell |
| Last commit | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-10 |
| Difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Content source | Editorial catalog entry | Editorial catalog entry |
| Metadata checked | Check the current repository | 2026-10-12 |
| Forks | 6.4k | 27k |
| Star growth | Not recorded | +663 (2026-10-11 to 2026-10-12) |
| Alternative to | Not recorded | Not recorded |
This comparison uses recorded capabilities, not hands-on performance tests. A capability missing from one record does not mean that product lacks it. Confirm edition, version and current pricing in the official documentation.
When to consider Caveman
Heavy agent users who want lower token use and shorter replies.
Token savings are the project's own measurements. The proxy sits between your agent and the model API, so review what it forwards.
Caveman documentation and sourceWhen to consider Superpowers
Teams that want coding agents to plan and review before they write code.
It changes how your agent works on every task. Try it on a side project first, and install it separately for each agent you use.
Superpowers documentation and sourceCaveman vs Superpowers questions
- What is Caveman?
- A skill and proxy that make coding agents say less and read less.
- What is Superpowers?
- A software development method for coding agents, built from composable skills.
- Can you self-host Caveman and Superpowers?
- Both can be self-hosted.
- What licenses do Caveman and Superpowers use?
- Caveman uses the Apache-2.0 license. Superpowers uses the MIT license.
- Which has more GitHub stars, Caveman or Superpowers?
- Superpowers has 298k stars and Caveman has 111k. Stars show attention; check recent commits and releases for maintenance.
- What languages are Caveman and Superpowers written in?
- Caveman is mainly written in Go. Superpowers is mainly written in Shell.