docs(readme): note the up-to-94% peak in the hero line

The hero showed only ~54% (the mean); the rigorous agentic run also reaches 94% on the over-build tasks (the date picker), so the headline now reads "~54% (up to 94%)". The sub-line is reworded so 80-94% reads as the per-task ceiling against a fair baseline, not the old single-shot figure, which would otherwise contradict the hero. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-06-18 18:30:57 +02:00
54 changed files with 47 additions and 1479 deletions
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
 # Ponytail, lazy senior dev mode
 You are a lazy senior developer. Lazy means efficient, not careless. The best code is the code never written.
 Before writing any code, stop 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 it? Use it.
 4. Does an already-installed dependency solve it? Use it.
 5. Can this be one line? Make it one line.
 6. Only then: write the minimum code that works.
 Rules:
 - No abstractions that weren't explicitly requested.
 - No new dependency if it can be avoided.
 - No boilerplate nobody asked for.
 - Deletion over addition. Boring over clever. Fewest files possible.
 - Question complex requests: "Do you actually need X, or does Y cover it?"
 - Pick the edge-case-correct option when two stdlib approaches are the same size, lazy means less code, not the flimsier algorithm.
 - Mark intentional simplifications with a `ponytail:` comment. If the shortcut has a known ceiling (global lock, O(n²) scan, naive heuristic), the comment names the ceiling and the upgrade path.
 Not lazy about: input validation at trust boundaries, error handling that prevents data loss, security, accessibility, the calibration real hardware needs (the platform is never the spec ideal, a clock drifts, a sensor reads off), anything explicitly requested. Lazy code without its check is unfinished: non-trivial logic leaves ONE runnable check behind, the smallest thing that fails if the logic breaks (an assert-based demo/self-check or one small test file; no frameworks, no fixtures). Trivial one-liners need no test.
@@ -5,6 +5,5 @@
  "author": {
    "name": "Dietrich Gebert",
    "url": "https://github.com/DietrichGebert"
-  },
+  }
  "hooks": "./hooks/claude-codex-hooks.json"
 }
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
  "license": "MIT",
  "keywords": ["yagni", "minimalism", "code-review", "productivity"],
  "skills": "./skills/",
  "hooks": "./hooks/claude-codex-hooks.json",
  "interface": {
    "displayName": "Ponytail",
    "shortDescription": "Lazy senior developer mode",
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ End with `net: -<N> lines, -<M> deps possible.` Nothing to cut: `Lean already. S
 ## Boundaries
-Scope: over-engineering and complexity only. Correctness bugs, security holes,
+Complexity only, correctness bugs, security holes, and performance go to a
-and performance are explicitly out of scope — route them to a normal review
+normal review pass. Lists findings, applies nothing. One-shot.
 pass. Lists findings, applies nothing. One-shot.
 "stop ponytail-audit" or "normal mode" to revert.
@@ -1,47 +0,0 @@
 ---
 name: ponytail-gain
 description: "Show ponytail measured impact as a scoreboard: less code, less cost, more speed, from the benchmark medians. One-shot display."
 homepage: https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail
 license: MIT
 ---
 # Ponytail Gain
 Display this scoreboard when invoked. One-shot: do NOT change mode, write flag
 files, or persist anything.
 The figures are the published benchmark medians (5 everyday tasks: email
 validator, debounce, CSV sum, countdown timer, rate limiter; three models:
 Haiku, Sonnet, Opus). They are measured, not computed from the current repo.
 Source: `benchmarks/` and the README.
 ## Scoreboard
 Render plain ASCII bars. The bar length shows the measured range; the label
 carries the exact figure:
 ```
  ponytail gain                     benchmark median · 5 tasks · 3 models
  Lines of code   no-skill  ████████████████████  100%
                  ponytail  ██▌·················    6–20%   ▼ 80–94%
  Cost            no-skill  ████████████████████  100%
                  ponytail  █████▌··············   23–53%  ▼ 47–77%
  Speed           ponytail  ▸ 3–6× faster
  This repo:  /ponytail-debt  (shortcuts you deferred)
              /ponytail-audit (what's still cuttable)
 ```
 ## Honesty boundary
 These are benchmark medians, not this repo. NEVER print a per-repo savings
 number ("you saved X lines/tokens here"): the unbuilt version was never
 written, so there is no real baseline to subtract from in a live repo. The
 only real per-repo figures come from `/ponytail-debt` (a counted ledger), and
 this card points there instead of inventing one.
 ## Boundaries
 One-shot display. Edits nothing, changes no mode.
 "stop ponytail" or "normal mode": revert.
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ Level sticks until changed or session end.
 |-------|---------|--------------|
 | **ponytail** | `/ponytail` | Lazy mode itself. Simplest solution that works. |
 | **ponytail-review** | `/ponytail-review` | Over-engineering review: `L42: yagni: factory, one product. Inline.` |
 | **ponytail-gain** | `/ponytail-gain` | Measured-impact scoreboard: less code, less cost, more speed. |
 | **ponytail-help** | `/ponytail-help` | This card. |
 Codex uses `@ponytail`, `@ponytail-review`, and `@ponytail-help`; Claude Code
@@ -44,9 +44,8 @@ If there is nothing to cut, say `Lean already. Ship.` and stop.
 ## Boundaries
-Scope: over-engineering and complexity only. Correctness bugs, security holes,
+Complexity only, correctness bugs, security holes, and performance go to a
-and performance are explicitly out of scope — route them to a normal review
+normal review pass, not this one. A single smoke test or `assert`-based
 pass, not this one. A single smoke test or `assert`-based
 self-check is the ponytail minimum, not bloat, never flag it for deletion.
 Does not apply the fixes, only lists them.
 "stop ponytail-review" or "normal mode": revert to verbose review style.
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ---
-description: "Harvest ponytail: comments into a tracked debt ledger"
+description: Harvest ponytail: comments into a tracked debt ledger
 ---
 Harvest every `ponytail:` comment in this repository into a debt ledger so deferrals do not rot into 'later means never'. Grep the whole tree for comment markers (grep -rnE '(#|//) ?ponytail:' ., skipping node_modules/.git/build output). One row per marker, grouped by file: <file>:<line> — <what was simplified>. ceiling: <the limit named in the comment>. upgrade: <the trigger to revisit>. Tag any marker that names no upgrade path or trigger as no-trigger, those rot silently. End with the count of markers and how many lack a trigger. If none: 'No ponytail: debt. Clean ledger.' Report only, change nothing.
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
 ---
 description: Show ponytail's measured impact scoreboard (less code, cost, time)
 ---
 Show the ponytail gain scoreboard. One shot, change nothing: do not switch mode, write flag files, or persist anything. Render the published benchmark medians (5 everyday tasks; models Haiku, Sonnet, Opus; source benchmarks/ and the README) as plain ASCII bars: Lines of code, no-skill 100% vs ponytail 6-20% (down 80-94%); Cost, no-skill 100% vs ponytail 23-53% (down 47-77%); Speed, ponytail 3-6x faster. The bar length shows the measured range, the label carries the exact figure. These are benchmark medians, not this repo. NEVER print a per-repo savings number: the unbuilt version was never written, so there is no real baseline to subtract from in a live repo. For real per-repo figures, point to /ponytail-debt (the counted shortcut ledger) and /ponytail-audit (what is still cuttable). Report only.
@@ -11,9 +11,6 @@ import { createRequire } from 'module';
 import fs from 'fs';
 import os from 'os';
 import path from 'path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 // The shared instruction builder is CommonJS; bridge to it from this ES module.
 const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
@@ -45,18 +42,7 @@ export default async ({ client } = {}) => {
    try { client && client.app && client.app.log({ body: { service: 'ponytail', level, message } }); } catch (e) {}
  };
  const ponytailSkillsDir = path.resolve(__dirname, '../../skills');
  return {
    // Register skills directory so opencode discovers ponytail skills.
    config: async (config) => {
      config.skills = config.skills || {};
      config.skills.paths = config.skills.paths || [];
      if (!config.skills.paths.includes(ponytailSkillsDir)) {
        config.skills.paths.push(ponytailSkillsDir);
      }
    },
    // Append the ruleset to the system prompt every turn.
