ponytail-help
dietrichgebert/ponytail
Quick-reference card for ponytail modes, skills, and commands.
What is ponytail-help?
Displays a one-shot reference guide for all ponytail functionality without changing mode or persisting state. Trigger with /ponytail-help or natural language queries like "ponytail help" or "how do I use ponytail".
- Display complete reference card for ponytail modes (Lite, Full, Ultra)
- List all available skills and their triggers
- Show deactivation and resumption commands
- Explain default mode configuration via environment variable or config file
- Provide update instructions for Claude Code and other hosts
How to install ponytail-help
npx skills add https://github.com/dietrichgebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-helpHow to use ponytail-help
- 1.Trigger the help card by typing /ponytail-help, "ponytail help", "what ponytail commands", or "how do I use ponytail"
- 2.Review the Levels table to understand Lite, Full, and Ultra modes
- 3.Check the Skills table to see available commands and their triggers
- 4.Consult the Deactivate section to learn how to stop or resume ponytail
- 5.Reference the Configure Default Mode section to set your preferred mode via environment variable or config file
Use cases
- Quick lookup of ponytail command syntax during a coding session
- Reference the three laziness levels (Lite, Full, Ultra) when deciding which mode to activate
- Check available skills like ponytail-review, ponytail-audit, ponytail-debt, and ponytail-gain
- Understand how to configure default mode for your environment
- Learn how to update ponytail in Claude Code or other supported hosts
- Developers using Claude Code, Cursor, or OpenCode with ponytail installed
- Teams adopting YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It) principles for code simplification
- Engineers who need quick reference during active coding sessions
ponytail-help FAQ
Lite builds what's asked and names a lazier alternative in one line. Full (default) enforces the ladder: YAGNI → stdlib → native → one line → minimum. Ultra is YAGNI extremist, challenging requirements and deleting before adding.
Say "stop ponytail", "normal mode", or use /ponytail off. Resume anytime with /ponytail.
Yes. Set the PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE environment variable (highest priority) or create ~/.config/ponytail/config.json with {"defaultMode": "lite"}. Default is "full".
Open /plugin, go to Marketplaces, select ponytail, and enable auto-update. Claude Code will pull new versions at startup. Manually refresh with /plugin marketplace update ponytail then /reload-plugins.
ponytail-review (over-engineering review), ponytail-audit (whole-repo audit), ponytail-debt (harvest shortcut comments), and ponytail-gain (impact scoreboard).
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from dietrichgebert/ponytail.
name: ponytail-help description: > Quick-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".
Ponytail Help
Display this reference card when invoked. One-shot, do NOT change mode, write flag files, or persist anything.
Levels
| Level | Trigger | What change |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | /ponytail lite | Build what's asked, name the lazier alternative in one line. |
| Full | /ponytail | The ladder enforced: YAGNI → stdlib → native → one line → minimum. Default. |
| Ultra | /ponytail ultra | YAGNI extremist. Deletion before addition. Challenges requirements before building. |
Level sticks until changed or session end.
Skills
| Skill | Trigger | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| ponytail | /ponytail | Lazy mode itself. Simplest solution that works. |
| ponytail-review | /ponytail-review | Over-engineering review: L42: yagni: factory, one product. Inline. |
| ponytail-audit | /ponytail-audit | Whole-repo over-engineering audit: ranked list of what to delete. |
| ponytail-debt | /ponytail-debt | Harvest ponytail: shortcut comments into a tracked ledger. |
| ponytail-gain | /ponytail-gain | Measured-impact scoreboard: less code, less cost, more speed. |
| ponytail-help | /ponytail-help | This card. |
Codex uses @ponytail, @ponytail-review, and @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.
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
Related skills
More from dietrichgebert/ponytail and the wider catalog.
ponytail-review
Code review focused exclusively on over-engineering—finds what to delete.
ponytail
Enforce minimal, efficient code: question necessity, reuse existing solutions, prefer stdlib and native features over custom code.
ponytail-audit
Whole-repo audit for over-engineering: ranked list of what to delete, simplify, or replace.
ponytail-debt
Harvest ponytail: comments into a debt ledger to track deliberate shortcuts before they rot.
opencode-bridge
Bridge between OpenWork UI and OpenCode runtime
opencode-primitives
Reference OpenCode docs when implementing skills, plugins, MCPs, or config-driven behavior.