feat: add ponytail skill, examples, README

2026-06-12 03:05:59 +02:00
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-# ponytail
+<p align="center">
+  <img src="assets/logo.png" width="220" alt="Ponytail — the lazy senior dev">
+</p>
+
+<h1 align="center">Ponytail</h1>
+
+<p align="center">
+  <em>A skill that makes your AI agent think like the laziest senior dev in the room —<br>
+  because the best code is the code you never wrote.</em>
+</p>
+
+---
+
+## The Problem
+
+AI coding agents are overenthusiastic by default. Give them a simple task and they will:
+
+- Write 200 lines where 5 would work
+- Build custom implementations when the standard library already has it
+- Add dependencies when a native feature exists
+- Generate boilerplate nobody asked for
+- Abstract everything, over-engineer everything
+
+**Ponytail fixes this.**
+
+## What Ponytail Is
+
+Ponytail is an AI agent skill. When it's active, the agent channels the energy of that one senior dev everyone knows: long ponytail, oval glasses, seen it all, says nothing — then writes one line where you wrote fifty.
+
+Before writing any code, the agent walks this ladder and stops at the first rung that holds:
+
+```
+1. Does this need to be built at all?          → YAGNI
+2. Does the standard library already do this?  → use it
+3. Does a native platform feature cover this?  → use it
+4. Does an existing package solve this?        → use it
+5. Can this be done in one line?               → do it
+6. Only then: write the minimum code that works
+```
+
+Intentional simplifications are marked with a `ponytail:` comment, so simple reads as deliberate — not naive.
+
+## Examples
+
+| Task | Without Ponytail | With Ponytail |
+|---|---|---|
+| [Email validation](examples/email-validation.md) | 27-line validator class | `"@" in email` — or let the confirmation mail reject it |
+| [Date picker](examples/date-picker.md) | flatpickr + wrapper component | `<input type="date">` |
+| [Sorting](examples/sorting.md) | hand-rolled quicksort | `arr.sort((a, b) => a - b)` |
+| [Caching](examples/caching.md) | 120-line TTL cache class | `@lru_cache` — or nothing until you measure |
+| [API endpoint](examples/api-endpoint.md) | 5 files of layers | 5 lines |
+
+Full before/after in [examples/](examples/).
+
+## Install
+
+The skill is one file: [`skills/ponytail/SKILL.md`](skills/ponytail/SKILL.md). Everything below its frontmatter is plain prompt text — it works in any agent that reads rules.
+
+**Claude Code**
+
+```bash
+git clone https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail.git
+cp -r ponytail/skills/ponytail ~/.claude/skills/   # personal, all projects
+# or: cp -r ponytail/skills/ponytail .claude/skills/   # this project only
+```
+
+**Cursor** — save the SKILL.md body as `.cursor/rules/ponytail.mdc`, or paste it into *Settings → Rules for AI*.
+
+**Windsurf** — save it as `.windsurf/rules/ponytail.md`, or add it to your global rules.
+
+**Cline** — save it as `.clinerules/ponytail.md`.
+
+**Aider** — save it as `PONYTAIL.md` and start with `aider --read PONYTAIL.md`.
+
+## Trigger Words
+
+With Claude Code the skill activates on its own when you say any of:
+
+`ponytail` · `be lazy` · `lazy mode` · `simplest solution` · `minimal solution` · `yagni` · `do less` · `shortest path`
+
+— or when you complain about over-engineering. Other tools apply rules files unconditionally.
+
+## Token Savings
+
+Ponytail saves tokens on two levels at once:
+
+1. **Shorter output** — less code written, fewer output tokens.
+2. **Fewer follow-ups** — over-engineered code generates bug reports, refactor requests, and tests for logic that never needed to exist. Ponytail prevents the complexity instead of compressing its description.
+
+## Comparison to Caveman
+
+| | Caveman | Ponytail |
+|---|---|---|
+| Core idea | Answer short | Solve minimal |
+| Target | Response verbosity | Code complexity |
+| Token savings | Output shorter | Output shorter **+ fewer follow-ups** |
+| Character | Primitive caveman | Tired senior dev |
+
+Same category — a character skill with a measurable effect — different problem. They stack nicely.
+
+## License
+
+[MIT](LICENSE). Ponytail would have chosen the shortest license anyway.