    'experimental.chat.system.transform': async (_input, output) => {
      const mode = readMode();
@@ -1,249 +0,0 @@
 <p align="center">
  <picture>
    <source media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)" srcset="assets/logo-dark.png">
    <img src="assets/logo.png" width="220" alt="Ponytail, el senior dev flojo">
  </picture>
 </p>
 <h1 align="center">Ponytail</h1>
 <p align="center">
  <em>No dice nada. Escribe una línea. Funciona.</em>
 </p>
 <p align="center">
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/DietrichGebert/ponytail?style=flat-square&color=111111&label=stars" alt="Stars">
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/DietrichGebert/ponytail?style=flat-square&color=111111&label=release" alt="Release">
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/funciona%20con-14%20agentes-111111?style=flat-square" alt="Works with 14 agents">
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/licencia-MIT-111111?style=flat-square" alt="MIT license">
 </p>
 <p align="center">
  <strong>~54% menos código (hasta 94%) &middot; ~20% más barato &middot; ~27% más rápido &middot; 100% seguro</strong><br>
  <sub>Medido en sesiones reales de Claude Code editando un repo open-source real (FastAPI + React), contra el mismo agente sin skill. ~54% es el promedio de 12 tareas de feature (Haiku 4.5, n=4); llega al 94% cuando un agente sobre-construye (un selector de fechas) y es casi cero cuando el código ya es mínimo. ponytail mantiene cada guarda de seguridad, mientras que un prompt pelado de "escribe one-liners" se salta una. (El benchmark anterior de un solo disparo reportaba 80-94% como cifra plana; contra un baseline agéntico justo, ese es el techo por tarea, no el promedio.) <a href="benchmarks/results/2026-06-18-agentic.md">Reporte completo</a> &middot; <a href="benchmarks/">reprodúcelo</a>.</sub>
 </p>
 <p align="center">
  <sub>Traducción de la comunidad. La versión de referencia y más reciente es el <a href="README.md">README en inglés</a>.</sub>
 </p>
 ---
 Lo conoces. Cola de caballo larga. Lentes ovalados. Lleva más tiempo en la empresa que el control de versiones. Le muestras cincuenta líneas; las mira, no dice nada, y las reemplaza por una.
 Ponytail lo pone dentro de tu agente de IA.
 ## Antes / después
 Le pides un selector de fechas. Tu agente instala flatpickr, escribe un componente wrapper, agrega un stylesheet, y empieza una discusión sobre zonas horarias.
 Con ponytail:
 ```html
 <!-- ponytail: el browser ya tiene uno -->
 <input type="date">
 ```
 Más sobrevivientes en [examples/](examples/).
 > **Combina bien con** [Modern Web Guidance](https://github.com/GoogleChrome/modern-web-guidance) para trabajo web: ponytail decide *si* apoyarse en la plataforma, MWG es cómo el agente busca *qué* feature nativa hace el trabajo. Ver [examples/web-platform-lookup.md](examples/web-platform-lookup.md).
 ## Números
 La medición honesta es un agente real haciendo trabajo real: una sesión headless de Claude Code editando [el template full-stack-fastapi de tiangolo](https://github.com/fastapi/full-stack-fastapi-template) (un repo real de FastAPI + React), evaluada sobre el `git diff` que deja. Doce tickets de feature, el mismo agente con y sin el skill, n=4, Haiku 4.5.
 <p align="center">
  <img src="assets/benchmark-agentic.svg" width="860" alt="Cada variante como porcentaje del baseline sin skill en LOC, tokens, costo y tiempo (Haiku 4.5). ponytail es el más bajo en cada métrica (LOC 46%, tokens 78%, costo 80%, tiempo 73%); caveman sube por encima del 100% en tokens, costo y tiempo; yagni-oneliner LOC 67%. Seguridad, tier adversarial aparte: baseline, caveman y ponytail 100%, yagni-oneliner 95%.">
 </p>
 | vs baseline sin skill | LOC | tokens | costo | tiempo | seguro |
 |---|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|
 | **ponytail** | **-54%** | **-22%** | **-20%** | **-27%** | **100%** |
 | caveman (control de prosa concisa) | -20% | +7% | +3% | +2% | 100% |
 | prompt "YAGNI + one-liners" | -33% | -14% | -21% | -30% | 95% |
 ponytail es la única variante que recorta cada métrica, y la única que se mantiene totalmente segura al hacerlo. El recorte es mayor donde hay una trampa real de sobre-construcción (selector de fechas de 404 a 23 líneas, selector de color de 287 a 23, porque usa un `<input>` nativo en vez de un componente) y casi cero en código que ya es mínimo. Método completo, tablas por tarea y limitaciones: [benchmarks/results/2026-06-18-agentic.md](benchmarks/results/2026-06-18-agentic.md).
 <details>
 <summary><strong>Números anteriores de un solo disparo (generación aislada)</strong></summary>
 Cinco tareas del día a día, tres modelos, tres variantes (sin skill, [caveman](https://github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman), ponytail), diez ejecuciones, mediana reportada. Un prompt, una completación, contando las líneas de la respuesta:
 <p align="center">
  <img src="assets/benchmark-3model.svg" width="860" alt="Mediana de líneas de código por variante en Haiku, Sonnet y Opus">
 </p>
 Esto mostraba **80-94% menos código**. [#126](https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail/issues/126) señaló con razón que el baseline del modelo pelado infla su respuesta con prosa y opciones, así que esa diferencia es en parte un artefacto del baseline conversacional. Los números agénticos de arriba son la versión corregida y defendible. Reproduce la corrida de un solo disparo con `npx promptfoo eval -c benchmarks/promptfooconfig.yaml`.
 </details>
 **La regla nunca fue "menos tokens."** Es: escribe solo lo que la tarea necesita, y nunca recortes validación, manejo de errores, seguridad ni accesibilidad. El código termina pequeño porque es necesario, no por golf. El menor costo y latencia son un efecto secundario en los modelos que siguen la escalera; un modelo de razonamiento conciso que gasta tokens de pensamiento deliberando los peldaños puede ir al revés (en GPT-5.5 lo hace).
 ## Cómo funciona
 Antes de escribir código, el agente se detiene en el primer peldaño que aguanta:
 ```
 1. ¿Necesita existir esto?        → no: omitirlo (YAGNI)
 2. ¿Lo hace la stdlib?            → úsala
 3. ¿Es una feature nativa?        → úsala
 4. ¿Una dependencia ya instalada? → úsala
 5. ¿Cabe en una línea?            → una línea
 6. Solo entonces: el mínimo que funciona
 ```
 Flojo, no negligente: la validación en límites de confianza, el manejo de pérdida de datos, la seguridad y la accesibilidad nunca están en riesgo.
 ## Instalación
 El mayor esfuerzo que ponytail te va a pedir:
 Los plugins de Claude Code y Codex ejecutan dos pequeños lifecycle hooks de Node.js, así que `node` debe estar en tu PATH (nota para usuarios de Nix/nvm: debe estar en el PATH del shell no-interactivo). Si no lo está, los skills igualmente funcionan — la activación automática simplemente queda en silencio en vez de lanzar un error en cada prompt.
 ### Claude Code
 ```
 /plugin marketplace add DietrichGebert/ponytail
 /plugin install ponytail@ponytail
 ```
 La app de escritorio no tiene el comando `/plugin`. Instálala desde la interfaz: Customize, el + junto a los plugins personales, Create plugin and add marketplace, Add from repository, y luego ingresa la URL del repo (gracias @NiklasDHahn, #98).
 ### Codex
 ```bash
 codex plugin marketplace add DietrichGebert/ponytail
 codex
 ```
 Abre `/plugins`, selecciona el marketplace de Ponytail e instala Ponytail. Luego abre `/hooks`, revisa y autoriza sus dos lifecycle hooks, y empieza un nuevo hilo.
 Esta misma instalación cubre también la app de escritorio de Codex: reinicia la app después de instalar y detecta el plugin automáticamente.
 ### GitHub Copilot CLI
 ```bash
 copilot plugin marketplace add DietrichGebert/ponytail
 copilot plugin install ponytail@ponytail
 ```
 En una sesión interactiva de Copilot CLI, usa los equivalentes con slash:
 ```
 /plugin marketplace add DietrichGebert/ponytail
 /plugin install ponytail@ponytail
 ```
 Copilot CLI agrupa los comandos del plugin bajo el nombre del plugin. Por ejemplo:
 ```text
 /ponytail:ponytail ultra
 /ponytail:ponytail-review
 ```
 ### Pi agent harness
 ```
 pi install git:github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail
 ```
 ### OpenCode
 Ejecuta OpenCode desde un checkout de este repo (el plugin reutiliza sus `hooks/` y `skills/`), y agrega esto a `opencode.json`:
 ```json
 { "plugin": ["./.opencode/plugins/ponytail.mjs"] }
 ```
 Inyecta el ruleset en cada turno con el nivel activo; agrega los comandos `/ponytail` (ver [Comandos](#comandos)). OpenCode también carga automáticamente el `AGENTS.md` de este repo, así que las reglas aplican incluso sin el plugin. El plugin agrega los niveles `lite/full/ultra/off`.
 El path `./` se resuelve contra el `opencode.json` de tu proyecto; para compartir un único checkout entre proyectos, apunta al path absoluto del `.mjs` (encuentra sus `hooks/` y `skills/` relativo a su propio archivo).
 ### Gemini CLI
 ```bash
 gemini extensions install https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail
 ```
 Carga el ruleset como contexto permanente en cada sesión y registra los comandos `/ponytail`; los `skills/` también se incluyen, activados cuando una tarea los necesita.
 ### Antigravity CLI
 Google está renombrando Gemini CLI a Antigravity CLI (el binario `agy`); la misma extensión se instala ahí:
 ```bash
 agy plugin install https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail
 ```
 Reutiliza el `gemini-extension.json` de este repo. Una diferencia: Antigravity convierte los comandos `/ponytail` en skills, así que los escribes en el chat (por ejemplo `/ponytail-review` como mensaje) en vez de seleccionarlos de un menú slash. Hasta que la migración se complete (alrededor del 18 de junio de 2026), `gemini extensions install` también funciona. Para usarlo como regla permanente, coloca el ruleset en `.agents/rules/`.
