ponytail skills
Makes your AI agent think like the laziest senior dev in the room. The best code is the code you never wrote. 6 skills. skills-hub.ai mirrors 6 skills from ponytail daily, every skill links back to its upstream GitHub source. Install with one command across Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, and any MCP-compatible tool.
Upstream: github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail
Installing a ponytail skill
Pick a skill below, then run the install command for your AI coding tool. The skills-hub CLI writes the SKILL.md to the right directory and tracks the install in .skills.json so your team gets reproducible installs.
# Install a ponytail skill
npx @skills-hub-ai/cli install <skill-slug>
# Browse all ponytail skills via API
curl https://skills-hub.ai/api/v1/skills?source=ponytail
# Browse all sources
open https://skills-hub.ai/sourcesTop ponytail skills
See all →The most-installed skills from ponytail, ranked by adoption.
01ponytail-audit
Whole-repo audit for over-engineering. Like ponytail-review, but scans the entire codebase instead of a diff: a ranked list of what to delete, simplify, or replace with stdlib/native equivalents. Use when the user says "audit this codebase", "audit for over-engineering", "what can I delete from this repo", "find bloat", "ponytail-audit", or "/ponytail-audit". One-shot report, does not apply fixes.
Buildfrom ponytail02ponytail-debt
Harvest every `ponytail:` comment in the codebase into a debt ledger, so the deliberate shortcuts and deferrals ponytail leaves behind get tracked instead of rotting into "later means never". Use when the user says "ponytail debt", "/ponytail-debt", "what did ponytail defer", "list the shortcuts", "ponytail ledger", or "what did we mark to do later". One-shot report, changes nothing.
Buildfrom ponytail03ponytail-help
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".
Buildfrom ponytail04ponytail
Forces the laziest solution that actually works, simplest, shortest, most minimal. Channels a senior dev who has seen everything: question whether the task needs to exist at all (YAGNI), reach for the standard library before custom code, native platform features before dependencies, one line before fifty. Supports intensity levels: lite, full (default), ultra. Use on ANY coding task: writing, adding, refactoring, fixing, reviewing, or designing code, and choosing libraries or dependencies. Also use whenever the user says "ponytail", "be lazy", "lazy mode", "simplest solution", "minimal solution", "yagni", "do less", or "shortest path", or complains about over-engineering, bloat, boilerplate, or unnecessary dependencies. Do NOT use for non-coding requests (general knowledge, prose, translation, summaries, recipes).
Buildfrom ponytail05ponytail-gain
Show ponytail's measured impact as a compact scoreboard: less code, less cost, more speed, from the benchmark medians. One-shot display, not a persistent mode, and not a per-repo number. Trigger: /ponytail-gain, "ponytail gain", "what does ponytail save", "show ponytail impact", "ponytail scoreboard".
Buildfrom ponytail06ponytail-review
Code review focused exclusively on over-engineering. Finds what to delete: reinvented standard library, unneeded dependencies, speculative abstractions, dead flexibility. One line per finding: location, what to cut, what replaces it. Use when the user says "review for over-engineering", "what can we delete", "is this over-engineered", "simplify review", or invokes /ponytail-review. Complements correctness-focused review, this one only hunts complexity.
Buildfrom ponytail
About this source
skills-hub.ai mirrors skills from 90+ official GitHub repositories every day. Each imported skill is parsed from a SKILL.md file in the source repo, gets a security scan and quality score on import, and links back to its upstream source of truth.
Last sync: Aug 24, 2026, 6:15 PM (success).
ponytail skills, frequently asked
What are ponytail skills?
ponytail skills are AI coding skills published by ponytail (Makes your AI agent think like the laziest senior dev in the room. The best code is the code you never wrote. 6 skills.) and mirrored daily on skills-hub.ai. They are SKILL.md files that follow the open Agent Skills standard, so they work in Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, Windsurf, Copilot, and any MCP-compatible tool.
How many ponytail skills are available?
skills-hub.ai indexes 6 skills from ponytail, synced daily from the upstream GitHub repository (https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail).
How do I install a ponytail skill?
Run `npx @skills-hub-ai/cli install <skill-slug>` in your project. The CLI writes the SKILL.md to the right directory for your AI tool and adds it to your `.skills.json` lockfile so your team gets the same skills at the same versions.
Are these official ponytail skills?
Yes. Every skill from this source is mirrored from ponytail's own GitHub repository (https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail). Each skill page links back to the upstream source of truth, so you can verify the original.