Skills dietrichgebert ponytail Ponytail
ponytail-help
- Use it when:
- You've installed ponytail and want a reminder of its levels, commands and settings.
- It does:
- Prints one reference card, without changing the mode or saving anything.
- Lists:
- The lite, full and ultra levels, the six skills, how to turn ponytail off, the Claude Code band commands, default-mode settings and updating.
- Runs:
- When you type /ponytail-help or ask for ponytail help.
Skill 5 of 5 in the Ponytail bundle, after ponytail-debt.
Only works inside its bundle: A reference card for ponytail's levels, settings and skills, so it only helps once they're installed. Install Ponytail instead.
A reference card for the ponytail skills, so it only helps once they're installed.
TL;DR
A one-shot cheat sheet for Ponytail, a skill set that makes coding agents write the least code that fully solves a task. It shows the three levels: lite builds what was asked and names the smaller option, full is the default, and ultra also pushes back on the request before building. It lists the six skills, ponytail itself, ponytail-review, ponytail-audit, ponytail-debt, ponytail-gain and this card, and how to call them in Codex. It reminds you that "stop ponytail" or "normal mode" turns it off, explains how to hide the band Ponytail shows above the prompt in Claude Code or import past sessions into it, and how to set the default level with the PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE variable or ~/.config/ponytail/config.json, including off. It also says how to turn on the plugin's auto-update in Claude Code. It's only useful once the other ponytail skills are installed.
Summarizes the skill at 96608e0.
npx skills add https://github.com/dietrichgebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-help skills.sh pageSource on GitHubAll skills from dietrichgebert/ponytail
- Total Downloads
- 51,900 on skills.sh, Nov 9, 2026
- Repo stars
- 187,013 dietrichgebert/ponytail
- First seen
- Jun 12, 2026 on skills.sh
Weekly values
| Week to | Installs |
|---|---|
| Sep 21 | 2,222 |
| Sep 28 | 2,172 |
| Oct 5 | 2,839 |
| Oct 12 | 4,493 |
| Oct 19 | 5,290 |
| Oct 26 | 5,460 |
| Nov 2 | 5,230 |
| Nov 9 | 3,983 |
| Category |
Test-first work, implementation from specs, git hygiene and scope control. Everything for building software: planning, coding, debugging, design, frameworks, cloud, agents and skills. |
|---|---|
| Type |
A one-shot action you invoke by name, such as turning the conversation into a PRD. |
| Effect |
Adds no side effects of its own. It shapes how the agent thinks, writes or reviews. Guidelines and routers are always effect:none, even when the task they support edits code. |
| Needs |
Instructions only. Works in any agent that supports skills. |
| Publisher |
Everyone else. Unverified vendor claims default to community. |
| Topics |
SKILL.md
From dietrichgebert/ponytail at 96608e0. Checked daily, last changed Nov 6, 2026.
Frontmatter
name: ponytail-help
description: >
Quick reference for ponytail levels, skills and commands. One-shot display.
Use for /ponytail-help, "ponytail help", "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 was asked, name the smaller option in one line. |
| Full | /ponytail |
The smallest complete change, a check where the logic needs one, and a reply that names what was skipped and any risk. Default. |
| Ultra | /ponytail ultra |
Also questions the request and pushes back before building. |
Level sticks until changed or session end.
Skills
| Skill | Trigger | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| ponytail | /ponytail |
Lazy mode itself: least new code, clear replies that name skipped work and risks. |
| ponytail-review | /ponytail-review |
Quality review of a diff: bugs, security, load, missing tests, speed, what to cut. Each finding says what goes wrong and how to fix it. |
| ponytail-audit | /ponytail-audit |
The same quality review for the whole repo, ranked. |
| ponytail-debt | /ponytail-debt |
Harvest 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. |
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