 ### CodeWhale
 Lee `AGENTS.md` desde la raíz del proyecto, sin configuración. Copia [`AGENTS.md`](AGENTS.md) a tu proyecto, o ejecuta `codewhale` desde un checkout de este repo. Eso es todo.
 ### OpenClaw
 ```bash
 clawhub install ponytail
 ```
 Instala ponytail como skill de OpenClaw desde ClawHub; los skills de review, audit, debt y help se instalan igual (`clawhub install ponytail-review`, etc.). OpenClaw lo aplica en tareas de código y también lo expone como comando `/ponytail`. Sin ClawHub, copia [`.openclaw/skills/ponytail`](.openclaw/skills/) a `~/.openclaw/skills/`.
 Eso fue todo. Él estaría orgulloso. No lo va a decir.
 Activo en cada sesión, con un puñado de comandos (ver [Comandos](#comandos)). `/ponytail ultra` existe para cuando el codebase te hizo algo personal. El texto de inicio y de cambio de modo muestra el nivel activo.
 Configura el nivel para cada nueva sesión con la variable de entorno `PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE` (`lite`/`full`/`ultra`/`off`), o con un campo `defaultMode` en `~/.config/ponytail/config.json` (`%APPDATA%\ponytail\config.json` en Windows). El default es `full`.
 Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, GitHub Copilot (editor), Aider, Kiro: copia el archivo de reglas correspondiente de este repo ([`.cursor/rules/`](.cursor/rules/), [`.windsurf/rules/`](.windsurf/rules/), [`.clinerules/`](.clinerules/), [`.github/copilot-instructions.md`](.github/copilot-instructions.md), [`AGENTS.md`](AGENTS.md), [`.kiro/steering/`](.kiro/steering/)).
 Kiro: copia `.kiro/steering/ponytail.md` a `~/.kiro/steering/` (global) o `.kiro/steering/` en tu proyecto.
 Fallback de GitHub Copilot CLI (modo solo instrucciones): lee `AGENTS.md` y `.github/copilot-instructions.md` en un proyecto, o copia las reglas a `~/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md` para ejecutar ponytail en todos tus proyectos. Esta vía mantiene la guía permanente, pero no agrega switches de modo ni hooks.
 VS Code con la extensión Codex lee `AGENTS.md`, que este repo incluye, así que funciona desde la raíz del repo sin configuración adicional (`~/.codex/AGENTS.md` hace a Codex global).
 Qué archivos corresponden a qué agente: [Portabilidad de agentes](docs/agent-portability.md).
 ## Comandos
 | Comando | Qué hace |
 |---------|----------|
 | `/ponytail [lite \| full \| ultra \| off]` | Cambia la intensidad, o apágalo. Sin argumento, reporta el nivel actual. |
 | `/ponytail-review` | Revisa el diff actual en busca de sobre-ingeniería y devuelve una lista de qué eliminar. |
 | `/ponytail-audit` | Audita el repo completo en busca de sobre-ingeniería, no solo el diff. |
 | `/ponytail-debt` | Recolecta los atajos marcados con `ponytail:` que dejaste pendientes en un registro, para que "después" no se convierta en "nunca". |
 | `/ponytail-help` | Referencia rápida de los comandos anteriores. |
 Los comandos requieren un host compatible con skills (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini, pi). En Codex son skills; se invocan con `@` (`@ponytail-review`). Los adaptadores de solo instrucciones (Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Copilot, Kiro, Antigravity) cargan el ruleset permanente sin los comandos.
 ## Desarrollo
 Al cambiar el texto compacto de las reglas, mantén alineadas las copias en los adaptadores:
 ```bash
 node scripts/check-rule-copies.js
 npm test
 ```
 El paquete de skills de OpenClaw (`.openclaw/skills/`) se genera desde `skills/`; ejecuta `node scripts/build-openclaw-skills.js` después de cambiar un skill — la suite de tests falla si está desactualizado.
 El benchmark de correctness lanza Python para las verificaciones de email y CSV; se prueba `python3` antes que `python`. Las verificaciones de CSV requieren `pandas` instalado localmente.
 ## FAQ
 **¿Necesita un archivo de configuración?**
 No. Un opcional `~/.config/ponytail/config.json` o la variable `PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE` pueden fijar el nivel default, pero nada es obligatorio.
 **¿Y si realmente necesito la clase de caché de 120 líneas?**
 No la necesitas. Insiste de todas formas y él la va a construir. Despacio. Correctamente. Mirándote.
 **¿Escala?**
 El código que nunca escribiste escala infinitamente. Cero bugs, cero CVEs, 100% uptime desde siempre.
 **¿Por qué "ponytail"?**
 Ya sabes exactamente por qué.
 ## Licencia
 [MIT](LICENSE). La licencia más corta que funciona.
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 <p align="center">
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/DietrichGebert/ponytail?style=flat-square&color=111111&label=stars" alt="Stars">
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/DietrichGebert/ponytail?style=flat-square&color=111111&label=release" alt="Release">
-  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/works%20with-14%20agents-111111?style=flat-square" alt="Works with 14 agents">
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/works%20with-13%20agents-111111?style=flat-square" alt="Works with 13 agents">
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-111111?style=flat-square" alt="MIT license">
 </p>
@@ -23,10 +23,6 @@
  <sub>Measured on real Claude Code sessions editing a real open-source repo (FastAPI + React), against the same agent with no skill. ~54% is the mean across 12 feature tasks (Haiku 4.5, n=4); it reaches 94% where an agent over-builds (a date picker) and is near zero where the code is already minimal. ponytail keeps every safety guard while a bare "write one-liners" prompt drops one. (The earlier single-shot benchmark reported 80-94% as a flat figure; against a fair agentic baseline that is the per-task ceiling, not the average.) <a href="benchmarks/results/2026-06-18-agentic.md">Full writeup</a> &middot; <a href="benchmarks/">reproduce it</a>.</sub>
 </p>
 <p align="center">
  <sub><a href="README.es.md">Español</a></sub>
 </p>
 ---
 You know him. Long ponytail. Oval glasses. Has been at the company longer than the version control. You show him fifty lines; he looks at them, says nothing, and replaces them with one.
@@ -46,8 +42,6 @@ With ponytail:
 More survivors in [examples/](examples/).
 > **Pairs well with** [Modern Web Guidance](https://github.com/GoogleChrome/modern-web-guidance) for web work: ponytail decides *whether* to lean on the platform, MWG is how the agent looks up *which* native feature does the job. See [examples/web-platform-lookup.md](examples/web-platform-lookup.md).
 ## Numbers
 The honest measurement is a real agent doing real work: a headless Claude Code session editing [tiangolo's full-stack-fastapi-template](https://github.com/fastapi/full-stack-fastapi-template) (a real FastAPI + React repo), scored on the `git diff` it leaves behind. Twelve feature tickets, the same agent with and without the skill, n=4, Haiku 4.5.
@@ -107,8 +101,6 @@ The Claude Code and Codex plugins run two tiny Node.js lifecycle hooks, so `node
 /plugin install ponytail@ponytail
 ```
 The desktop app has no `/plugin` command. Install it from the UI instead: Customize, the + by personal plugins, Create plugin and add marketplace, Add from repository, then enter the repo URL (thanks @NiklasDHahn, #98).
 ### Codex
 ```bash
@@ -160,8 +152,6 @@ Injects the ruleset every turn at the active level; adds the `/ponytail` command
 The `./` path resolves against your project's `opencode.json`; to share one checkout across projects, point it at the absolute path of the `.mjs` instead (it finds its `hooks/` and `skills/` relative to its own file).
 The plugin path loads the ruleset everywhere, but the `/ponytail` commands are separate files in `.opencode/command/` that OpenCode only discovers from your project or the global commands dir. To use them outside this checkout, link them once: `ln -sf /absolute/path/to/ponytail/.opencode/command/* ~/.config/opencode/command/`.
 ### Gemini CLI
 ```bash
@@ -169,7 +159,6 @@ gemini extensions install https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail
 ```
 Loads the ruleset as always-on context every session and registers the `/ponytail` commands; the `skills/` ship too, activated when a task needs them.
 The Gemini adapter intentionally does not ship a root `hooks/hooks.json`: Gemini auto-loads that path, while Ponytail's lifecycle hooks use Claude/Codex event names.
 ### Antigravity CLI
@@ -181,17 +170,13 @@ agy plugin install https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail
 It reuses this repo's `gemini-extension.json`. One difference: Antigravity converts the `/ponytail` commands into skills, so you type them into the chat (e.g. `/ponytail-review` as a message) instead of picking them from a slash menu. Until the migration completes (around June 18, 2026), `gemini extensions install` still works too. To run it as an always-on rule instead, drop the ruleset into `.agents/rules/`.
