baldart 4.50.0 → 4.51.0

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ All notable changes to BALDART will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [4.51.0] - 2026-06-17
+
+**A second, more aggressive output style — `Terse Ultra` (caveman "ultra") — ships alongside `Terse` as an opt-in maximum-compression profile.** Research into the [caveman](https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman) tiers (lite → full → ultra → wenyan) + its issues/reviews established the frontier: the community consensus is that `full` (≈ our `Terse`) is the sweet spot, `ultra` buys more compression at a small-but-real cost (it "occasionally drops important caveats" and is "a bit much when you actually need to understand what went wrong"), and `wenyan` (classical Chinese, −80/90%) is out of scope for a general dev framework. So `Terse Ultra` is shipped as a SECOND style, not a replacement: fragments, prose-word abbreviations (db/auth/config/req/res/fn/impl — **prose words only**), arrows for causality (`X → Y`), with HARDENED guardrails — code symbols / function & API identifiers / file paths / `path:line` / error strings / CLI commands / commit keywords stay **verbatim even in ultra**, and the Auto-clarity carve-out is **extended to the final answer/explanation** (per caveman issue #510) on top of the security / irreversible-action / multi-step / ambiguity cases. `baldart configure` still offers only `Terse` (the recommended default); `Terse Ultra` is discovered and activated manually via `/config` → Output Style. Distribution is free — the v4.50.0 merge picks up any new `.md` under `framework/.claude/output-styles/` automatically. **MINOR** (additive payload — a new selectable style; **no new `baldart.config.yml` key** — `outputStyle` is a native Claude Code settings key; no removed surface).
+
+### Added
+
+- **`framework/.claude/output-styles/terse-ultra.md`** — the `Terse Ultra` output style (frontmatter `name: Terse Ultra`): caveman *ultra* prose compression with a never-abbreviate-code guardrail and an Auto-clarity carve-out extended to the final answer. Self-documents that it's the aggressive tier with a small readability/nuance cost and that `Terse` is preferred for everyday work.
+
 ## [4.50.0] - 2026-06-17
 
 **BALDART ships a `Terse` Claude Code output style as a latent, opt-in deliverable — installed with every Claude-enabled consumer, activated only by the user.** Output styles (selected via `/config` → Output Style; active style stored as the top-level `outputStyle` settings key) are the *native, higher-precedence* lever for compressing assistant prose — stronger than `CLAUDE.md` guidance, which is project context the model weighs against its conversational default. The new `framework/.claude/output-styles/terse.md` is the caveman-style ethos generalized to the whole chat: compress *how* the assistant talks (no preamble/postamble, no "now I will…", no tool-call narration, lead with the result), with an explicit **Auto-clarity carve-out** (plans, clarifying questions, destructive-action confirmations, decision trade-offs stay full) and a preserved-engineering-behavior preamble so it only changes verbosity, never capability. Distribution reuses the v4.14.0 dynamic-workflows machinery: a new `outputStyle` entry in `MERGE_KINDS` (per-item symlink, **overlay-free** — a style is a single latent opinion file the user activates wholesale or replaces with their own), `claude.js` exposes `outputStylesDir()`, `codex.js` returns `null` (**Claude-only** — Codex has no output styles). Installing the file changes nothing; `baldart configure` adds an **interactive-only, default-NO** prompt to activate it (writes `outputStyle: "Terse"` to `.claude/settings.local.json` — personal, gitignored, never forced on the team). **MINOR** (additive payload type + CLI capability; **no new `baldart.config.yml` key** — `outputStyle` is a native Claude Code *settings* key, so the schema-change propagation rule does NOT apply; no removed surface).

package/VERSION

@@ -1 +1 @@
-4.50.0
+4.51.0

package/framework/.claude/output-styles/terse-ultra.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+name: Terse Ultra
+description: Maximum prose compression (caveman "ultra") — fragments, prose-word abbreviations, arrows for causality. NEVER touches code/identifiers/errors. Auto-clarity carve-out preserved + extended to the final answer. More aggressive than Terse, with a small, documented readability/nuance cost — prefer Terse for everyday work.
+---
+
+You are an interactive CLI tool that helps users with software engineering tasks. Keep ALL of your software-engineering capabilities, tool use, and safety behavior exactly as in the default — this style changes ONLY how much prose you emit to the user, never what you do, decide, or check.
+
+This is the most aggressive prose-compression style. It trades a little readability for fewer tokens. When precision for the reader matters more than brevity, fall back to clear prose (see Auto-clarity).
+
+## Communication style — ultra-terse (caveman "ultra")
+
+Compress *how* you talk, never *what* you do. Reasoning and work stay full; only the user-facing prose is stripped to the bone.
+
+- Drop articles, pleasantries, hedging, and conjunctions. Bare fragments are fine. No preamble/postamble, no "now I will…", no tool-call narration, no decorative tables/emoji.
+- Lead with the result. Use arrows for causality and flow: `inline obj prop → new ref → re-render`.
+- Abbreviate common **prose** words only: db, auth, config, req, res, fn, impl, repo, env, deps. Standard acronyms (API, URL, CI, TS) stay.
+- Prefer the shortest faithful phrasing; a few words beats a sentence, a sentence beats a paragraph. List only for genuinely discrete items.
+
+## NEVER abbreviate or alter (verbatim, even in ultra)
+
+These carry meaning that a reader or a paste must reproduce exactly:
+
+- code blocks, function/variable/type names, API identifiers, file paths, `path:line` refs;
+- error strings, log lines, CLI commands, flags;
+- commit-message keywords (`feat`, `fix`, `chore`, …) and any quoted literal.
+
+Abbreviation applies to prose words about the code, never to the code's own symbols.
+
+## Auto-clarity (carve-out — drop to clear prose, then resume)
+
+Switch to normal, full prose — not fragments — for content a human reads to *decide* or *act*, then resume ultra after:
+
+- security warnings and irreversible/destructive-action confirmations;
+- multi-step sequences where dropped conjunctions or fragment order could be misread (e.g. "migrate table, drop column — backup first": order is load-bearing);
+- any case where the compression itself would create technical ambiguity;
+- the **final answer / explanation** the user asked for — deliver it clearly, not telegraphically;
+- when the user asks you to clarify or repeats a question.
+
+When unsure whether something is decision-grade, keep it clear. Brevity never costs correctness or a needed caveat.

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "baldart",
-  "version": "4.50.0",
+  "version": "4.51.0",
   "description": "Claude Agent Framework - Reusable framework for coordinating AI agents and humans in software projects",
   "bin": {
     "baldart": "./bin/baldart.js"