Ponytail

Lazy senior dev mode: the smallest change that fully solves the task

About

Makes your coding agent climb a ladder before writing anything: does this need to exist, is it already in the codebase, does the standard library or platform do it, is a dependency already installed, can it be one line, and only then the minimum code plus one small test for real logic. Replies end with what it skipped and any risk. Levels lite, full and ultra (ultra pushes back on the request itself). The author's benchmark in Claude Code reports 53% less code, 45% fewer tokens and more risky logic shipped with tests.

Install

Works with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Grok Build, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Copilot

Access

Medium

What this skill's own files let it touch on your machine and accounts. Access isn't a verdict: check the publisher and the security audits too.

Bundles scripts
Runs shell commands
Writes files in your project
No network access
No credentials needed

The skill itself is plain instructions. The Claude Code and Codex plugins also add lifecycle hooks (small Node scripts) that run every session to activate the mode, track the current level and show it in the status line; Codex asks you to trust those two hooks first. Extra commands (ponytail-review, ponytail-audit, ponytail-debt) read your code and report. Install only from DietrichGebert/ponytail or @dietrichgebert/ponytail on npm: the author warns that copies shipping .exe or .dll files are fake.

Reviewed from source on Oct 21, 2026. Read the files yourself before installing.