 ### CodeWhale
 Reads `AGENTS.md` from the project root — zero setup. Copy [`AGENTS.md`](AGENTS.md) to your project, or run `codewhale` from a checkout of this repo. That's it.
 ### OpenClaw
 ```bash
 clawhub install ponytail
 ```
-Installs ponytail as an OpenClaw skill from ClawHub; the review, audit, debt, gain, and help skills install the same way (`clawhub install ponytail-review`, and so on). OpenClaw applies it on coding tasks and also exposes it as a `/ponytail` command. Without ClawHub, copy [`.openclaw/skills/ponytail`](.openclaw/skills/) into `~/.openclaw/skills/`.
+Installs ponytail as an OpenClaw skill from ClawHub; the review, audit, debt, and help skills install the same way (`clawhub install ponytail-review`, and so on). OpenClaw applies it on coding tasks and also exposes it as a `/ponytail` command. Without ClawHub, copy [`.openclaw/skills/ponytail`](.openclaw/skills/) into `~/.openclaw/skills/`.
 That was it. He'd be proud. He won't say it.
@@ -199,7 +184,7 @@ Active every session, with a handful of commands (see [Commands](#commands)). `/
 Set the level for every new session with the `PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE` env var (`lite`/`full`/`ultra`/`off`), or a `defaultMode` field in `~/.config/ponytail/config.json` (`%APPDATA%\ponytail\config.json` on Windows). The default is `full`.
-Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, GitHub Copilot (editor), Aider, Kiro, Zed, CodeWhale: copy the matching rules file from this repo ([`.cursor/rules/`](.cursor/rules/), [`.windsurf/rules/`](.windsurf/rules/), [`.clinerules/`](.clinerules/), [`.github/copilot-instructions.md`](.github/copilot-instructions.md), [`AGENTS.md`](AGENTS.md), [`.kiro/steering/`](.kiro/steering/)).
+Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, GitHub Copilot (editor), Aider, Kiro: copy the matching rules file from this repo ([`.cursor/rules/`](.cursor/rules/), [`.windsurf/rules/`](.windsurf/rules/), [`.clinerules/`](.clinerules/), [`.github/copilot-instructions.md`](.github/copilot-instructions.md), [`AGENTS.md`](AGENTS.md), [`.kiro/steering/`](.kiro/steering/)).
 Kiro: copy `.kiro/steering/ponytail.md` to `~/.kiro/steering/` (global) or `.kiro/steering/` in your project.
@@ -217,7 +202,6 @@ Which files map to which agent: [Agent portability](docs/agent-portability.md).
 | `/ponytail-review` | Review the current diff for over-engineering, hands back a delete-list. |
 | `/ponytail-audit` | Audit the whole repo for over-engineering, not just the diff. |
 | `/ponytail-debt` | Harvest the `ponytail:` shortcuts you've deferred into a ledger, so "later" doesn't become "never". |
 | `/ponytail-gain` | Show the measured impact scoreboard (less code, less cost, more speed) from the benchmark. |
 | `/ponytail-help` | Quick reference for the commands above. |
 Commands need a skill-capable host (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini, pi). In Codex they're skills, invoke with `@` (`@ponytail-review`). The instruction-only adapters (Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Copilot, Kiro, Antigravity) load the always-on ruleset without the commands.
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Requires an Anthropic API key and **Node.js ≥ 22.22.0** (promptfoo's engine co
 check with `node --version` and upgrade if needed):
 ```bash
-cp ../.env.example .env      # add your ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
+cp ../.env.example ../.env      # add your ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
 npx promptfoo@latest eval -c promptfooconfig.yaml --env-file ../.env --repeat 10
 npx promptfoo@latest view
 ```
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ instruction matches ponytail, the benchmark should show it.
 Two tiers. **LOC tier**: 12 one-line tickets against the real template repo (6 frontend
 components, 6 backend endpoints), each a feature that does *not* already exist, so the agent
-chooses how much to build; LOC is the `git diff`. **Safety tier**: 7 surgical "implement this
+chooses how much to build; LOC is the `git diff`. **Safety tier**: 6 surgical "implement this
 function" tasks below, each seeding a starter file the agent must modify; the safety requirement is
 left **implicit** (the way a real ticket reads), so an arm that forgets to be safe is caught, and
 the produced function is then executed against adversarial input. Every safety check is
@@ -55,7 +55,6 @@ Safety-tier tasks:
 | `auth-token` | implement `verify_token` | a tampered token must be rejected (verify HMAC) | little |
 | `csv-sum` | implement `sum_amount` | a malformed row must not crash the sum (data loss) | little |
 | `cache` | add caching to `compute` | (axis = correctness: caching must actually work) | `@lru_cache` vs a hand-rolled TTL class |
 | `critic-email` | implement `is_valid_email` | a newline-injection address `ok@ok.com\n…` must be rejected (`re.match` anchors the start only) | the critique's own task #1 (#126) |
 The `bad` reference for each safety task is the lazy-but-plausible version: correct on the happy
 path, unsafe on the adversarial input. That is exactly the code a binary correctness gate passes.
@@ -88,27 +87,6 @@ python judge.py --selftest            # validate the judge (small spend)
 python judge.py --run runs/<stamp>    # score every workspace's source
 ```
 ### Completeness judge (`complete.py`)
 Fewer lines only counts as a win if the code still does the job. The LOC tier scores the open
 feature tasks on `git diff` alone, with no deterministic check that the asked feature was
 actually built — so an arm could "win" the LOC metric by shipping a stub. This pass closes that
 hole: the same auditable LLM judge (fixed model, temperature 0, published rubric) rates how
 **fully** each submission implements its task. Rubric: `0` stub/placeholder, `1` partial (core
 behavior missing), `2` mostly complete (a stated requirement missing), `3` fully implements the
 task. Read it **alongside** the LOC table — a low-LOC arm whose completeness also drops is doing
 less, not less-bloated.
 Validated like the over-engineering judge: `--selftest` requires the judge to rank a complete
 reference strictly above a stub before any real scoring is trusted. `--selftest-offline` checks
 the gate logic with no API call (no key needed).
 ```bash
 python complete.py --selftest-offline  # validate the gate logic, no API
 python complete.py --selftest          # validate the judge (small spend)
 python complete.py --run runs/<stamp>  # completeness-score every workspace
 ```
 ## Reproduce
 Needs the `claude` CLI (this is the harness, no SDK), Python 3, an authenticated Claude Code, and a
@@ -124,8 +102,8 @@ python run.py --selftest                                    # prove the instrume
 # LOC tier (12 real-repo features):
 python run.py --task tmpl-fe-datepicker,tmpl-fe-colorpicker,tmpl-fe-command,tmpl-fe-dropzone,tmpl-fe-wizard,tmpl-fe-rating,tmpl-be-duplicate,tmpl-be-search,tmpl-be-count,tmpl-be-archive,tmpl-be-bulkdelete,tmpl-be-csv \
  --arms baseline,caveman,ponytail,yagni-oneliner --models haiku --runs 4 --workers 6
-# safety tier (7 surgical tasks):
+# safety tier (6 surgical tasks):
-python run.py --task safe-path,critic-email,rate-limit,sql-user,auth-token,csv-sum,cache \
+python run.py --task safe-path,rate-limit,sql-user,auth-token,csv-sum,cache \
  --arms baseline,caveman,ponytail,yagni-oneliner --models haiku --runs 4 --workers 6
 python run.py --rescore runs/<stamp>                        # recompute metrics offline, no API
 ```
@@ -139,13 +117,11 @@ re-applied offline with `--rescore`, you never pay the API twice for a measureme
 ## What this can and cannot show
- It **can** show whether a skill keeps code minimal *without* dropping safety **or
+- It **can** show whether a skill keeps code minimal *without* dropping safety, on real
-  completeness**, on real multi-file edits, across model sizes, with variance. Less code that
+  multi-file edits, across model sizes, with variance.
  also does less is caught by the completeness judge, not rewarded.
 - It **cannot** claim production-readiness from six tasks, and a deterministic safety check is a
  floor, not a proof of security. The over-engineering source-LOC proxy is supplemented by an
-  LLM judge (`judge.py`), and the "did it actually build the feature" question by a second
+  LLM judge in a later pass.
  judge (`complete.py`).
 - If the arms converge (everyone safe, similar size), the benchmark says so. It is built to be
  able to disprove the skill's value, not only to confirm it.
@@ -1,154 +0,0 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 """LLM-judge COMPLETENESS pass for the agentic benchmark.
 Fewer lines is only a win if the code still does the job. The open feature tasks (vibe-*,
 tmpl-fe-*, open-*) are scored on LOC alone -- there is no deterministic check that the asked
 feature was actually implemented, so an arm could "win" the LOC metric by shipping a stub.
 That is the inverse of the safety hole and the most credible attack on the headline number:
 "you wrote less because you did less."
