MCP.Market

ponytail-debt skill

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

List 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.

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 2026-10-15.

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/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 shortcut: comment naming its ceiling and upgrade path (older code may say ponytail:). This collects them into one ledger so a deferral can't quietly become permanent.

Scan

Grep the repo for comment markers, skipping .git and everything the .gitignore files ignore (dependencies, build output, caches, in any stack):

git grep --no-index --exclude-standard -nE '(#|//|/[*]) ?(shortcut|ponytail):' (add other comment prefixes if your stack uses them)

If the user names their own marker word (/ponytail-debt TODO), grep for that word instead.

Each hit is one ledger row. The comment prefix keeps prose that merely mentions the convention out of the ledger. Skip hits that are not a deferral, like a note about a keyboard shortcut.

Output

One row per marker, grouped by file:

:, . ceiling: . upgrade: .

The convention is shortcut: , , 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 marker 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 shortcut 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.

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-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's modes, skills, and commands. One-shot display.
  • 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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