MCP.Market

ponytail-help skill

by DietrichGebert·DietrichGebert/ponytail·191k stars·MIT

Quick reference for ponytail's modes, skills, and commands. One-shot display.

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Install the ponytail-help 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-help ~/.claude/skills/ponytail-help
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

Ponytail Help

Display this reference card when invoked. One-shot, do NOT change mode, write flag files, or persist anything.

Levels

Level sticks until changed or session end.

Skills

In Codex CLI and the IDE extension, invoke skills with $ponytail:ponytail, $ponytail:ponytail-review, or $ponytail:ponytail-help. Claude Code and OpenCode use the slash-command forms above (OpenCode ships all six as slash commands).

Deactivate

Say "stop ponytail" or "normal mode". Resume anytime with /ponytail. /ponytail off also works.

Band (Claude Code)

/ponytail band hides the band above the prompt, the same command brings it back. /ponytail band on and /ponytail band off set it directly. The level stays. /ponytail band import adds your past Claude Code sessions (cost, agent time, tokens) to the board.

Configure Default Mode

Default mode = full, auto-active every session. Change it:

Environment variable (highest priority):

export PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE=ultra

Config file (~/.config/ponytail/config.json, Windows: %APPDATA%\ponytail\config.json):

{ "defaultMode": "lite" }

Set "off" to disable auto-activation on session start, activate manually with /ponytail when wanted.

Resolution: env var > config file > full.

Update

Enable auto-update once: open /plugin, go to Marketplaces, pick ponytail, Enable auto-update. Claude Code then pulls new versions at startup (run /reload-plugins when it prompts). Manual refresh: /plugin marketplace update ponytail then /reload-plugins.

If /plugin is not recognized, your Claude Code is out of date. Update it (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@latest, or brew upgrade claude-code) and restart. Other hosts use their own update flow.

More

Full docs + examples: https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail

More skills from DietrichGebert/ponytail

  • AponytailLazy senior dev mode for any coding task: the smallest change that fully solves it, and a reply a busy human understands in one read.
  • AponytailLazy senior dev mode: the smallest change that fully solves the task, and a reply a busy human understands in one read. Use on any coding task (writing, fixing, refactoring, reviewing, choosing dependencies) and when the user says "ponytail", "be lazy", "simplest solution", "yagni", or complains about over-engineering or bloat. Levels: lite, full (default), ultra.
  • Aponytail-auditQuality audit of the whole repo: bugs, security, real load, missing tests, speed, and what to delete. Most important first.
  • Aponytail-auditQuality audit of a whole repo: bugs, security holes, what breaks under real load, risky code without tests, slow paths, and what to delete, merge or split. Ranked, each finding explained in plain English. One-shot report, changes nothing. Use for "audit this codebase", "review the whole repo", "find bloat", "what can I delete", /ponytail-audit.
  • Aponytail-debtHarvest every shortcut: comment into one debt ledger, so deferrals get tracked instead of forgotten. One-shot report.
  • Aponytail-debtList every `shortcut:` comment (and older `ponytail:` ones) as a debt ledger. One-shot report, changes nothing. Use for "ponytail debt", "what did ponytail defer", "list the shortcuts", /ponytail-debt.
  • Aponytail-gainShow ponytail measured impact as a scoreboard: less code, less cost, more speed, from the agentic benchmark averages. One-shot display.
  • Aponytail-gainShow ponytail's measured savings (code, cost, speed) from the benchmark. One-shot display. Use for /ponytail-gain, "what does ponytail save", "ponytail impact".
  • Aponytail-helpQuick reference for ponytail levels, skills and commands. One-shot display. Use for /ponytail-help, "ponytail help", "how do I use ponytail".
  • Aponytail-reviewQuality review of a diff: bugs, security, real load, missing tests, speed, and what to delete. Each finding says what goes wrong and how to fix it.
  • Aponytail-reviewQuality review of a change: is the logic right, is it safe, does it hold under real load, is risky code tested, is it fast enough, and is every line needed. Reads the connected code, not only the diff. Each finding is explained in plain English. Use for "review this", "code review", "review the last commit", "review my PR", "is this over-engineered", /ponytail-review.

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