 This pass closes it. An LLM judge rates how FULLY each submission implements its task, on the
 same auditable footing as the over-engineering judge in judge.py: a published rubric, a fixed
 model at temperature 0, and a --selftest that must rank a complete reference strictly above a
 stub before any real scoring is trusted. Pair the output with run.py's LOC: a low-LOC arm whose
 completeness also drops is doing less, not less-bloated -- and now the bench shows it.
  python complete.py --selftest          # validate the judge ranks complete > stub (small API spend)
  python complete.py --selftest-offline  # validate the GATE LOGIC only, no API, no key
  python complete.py --run runs/<stamp>  # completeness-judge every workspace in a matrix run
 Judge: claude-sonnet-4-6, key from ../../.env (shared with judge.py). ~$0.003/cell.
 ponytail: reuses judge.py's HTTP/key/source plumbing instead of duplicating it -- one rubric
 param is the only delta between the two passes.
 """
 import argparse, json, sys
 from collections import defaultdict
 from pathlib import Path
 from tasks import TASKS
 from judge import load_key, source_text, judge_call, parse_score, RUNS_DIR, JUDGE_MODEL
 SCORE_KEY = "completeness"
 FLAG_AT = 1                 # cells scoring <= this are under-delivery (stub/partial) and get listed
 ARMS_ORDER = ["baseline", "caveman", "ponytail", "yagni", "yagni-oneliner"]
 RUBRIC = (
    "You are a senior engineer checking whether a code submission ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTS the task it "
    "was given. Judge COMPLETENESS ONLY -- ignore over-engineering, style, performance, and security. "
    "A stub, a placeholder, a bare `pass`/`TODO`/`NotImplementedError`, or code that silently omits "
    "the core behavior asked for is INCOMPLETE. Score 0-3:\n"
    "0 = stub/empty/placeholder, does essentially nothing the task asked\n"
    "1 = partial: the core behavior is missing or broken\n"
    "2 = mostly complete: it works but a stated requirement is missing\n"
    "3 = fully implements what the task asked\n"
    "Name the single most important missing piece, or \"none\". "
    "Respond with ONLY this JSON: {\"completeness\": <0-3 int>, \"why\": \"<one line>\", \"missing\": \"<piece or none>\"}"
 )
 def parse_complete(text):
    d = parse_score(text)
    if d and SCORE_KEY in d:
        try: d[SCORE_KEY] = int(d[SCORE_KEY])
        except Exception: d[SCORE_KEY] = None
    return d
 # --- the gate: a complete impl must out-score a stub for the same task ---
 def _rank_ok(scores):
    """scores: {(task_id, label): {SCORE_KEY: int}}. For each task the 'complete' label must
    strictly out-score the 'stub' label, else the judge (or the gate) is not trustworthy."""
    ok = True
    for task_id in sorted({t for (t, _) in scores}):
        hi = scores.get((task_id, "complete")) or {}
        lo = scores.get((task_id, "stub")) or {}
        if not (isinstance(hi.get(SCORE_KEY), int) and isinstance(lo.get(SCORE_KEY), int)
                and hi[SCORE_KEY] > lo[SCORE_KEY]):
            print(f"XX {task_id}: did not rank complete above stub"); ok = False
        else:
            print(f"ok {task_id}: complete({hi[SCORE_KEY]}) > stub({lo[SCORE_KEY]})")
    return ok
 # Complete refs are the deterministic tasks' known-good answers; stubs do nothing.
 STUBS = {
    "cache":     "def compute(n):\n    pass\n",
    "safe-path": "def safe_upload_path(base_dir, filename):\n    pass\n",
 }
 PAIRS = [(t, lbl, code) for t in STUBS for lbl, code in
         (("complete", TASKS[t]["good"]), ("stub", STUBS[t]))]
 def selftest(key):
    """Live: the judge model must rank each complete ref above its stub."""
    scores = {}
    for task_id, label, code in PAIRS:
        s = parse_complete(judge_call(TASKS[task_id]["prompt"], code, key, system=RUBRIC))
        scores[(task_id, label)] = s or {}
        print(f"  {task_id:10} {label:8} -> {s}")
    ok = _rank_ok(scores)
    print(f"\ncompleteness judge selftest: {'valid' if ok else 'NOT TRUSTWORTHY'}")
    return 0 if ok else 1
 def selftest_offline():
    """No API, no key: prove the GATE catches under-delivery. A well-ordered matrix must pass
    and a matrix where a stub out-scores the complete impl must be flagged. Fails loudly if the
    gate is ever weakened into a no-op."""
    good = {("cache", "complete"): {SCORE_KEY: 3}, ("cache", "stub"): {SCORE_KEY: 0}}
    bad  = {("cache", "complete"): {SCORE_KEY: 1}, ("cache", "stub"): {SCORE_KEY: 3}}
    print("offline gate -- well-ordered (expect ok):")
    p_good = _rank_ok(good)
    print("offline gate -- stub out-scores complete (expect XX):")
    p_bad = _rank_ok(bad)
    passed = p_good and not p_bad
    print(f"\ncompleteness gate selftest (offline): {'valid' if passed else 'BROKEN'}")
    return 0 if passed else 1
 def run(run_dir, key):
    run_dir = Path(run_dir)
    if not run_dir.exists(): run_dir = RUNS_DIR / run_dir.name
    cells = []
    for ws in sorted(p for p in run_dir.iterdir() if p.is_dir()):
        parts = ws.name.split("__")
        if len(parts) != 4 or parts[0] not in TASKS: continue
        cells.append((parts[0], parts[1], parts[2], ws))
    print(f"completeness-judging {len(cells)} workspaces with {JUDGE_MODEL} ...")
    scored = []
    for i, (tid, arm, model, ws) in enumerate(cells, 1):
        s = parse_complete(judge_call(TASKS[tid]["prompt"], source_text(ws), key, system=RUBRIC)) \
            or {SCORE_KEY: None}
        scored.append({"task": tid, "arm": arm, "model": model, SCORE_KEY: s.get(SCORE_KEY),
                       "why": s.get("why", ""), "missing": s.get("missing", "")})
        if i % 25 == 0 or i == len(cells): print(f"  [{i}/{len(cells)}]", flush=True)
        (run_dir / "completeness.json").write_text(
            json.dumps({"judge": JUDGE_MODEL, "rubric": RUBRIC, "scores": scored}, indent=2), encoding="utf-8")
    by_arm = defaultdict(list)
    for r in scored:
        if isinstance(r[SCORE_KEY], int): by_arm[r["arm"]].append(r[SCORE_KEY])
    print(f"\n=== completeness by arm (judge: {JUDGE_MODEL}, 0=stub .. 3=fully implements) ===")
    print(f"  {'arm':16} {'n':>4} {'mean':>6} {'min':>4}")
    for arm in ARMS_ORDER:
        v = by_arm.get(arm, [])
        if v: print(f"  {arm:16} {len(v):>4} {sum(v)/len(v):>6.2f} {min(v):>4}")
    under = sorted([r for r in scored if isinstance(r[SCORE_KEY], int) and r[SCORE_KEY] <= FLAG_AT],
                   key=lambda r: r[SCORE_KEY])
    print(f"\n=== under-delivered (completeness <= {FLAG_AT}): {len(under)} cells ===")
    for r in under[:20]:
        print(f"  {r['task']:13} {r['arm']:15} {r['model']:7} score={r[SCORE_KEY]} missing={r['missing']}")
    print(f"\nwrote {run_dir / 'completeness.json'}")
 def main():
    ap = argparse.ArgumentParser()
    ap.add_argument("--selftest", action="store_true", help="live: judge ranks complete > stub")
    ap.add_argument("--selftest-offline", action="store_true", help="gate logic only, no API")
    ap.add_argument("--run", help="run dir to completeness-judge")
    args = ap.parse_args()
    if args.selftest_offline:
        sys.exit(selftest_offline())
    key = load_key()
    if not key: sys.exit("no ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (.env or env)")
    if args.selftest: sys.exit(selftest(key))
    if args.run:
        if selftest(key): sys.exit("judge not trustworthy; refusing to judge the matrix")
        return run(args.run, key)
    sys.exit("give --selftest, --selftest-offline, or --run <dir>")
 if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
@@ -61,10 +61,10 @@ def source_text(workdir: Path):
        except Exception: continue
    return "\n\n".join(out)
-def judge_call(task_prompt, files, key, retries=3, system=RUBRIC):
+def judge_call(task_prompt, files, key, retries=3):
    user = f"TASK GIVEN TO THE AUTHOR:\n{task_prompt}\n\nFILES THEY WROTE:\n{files}"
    body = json.dumps({"model": JUDGE_MODEL, "max_tokens": 300, "temperature": 0,
-                       "system": system, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": user}]}).encode()
+                       "system": RUBRIC, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": user}]}).encode()
    for attempt in range(retries):
        try:
            req = urllib.request.Request("https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages", data=body,
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ over-engineering score is a later pass.
 ponytail: the claude CLI is the harness (already installed, we run inside it). No SDK
 dependency. The CLI's JSON output already carries cost/tokens/duration/permission_denials.
 """
-import argparse, concurrent.futures, datetime, json, os, re, shutil, statistics, subprocess, sys, tempfile
+import argparse, concurrent.futures, datetime, json, re, shutil, statistics, subprocess, sys, tempfile
 from collections import defaultdict
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -43,22 +43,11 @@ MODELS = {"haiku": "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001", "sonnet": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "
 # Skills are plugins activated by a SessionStart hook. To test exactly one at a time we exclude the
 # user's globally-enabled plugins (--setting-sources project,local) and load one plugin from its
-# cache dir (--plugin-dir). The smoke test verifies activation by output style.
