ponytail-debt
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.
- Installs
- 43.8K
- Last 24h
- +916
- Trending rank
- #395
- Security
- Pass
Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/dietrichgebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-debt- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads ponytail-debt automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
Security audits
Independent scans of the skill's instructions and bundled files.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
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:
<file>:<line>, <what was simplified>. ceiling: <the limit named>. upgrade: <the trigger to revisit>.
The convention is shortcut: <ceiling>, <upgrade path>, so pull the ceiling
and the trigger straight from the comment. Want an owner per row too? add
git blame -L<line>,<line>.
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 <N> markers, <M> 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.
FAQ
What does the ponytail-debt skill do?
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.
How do I install ponytail-debt?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/dietrichgebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-debt in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/ponytail-debt/ (personal) or .claude/skills/ponytail-debt/ (project).
Which AI agents can use ponytail-debt?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is ponytail-debt safe to install?
Security partners have reviewed it: Gen Agent Trust Hub passed; Socket passed; Snyk passed. As with any skill, read the SKILL.md and bundled scripts before installing.
Who maintains ponytail-debt?
It is published by dietrichgebert in dietrichgebert/ponytail. It has 43,755 recorded installs.
More from dietrichgebert/ponytail
ponytail
dietrichgebert/ponytail
Lazy 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.
ponytail-review
dietrichgebert/ponytail
Quality 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.
ponytail-audit
dietrichgebert/ponytail
Quality 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.
ponytail-help
dietrichgebert/ponytail
Quick reference for ponytail levels, skills and commands. One-shot display. Use for /ponytail-help, "ponytail help", "how do I use ponytail".
ponytail-gain
dietrichgebert/ponytail
Show ponytail's measured savings (code, cost, speed) from the benchmark. One-shot display. Use for /ponytail-gain, "what does ponytail save", "ponytail impact".
Popular docs & writing skills
grill-with-docs
mattpocock/skills
A relentless interview to sharpen a plan or design, which also creates docs (ADR's and glossary) as we go.
lark-markdown
open.feishu.cn
飞书 Markdown：查看、创建、上传、编辑和比较飞书中的原生 Markdown 文件。当用户要操作飞书 Markdown 文件，或比较其远端版本及本地草稿时使用。纯本地 Markdown 文件操作不触发本 skill。不负责将 Markdown 导入为飞书在线文档，也不负责文件搜索、权限、评论、移动、删除等云空间管理操作。
writing-beats
mattpocock/skills
Writing, exploit; assemble raw material into a journey of beats, grounding each term before a beat leans on it.
writing-shape
mattpocock/skills
Writing, exploit: shape raw material into an article, paragraph by paragraph.
writing-fragments
mattpocock/skills
Writing, explore: mine raw fragments, no structure yet.
writing-for-agents
mattpocock/skills
Writing documents for agents. Use when creating or editing skills, or modifying AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md.