Mmcp.market

ponytail-debt skill

by DietrichGebert·DietrichGebert/ponytail·147k stars·MIT

Harvest every ponytail: shortcut comment into one debt ledger, so deferrals get tracked instead of forgotten. One-shot report.

A100/100content scan

Is the ponytail-debt skill safe?

Clean: nothing in its files matched our rules. We read 1 file in the folder on 2026-09-28.

No findings.

Install the ponytail-debt skill

A skill is a folder. Copy it into your agent's skills folder and the agent loads it when the task matches its description. 

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail.git /tmp/ponytail
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/ponytail/.openclaw/skills/ponytail-debt ~/.claude/skills/ponytail-debt
available in every project

In the Claude apps, zip the folder and upload it from the Skills settings. The folder on GitHub

The instructions your agent would load

SKILL.md as published, without the frontmatter. Read it on GitHub

Every deliberate ponytail shortcut is marked with a ponytail: comment naming its ceiling and upgrade path. This collects them into one ledger so a deferral can't quietly become permanent.

Scan

Grep the repo for comment markers, skipping node_modules, .git, and build output:

grep -rnE '(#|//) ?ponytail:' . (add other comment prefixes if your stack uses them)

Each hit is one ledger row. The comment prefix keeps prose that merely mentions the convention out of the ledger.

Output

One row per marker, grouped by file:

:, . ceiling: . upgrade: .

The convention is ponytail: , , so pull the ceiling and the trigger straight from the comment. Want an owner per row too? add git blame -L,.

Flag the rot risk: any ponytail: comment that names no upgrade path or trigger gets a no-trigger tag, those are the ones that silently rot.

End with markers, with no trigger. Nothing found: No ponytail: debt. Clean ledger.

Boundaries

Reads and reports only, changes nothing. To persist it, ask and it writes the ledger to a file (e.g. PONYTAIL-DEBT.md). One-shot. "stop ponytail-debt" or "normal mode" to revert.

More skills from DietrichGebert/ponytail

  • AponytailLazy senior dev mode for any coding task (write, refactor, fix, review): YAGNI, stdlib first, no unrequested abstractions. Not for non-coding requests.
  • AponytailForces the laziest solution that actually works, simplest, shortest, most minimal. Channels a senior dev who has seen everything: question whether the task needs to exist at all (YAGNI), reach for the standard library before custom code, native platform features before dependencies, one line before fifty. Supports intensity levels: lite, full (default), ultra. Use on ANY coding task: writing, adding, refactoring, fixing, reviewing, or designing code, and choosing libraries or dependencies. Also use whenever the user says "ponytail", "be lazy", "lazy mode", "simplest solution", "minimal solution", "yagni", "do less", or "shortest path", or complains about over-engineering, bloat, boilerplate, or unnecessary dependencies. Do NOT use for non-coding requests (general knowledge, prose, translation, summaries, recipes).
  • Aponytail-auditAudit the whole repo for over-engineering. A ranked list of what to delete, simplify, or replace with stdlib or native features.
  • Aponytail-auditWhole-repo audit for over-engineering. Like ponytail-review, but scans the entire codebase instead of a diff: a ranked list of what to delete, simplify, or replace with stdlib/native equivalents. Use when the user says "audit this codebase", "audit for over-engineering", "what can I delete from this repo", "find bloat", "ponytail-audit", or "/ponytail-audit". One-shot report, does not apply fixes.
  • Aponytail-debtHarvest every `ponytail:` comment in the codebase into a debt ledger, so the deliberate shortcuts and deferrals ponytail leaves behind get tracked instead of rotting into "later means never". Use when the user says "ponytail debt", "/ponytail-debt", "what did ponytail defer", "list the shortcuts", "ponytail ledger", or "what did we mark to do later". One-shot report, changes nothing.
  • Aponytail-gainShow ponytail measured impact as a scoreboard: less code, less cost, more speed, from the benchmark medians. One-shot display.
  • Aponytail-gainShow ponytail's measured impact as a compact scoreboard: less code, less cost, more speed, from the benchmark medians. One-shot display, not a persistent mode, and not a per-repo number. Trigger: /ponytail-gain, "ponytail gain", "what does ponytail save", "show ponytail impact", "ponytail scoreboard".
  • Aponytail-helpQuick reference for ponytail's modes, skills, and commands. One-shot display.
  • Aponytail-helpQuick-reference card for all ponytail modes, skills, and commands. One-shot display, not a persistent mode. Trigger: /ponytail-help, "ponytail help", "what ponytail commands", "how do I use ponytail".
  • Aponytail-reviewReview a diff for over-engineering. Finds what to delete: reinvented stdlib, needless deps, speculative abstractions. One line per finding.
  • Aponytail-reviewCode review focused exclusively on over-engineering. Finds what to delete: reinvented standard library, unneeded dependencies, speculative abstractions, dead flexibility. One line per finding: location, what to cut, what replaces it. Use when the user says "review for over-engineering", "what can we delete", "is this over-engineered", "simplify review", or invokes /ponytail-review. Complements correctness-focused review, this one only hunts complexity.

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