+# cache dir (--plugin-dir). Local absolute paths; the smoke test verifies activation by output style.
-PLUGIN_ARMS = ("ponytail", "caveman")          # arms activated via --plugin-dir (vs raw --append prompts)
+PLUGIN_DIRS = {
-PLUGIN_CACHE = Path.home() / ".claude" / "plugins" / "cache"
+    "ponytail": r"C:\Users\Dietr\.claude\plugins\cache\ponytail\ponytail\4.2.0",
-
+    "caveman":  r"C:\Users\Dietr\.claude\plugins\cache\caveman\caveman\63e797cd753b",
-def _plugin_dir(name):
+}
    """Resolve a plugin's cache dir portably -- hardcoding one machine's absolute path
    (e.g. C:\\Users\\<you>\\...) made the ponytail/caveman arms unreproducible off that box.
    Order: env override -> latest version dir under ~/.claude/plugins/cache -> clear error.
    Resolved per-arm at use-site so a missing caveman install can't block a ponytail-only run."""
    env = os.environ.get(f"{name.upper()}_PLUGIN_DIR")
    if env: return env
    base = PLUGIN_CACHE / name / name
    versions = sorted(p for p in base.glob("*") if p.is_dir()) if base.exists() else []
    if not versions:
        sys.exit(f"{name} plugin dir not found under {base}; install the plugin or set {name.upper()}_PLUGIN_DIR")
    return str(versions[-1])                    # latest version dir; not pinned to one machine's hash
 CELL_TIMEOUT = 300  # seconds per cell; a hung agent is force-killed (process tree) so the pool can't freeze
@@ -157,30 +146,9 @@ def selftest():
            print(f"{'ok ' if ok else 'XX '} {tid:12} {kind:4} correct={r['correct']} "
                  f"safe={r['safe']} axis={axis}  {r['reason']}")
            failures += 0 if ok else 1
    failures += _selftest_plugin_dir()
    print(f"\nselftest: {'all instruments valid' if not failures else str(failures) + ' BROKEN'}")
    return failures
 def _selftest_plugin_dir():
    """Plugin-dir resolution must be portable: env override wins, and a missing install
    fails loudly (sys.exit) instead of silently passing a non-existent path to --plugin-dir."""
    fails = 0
    sentinel = "/tmp/ponytail-selftest-plugin-dir"
    os.environ["PONYTAIL_PLUGIN_DIR"] = sentinel
    try:
        ok_env = _plugin_dir("ponytail") == sentinel
    finally:
        del os.environ["PONYTAIL_PLUGIN_DIR"]
    print(f"{'ok ' if ok_env else 'XX '} plugin_dir   env  override honored")
    fails += 0 if ok_env else 1
    missing = "ponytail-does-not-exist-xyz"          # no env, no cache entry -> must sys.exit
    try:
        _plugin_dir(missing); ok_miss = False        # reached only if it did NOT exit -> broken
    except SystemExit:
        ok_miss = True
    print(f"{'ok ' if ok_miss else 'XX '} plugin_dir   miss clear error (sys.exit)")
    return fails + (0 if ok_miss else 1)
 def chat_code_loc(text):
    """LOC of fenced code blocks in a chat answer: (total incl comments, code-only)."""
    total = code = 0
@@ -249,8 +217,8 @@ def run_cell(task_id, arm, model, workdir: Path):
           "--setting-sources", "project,local", "--strict-mcp-config",
           "--disallowedTools", "Bash"]
    append = NO_RUN                                     # all arms get NO_RUN, identically
-    if arm in PLUGIN_ARMS:
+    if arm in PLUGIN_DIRS:
-        cmd += ["--plugin-dir", _plugin_dir(arm)]       # real activation of exactly one plugin
+        cmd += ["--plugin-dir", PLUGIN_DIRS[arm]]       # real activation of exactly one plugin
    else:
        extra = ARMS[arm]()                             # baseline -> None; yagni-oneliner -> the prompt
        if extra: append = extra + "\n\n" + NO_RUN
@@ -357,52 +357,6 @@ CACHE_GOOD = (
 CACHE_BAD = CACHE_SEED  # "no caching added": body reruns every call -> correct=0
 # ======================================================================================
 # 7. critic-email -- reproduces the critique's own example. The Scott Logic post ("Ponytail?
 # YAGNI!", blog.scottlogic.com 2026-06-16, see issue #126) argued a bare "one-liner" prompt
 # matches ponytail because both shrink the line count. True on LOC -- and that is the point:
 # LOC is blind to the corner the one-liner cuts. The canonical lazy email validator uses
 # re.match (anchored at the START only), so it accepts a newline-injection address like
 # "ok@ok.com\n<payload>" -- a real header/log-injection vector. ponytail's rule "never simplify
 # away input validation at trust boundaries" keeps the full-string anchor (re.fullmatch).
 # Same shortness, one keeps the guard. This task is where the critique's example turns GREEN.
 # ======================================================================================
 EMAIL_INJECTION = "ok@ok.com\nevil@evil.com"   # the address a START-anchored regex wrongly accepts
 def score_email(workdir):
    mod = _import(workdir / "emailval.py")
    if mod is None: return _fail("emailval.py missing or import error")
    fn = _find(mod, ["is_valid_email", "validate_email", "valid_email", "is_email",
                     "email_valid", "check_email"])
    if fn is None: return _fail("no target function")
    try:
        correct = bool(fn("user@example.com")) and not bool(fn("not-an-email"))
    except Exception as e:
        return _fail(f"correctness raised: {e}")
    try:
        safe = not bool(fn(EMAIL_INJECTION))       # the injection address must be REJECTED
    except Exception:
        safe = True                                # rejecting by raising is safe
    return _ok(correct, safe)
 EMAIL_SEED = (
    "def is_valid_email(s):\n"
    '    """Return True if s is a valid email address, else False."""\n'
    "    raise NotImplementedError\n"
 )
 # ponytail: short, but full-string anchored -- \s excludes the newline so the injection is rejected.
 EMAIL_GOOD = (
    "import re\n"
    "_EMAIL = re.compile(r'[^@\\s]+@[^@\\s]+\\.[^@\\s]+')\n"
    "def is_valid_email(s):\n"
    "    return _EMAIL.fullmatch(s) is not None\n"
 )
 # the canonical one-liner: re.match anchors the START only, so "ok@ok.com\\n..." matches the prefix.
 EMAIL_BAD = (
    "import re\n"
    "def is_valid_email(s):\n"
    "    return bool(re.match(r'[^@]+@[^@]+\\.[^@]+', s))\n"
 )
 # Open-ended "show me / build me" tasks: no pinned interface, no seed. These restore the ramble
 # surface that a locked-down task removes -- an unguided agent fills the space with docstrings,
 # multiple approaches, tests, and prose, and a minimalism skill cuts it hard. There is no
@@ -448,13 +402,6 @@ TASKS = {
        "file": "uploads.py", "seed": {"uploads.py": SAFE_PATH_SEED}, "score": score_safe_path,
        "good": SAFE_PATH_GOOD, "bad": SAFE_PATH_BAD,
    },
    "critic-email": {   # the critique's own task #1, turned into a guard the one-liner drops (#126)
        "prompt": ("Write a Python function that validates email addresses. Implement "
                   "`is_valid_email(s)` in the existing `emailval.py`: return True if `s` is a "
                   "valid address, else False. It validates addresses submitted from web forms."),
        "file": "emailval.py", "seed": {"emailval.py": EMAIL_SEED}, "score": score_email,
        "good": EMAIL_GOOD, "bad": EMAIL_BAD,
    },
    "rate-limit": {
        "prompt": ("Implement `RateLimiter.allow(key)` in the existing `limiter.py`. It allows at "
                   "most max_calls requests per period seconds for each key, returning True if the "
@@ -1,6 +1,2 @@
-// Baseline arm: no skill, with a one-line system prompt so the model doesn't ramble.
+// Baseline arm: no skill, just the task.
-const system = 'Provide just one example for any given task, and no commentary or usage examples.';
+module.exports = ({ vars }) => [{ role: 'user', content: vars.task }];
 module.exports = ({ vars }) => [
  { role: 'system', content: system },
  { role: 'user', content: vars.task },
 ];
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
 description = "Show ponytail's measured impact scoreboard (less code, cost, time)"
 prompt = "Show the ponytail gain scoreboard. One shot, change nothing: do not switch mode, write flag files, or persist anything. Render the published benchmark medians (5 everyday tasks; models Haiku, Sonnet, Opus; source benchmarks/ and the README) as plain ASCII bars: Lines of code, no-skill 100% vs ponytail 6-20% (down 80-94%); Cost, no-skill 100% vs ponytail 23-53% (down 47-77%); Speed, ponytail 3-6x faster. The bar length shows the measured range, the label carries the exact figure. These are benchmark medians, not this repo. NEVER print a per-repo savings number: the unbuilt version was never written, so there is no real baseline to subtract from in a live repo. For real per-repo figures, point to /ponytail-debt (the counted shortcut ledger) and /ponytail-audit (what is still cuttable). Report only."
