From 2d91f6a957d4b57b5452060f5af73447160e8a11 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dgebert Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:45:43 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] docs: move benchmark chart up, right after Before / after Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 --- README.md | 20 ++++++++++---------- 1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 713db6f..274f1e2 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -27,6 +27,16 @@ With ponytail: More survivors in [examples/](examples/). +## Numbers + +Six tasks: streaming log parser, atomic file sync, notification dispatcher, validation engine, auth module, concurrent money ledger. One spec each, one fresh agent per arm, same model. Three arms: no skill, the [caveman](https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman) skill, and ponytail. Every arm passes the same adversarial security and concurrency probes. Then the agreement ends: + +

+ Lines of code per task: ponytail 490 total vs caveman 1,440 vs no-skill control 3,629, all passing the same adversarial probes +

+ +**47% fewer tokens than the no-skill agent. 3× faster. A seventh of the code.** The 3,139 lines nobody wrote have never caused an incident. When a surprise feature request hit two of the tasks, ponytail extended in 96 changed lines; caveman needed 413, the no-skill agent 1,115. Every shortcut ponytail took is marked in the code with a `ponytail:` comment naming its upgrade path. Data: [benchmarks/](benchmarks/). + ## How it works Before writing code, the agent stops at the first rung that holds: @@ -71,16 +81,6 @@ The code you never wrote scales infinitely. Zero bugs, zero CVEs, 100% uptime si **Why "ponytail"?** You know exactly why. -## Numbers - -Six tasks: streaming log parser, atomic file sync, notification dispatcher, validation engine, auth module, concurrent money ledger. One spec each, one fresh agent per arm, same model. Three arms: no skill, the [caveman](https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman) skill, and ponytail. Every arm passes the same adversarial security and concurrency probes. Then the agreement ends: - -

- Lines of code per task: ponytail 490 total vs caveman 1,440 vs no-skill control 3,629, all passing the same adversarial probes -

- -**47% fewer tokens than the no-skill agent. 3× faster. A seventh of the code.** The 3,139 lines nobody wrote have never caused an incident. When a surprise feature request hit two of the tasks, ponytail extended in 96 changed lines; caveman needed 413, the no-skill agent 1,115. Every shortcut ponytail took is marked in the code with a `ponytail:` comment naming its upgrade path. Data: [benchmarks/](benchmarks/). - ## License [MIT](LICENSE). The shortest license that works.