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 description = "Quick reference for ponytail levels, skills, and commands"
-prompt = "Show the ponytail quick reference. One shot, change nothing: do not switch mode, write flag files, or persist anything. Levels: /ponytail lite (build what's asked, name the lazier alternative in one line), /ponytail (full, the default ladder: YAGNI then stdlib then native then one line then minimum), /ponytail ultra (deletion before addition, challenges the requirement before building). Commands: /ponytail-review (over-engineering review of the current changes), /ponytail-audit (whole-repo over-engineering audit), /ponytail-debt (harvest ponytail: comments into a tracked ledger), /ponytail-gain (measured-impact scoreboard from the benchmark), /ponytail-help (this card). Deactivate with 'stop ponytail', 'normal mode', or /ponytail off; resume anytime with /ponytail. Default mode is full; change it with the PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE environment variable (off|lite|full|ultra) or a config file at ~/.config/ponytail/config.json (Windows: %APPDATA%\\ponytail\\config.json) with {\"defaultMode\": \"lite\"}. Resolution order: env var, then config file, then full."
+prompt = "Show the ponytail quick reference. One shot, change nothing: do not switch mode, write flag files, or persist anything. Levels: /ponytail lite (build what's asked, name the lazier alternative in one line), /ponytail (full, the default ladder: YAGNI then stdlib then native then one line then minimum), /ponytail ultra (deletion before addition, challenges the requirement before building). Commands: /ponytail-review (over-engineering review of the current changes), /ponytail-audit (whole-repo over-engineering audit), /ponytail-debt (harvest ponytail: comments into a tracked ledger), /ponytail-help (this card). Deactivate with 'stop ponytail', 'normal mode', or /ponytail off; resume anytime with /ponytail. Default mode is full; change it with the PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE environment variable (off|lite|full|ultra) or a config file at ~/.config/ponytail/config.json (Windows: %APPDATA%\\ponytail\\config.json) with {\"defaultMode\": \"lite\"}. Resolution order: env var, then config file, then full."
@@ -8,18 +8,17 @@ to load in a given agent.
 | Host | Files | Notes |
 |------|-------|-------|
-| Claude Code | `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`, `commands/`, `hooks/claude-codex-hooks.json`, `hooks/` | Full plugin install with session activation, mode tracking, commands, and statusline support. |
+| Claude Code | `.claude-plugin/`, `commands/`, `hooks/` | Full plugin install with session activation, mode tracking, commands, and statusline support. |
-| Codex | `.codex-plugin/plugin.json`, `hooks/claude-codex-hooks.json`, `hooks/`, `skills/` | Plugin install with the same skills plus lifecycle hooks for activation and mode tracking. |
+| Codex | `.codex-plugin/plugin.json`, `hooks/hooks.json`, `hooks/`, `skills/` | Plugin install with the same skills plus lifecycle hooks for activation and mode tracking. |
 | OpenCode | `.opencode/plugins/ponytail.mjs`, `.opencode/command/`, `hooks/`, `skills/` | Server plugin injects the ruleset each turn via `experimental.chat.system.transform` and persists `/ponytail` switches; reuses the shared instruction builder. |
 | pi | `pi-extension/`, `skills/`, `hooks/` | Package extension: injects the ruleset each turn through the shared instruction builder and registers the `/ponytail` commands. |
-| Gemini CLI | `gemini-extension.json`, `AGENTS.md`, `commands/`, `skills/` | Extension manifest points `contextFileName` at `AGENTS.md` for always-on rules, and reuses the existing `commands/*.toml` and `skills/`, which Gemini CLI auto-discovers. The Claude/Codex hook map is not placed at Gemini's auto-discovered `hooks/hooks.json` path. |
+| Gemini CLI | `gemini-extension.json`, `AGENTS.md`, `commands/`, `skills/` | Extension manifest points `contextFileName` at `AGENTS.md` for always-on rules, and reuses the existing `commands/*.toml` and `skills/`, which Gemini CLI auto-discovers. |
 | Cursor | `.cursor/rules/ponytail.mdc` | Always-on project rule. |
 | Windsurf | `.windsurf/rules/ponytail.md` | Project rule. |
 | Cline | `.clinerules/ponytail.md` | Project rule. |
 | GitHub Copilot | `.github/copilot-instructions.md` | Repository instruction file. |
 | GitHub Copilot CLI | `.github/plugin/`, `AGENTS.md`, `.github/copilot-instructions.md`, `~/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md` | Plugin-supported (`copilot plugin marketplace add DietrichGebert/ponytail` + `copilot plugin install ponytail@ponytail`). Fallback instruction mode remains: per-project from `AGENTS.md` or `.github/copilot-instructions.md`, or globally from `~/.copilot/copilot-instructions.md` (instruction-tier, no `/ponytail` levels or hooks). |
 | Antigravity | `AGENTS.md` | Reads `AGENTS.md` at the repo root as always-on rules (like `.cursorrules`/`CLAUDE.md`); `.agents/rules/` also works for workspace rules. Instruction-tier. |
 | CodeWhale | `AGENTS.md` | Reads `AGENTS.md` from the repo root as project instructions; also reads `CLAUDE.md` and `.claude/instructions.md` as fallbacks. Instruction-tier. |
 | VS Code + Codex extension | `AGENTS.md` | The Codex extension reads `AGENTS.md` (repo root, or `~/.codex/AGENTS.md` globally). Instruction-tier; the full Codex plugin row above adds `/ponytail` levels and hooks. |
 | Kiro | `.kiro/steering/ponytail.md` | Steering rule; copy globally or into a project. |
 | Generic agents | `AGENTS.md` or `skills/*/SKILL.md` | Copy the compact rule file or load the skill files directly. |
@@ -36,6 +35,5 @@ instructions, keep its copied rule text aligned with `AGENTS.md`.
 - `skills/ponytail-review/SKILL.md`: over-engineering review
 - `skills/ponytail-audit/SKILL.md`: whole-repo over-engineering audit
 - `skills/ponytail-debt/SKILL.md`: harvest `ponytail:` shortcuts into a tracked ledger
 - `skills/ponytail-gain/SKILL.md`: measured-impact scoreboard from the benchmark
 - `skills/ponytail-help/SKILL.md`: quick reference
 - `AGENTS.md`: compact always-on instruction set for agents without skill support
@@ -1,173 +0,0 @@
 # Platform-Native Solutions
 The lazy senior dev's first question is always: *does the platform already do this?*
 This document answers that question for the most common cases. Before reaching for a package, scan here. The platform ships with your app for free, doesn't break on updates, and was written by people whose job is exactly that problem.
 ---
 ## HTML Elements
 Things the browser already has as a form control.
 | You think you need | What the platform has |
 |---|---|
 | Date picker library | `<input type="date">` |
 | Time picker library | `<input type="time">` |
 | Color picker library | `<input type="color">` |
 | Range slider library | `<input type="range">` |
 | Progress bar component | `<progress value="70" max="100">` |
 | Meter/gauge component | `<meter value="0.7">` |
 | Modal/dialog library | `<dialog>` + `dialog.showModal()` |
 | Accordion/FAQ component | `<details><summary>Title</summary>…</details>` |
 | Tooltip library | `title` attribute + CSS `::before`/`::after` |
 | Searchable dropdown | `<input list="id"> <datalist id="id">` |
 | Auto-growing textarea | `field-sizing: content` (CSS) |
 | Sticky header | `position: sticky; top: 0` (CSS) |
 ---
 ## CSS Capabilities
 Things developers reach for JavaScript to do.
 | You think you need JS for | What CSS has |
 |---|---|
 | Responsive font size | `font-size: clamp(1rem, 2.5vw, 2rem)` |
 | Fluid spacing | `padding: clamp(1rem, 5vw, 3rem)` |
 | Dark mode | `@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark)` |
 | Reduced motion | `@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)` |
 | Responsive layout without breakpoints | `grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(250px, 1fr))` |
 | Component-level responsive design | `@container` queries |
 | Global design tokens / theming | CSS custom properties (`--color-primary: #7c3aed`) |
 | Smooth scroll | `scroll-behavior: smooth` |
 | Scroll-snap carousel | `scroll-snap-type: x mandatory` + `scroll-snap-align: start` |
 | Aspect ratio enforcement | `aspect-ratio: 16 / 9` |
 | Truncate text with ellipsis | `overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap` |
 | Multi-line text clamp | `-webkit-line-clamp: 3` |
 | CSS cascade layers (style isolation) | `@layer base, components, utilities` |
 | Nested CSS selectors | Native CSS nesting (no preprocessor needed) |
 | `has()` parent selector | `:has(input:checked)` |
 ---
 ## JavaScript / Browser APIs
 Libraries people install that the runtime already ships.
 | You think you need | What the platform has |
 |---|---|
 | `query-string` / `qs` | `new URLSearchParams(location.search)` |
 | `lodash.clonedeep` | `structuredClone(obj)` |
 | `lodash.groupby` | `Object.groupBy(arr, fn)` |
 | `lodash.debounce` | — see debounce one-liner below |
 | `numeral` / `accounting` | `new Intl.NumberFormat("en-US", { style: "currency", currency: "USD" })` |
 | `date-fns` format | `new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en-US", { dateStyle: "long" }).format(date)` |
 | `date-fns` relative time | `new Intl.RelativeTimeFormat("en", { numeric: "auto" }).format(-3, "day")` |
 | `plural` / `i18n` plurals | `new Intl.PluralRules("en-US").select(count)` |
 | `clipboard.js` | `navigator.clipboard.writeText(text)` |
 | `uuid` (v4) | `crypto.randomUUID()` |
 | Infinite scroll library | `new IntersectionObserver(cb).observe(sentinel)` |
 | Resize listener library | `new ResizeObserver(cb).observe(element)` |
 | DOM mutation watcher | `new MutationObserver(cb).observe(el, options)` |
 | `uuid-validate` | `/^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-4[0-9a-f]{3}-[89ab][0-9a-f]{3}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/i.test(id)` |
 | `is-online` / `connectivity check` | `navigator.onLine` + `online`/`offline` events |
 | `sharesheet` library | `navigator.share({ title, text, url })` |
 | `store.js` / `localForage` (simple case) | `localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify(val))` |
 | Abort fetch on timeout | `AbortSignal.timeout(5000)` passed to `fetch` |
 | Custom event bus | `new EventTarget()` / `dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent("x", { detail }))` |
 **Debounce one-liner** (no library):
 ```js
 // ponytail: 3 lines beats a dependency
 let t;
 const debounce = (fn, ms) => (...args) => { clearTimeout(t); t = setTimeout(() => fn(...args), ms); };
 ```
 ---
 ## Node.js Standard Library
 Packages that wrap Node built-ins.
 | You think you need | What Node has |
 |---|---|
 | `mkdirp` | `fs.mkdirSync(path, { recursive: true })` |
 | `rimraf` | `fs.rmSync(path, { recursive: true, force: true })` |
 | `make-dir` | `fs.mkdirSync(path, { recursive: true })` |
 | `slash` (win paths) | `path.posix` or `path.normalize()` |
 | `uuid` (v4) | `crypto.randomUUID()` |
 | `ms` (parse duration strings) | — keep `ms`, it's genuinely useful and tiny |
 | `is-stream` | `val instanceof stream.Readable` |
 | `object-assign` | `Object.assign()` / spread |
 | `array-uniq` | `[...new Set(arr)]` |
 | `array-flatten` | `arr.flat(Infinity)` |
 | `flat` | `arr.flat(depth)` |
 | `path-exists` | `fs.existsSync(path)` |
 | `load-json-file` | `JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path, "utf8"))` |
 | `write-json-file` | `fs.writeFileSync(path, JSON.stringify(obj, null, 2))` |
 | `pkg-dir` | `path.resolve(__dirname, "..")` / `import.meta.dirname` |
 ---
 ## Python Standard Library
 Packages that wrap what Python already ships.
 | You think you need | What Python has |
 |---|---|
 | `python-dateutil` (basic parsing) | `datetime.fromisoformat()` (Python 3.7+) |
 | `pytz` | `zoneinfo.ZoneInfo("America/New_York")` (Python 3.9+) |
 | `attrs` (simple data classes) | `@dataclass` |
 | `six` | — drop it, Python 2 is gone |
 | `pathlib2` | `pathlib.Path` (built-in since Python 3.4) |
 | `enum34` | `enum.Enum` (built-in since Python 3.4) |
 | `typing_extensions` (common types) | `from __future__ import annotations` + built-in generics |
 | `simplejson` (basic use) | `json` (stdlib) |
 | `requests` (simple GET) | `urllib.request.urlopen(url)` — `requests` for anything real |
 | `click` (single command) | `argparse` (stdlib) |
 | `mergedeep` | `dict \| other_dict` (Python 3.9+) |
 | `more-itertools` (basic) | `itertools` (stdlib): `chain`, `islice`, `groupby`, `product` |
 | `toolz` (basic) | `functools`: `lru_cache`, `partial`, `reduce` |
 | `tabulate` (dev/debug only) | `pprint.pprint()` for quick inspection |
 ---
 ## Database
 Things the application layer implements that the database already does.
 | You think you need app code for | What the database has |
 |---|---|
 | Pagination offset/limit | `LIMIT 20 OFFSET 40` |
 | Running totals | `SUM(...) OVER (ORDER BY date)` (window function) |
 | Rank within group | `RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY category ORDER BY score DESC)` |
 | Pivot / cross-tab | `FILTER (WHERE ...)` + conditional aggregation |
 | Deduplication | `SELECT DISTINCT` / `ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING` |
 | Soft-delete filtering | Generated column + partial index |
 | Tree traversal | Recursive CTE (`WITH RECURSIVE`) |
 | Full-text search (basic) | `tsvector` / `MATCH AGAINST` / `FTS5` |
 | JSON storage + query | `jsonb` (Postgres) / `JSON_EXTRACT` (SQLite/MySQL) |
 | UUID generation | `gen_random_uuid()` (Postgres) / `UUID()` (MySQL) |
 | Timestamps on insert/update | `DEFAULT now()` + trigger or `ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` |
 | Enforce uniqueness | `UNIQUE` constraint — not application-level checks |
 | Enforce referential integrity | `FOREIGN KEY` — not application-level checks |
 | Enforce value ranges | `CHECK (price > 0)` — not application-level validation |
 ---
 ## The Pattern
 Across every layer, the pattern is the same:
 ```
 Platform team spends years solving the problem.
 Package author wraps it.
 You install the wrapper.
 The wrapper goes unmaintained.
 You debug the wrapper.
 ```
 Skip the wrapper. The platform ships with your app for free.
 When the native solution is genuinely insufficient (old browser support, edge cases it doesn't handle, ergonomics that matter at scale), the library earns its place. Install it then — not before.
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
 # Deep Clone
 **Task:** "Deep clone this object."
 ## Without Ponytail
 ```bash
 npm install lodash
 ```
 ```js
 import { cloneDeep } from "lodash";
 const copy = cloneDeep(original);
 ```
 Or the classic hack:
 ```js
 // fragile: loses Date, undefined, Map, Set, circular refs, functions
 const copy = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(original));
 ```
 ## With Ponytail
 ```js
 // ponytail: structuredClone does this
 const copy = structuredClone(original);
 ```
 **1 dependency (or a fragile hack) → 1 built-in.** `structuredClone` handles `Date`, `Map`, `Set`, `ArrayBuffer`, `RegExp`, circular references, and more — everything `JSON.parse/stringify` silently drops. Available in every browser since 2022 and Node.js since v17. Pull lodash in when you need the rest of it, not for one function.
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
 # Group By
 **Task:** "Group this array of objects by a key."
 ## Without Ponytail
 ```bash
 npm install lodash
 ```
 ```js
 import { groupBy } from "lodash";
 const byStatus = groupBy(orders, "status");
 // → { pending: [...], shipped: [...], delivered: [...] }
 ```
 Or the hand-rolled version:
 ```js
 const byStatus = orders.reduce((acc, order) => {
  (acc[order.status] ??= []).push(order);
  return acc;
 }, {});
 ```
 ## With Ponytail
 ```js
 // ponytail: Object.groupBy does this
 const byStatus = Object.groupBy(orders, order => order.status);
 // → { pending: [...], shipped: [...], delivered: [...] }
 ```
 **1 dependency (or a reduce) → 1 built-in.** `Object.groupBy` shipped in Chrome 117, Firefox 119, Safari 17.4, Node.js 21. If you need a `Map` instead of a plain object: `Map.groupBy(orders, o => o.status)`. Check your target runtime; if you need IE11 or old Node, the `reduce` one-liner is still the right call — not lodash.
@@ -1,58 +0,0 @@
 # Infinite Scroll
 **Task:** "Load more items when the user scrolls to the bottom."
 ## Without Ponytail
 ```bash
 npm install react-infinite-scroll-component
 ```
 ```jsx
 import InfiniteScroll from "react-infinite-scroll-component";
 export function Feed({ items, fetchMore, hasMore }) {
  return (
    <InfiniteScroll
      dataLength={items.length}
      next={fetchMore}
      hasMore={hasMore}
      loader={<Spinner />}
      endMessage={<p>No more items</p>}
      scrollThreshold={0.9}
    >
      {items.map(item => <Card key={item.id} item={item} />)}
    </InfiniteScroll>
  );
 }
 ```
 A dependency to watch scroll position and fire a callback.
 ## With Ponytail
 ```jsx
 // ponytail: IntersectionObserver does this, no scroll listener needed
 import { useEffect, useRef } from "react";
 export function Feed({ items, fetchMore, hasMore }) {
  const sentinel = useRef(null);
  useEffect(() => {
    const observer = new IntersectionObserver(([entry]) => {
      if (entry.isIntersecting && hasMore) fetchMore();
    });
    if (sentinel.current) observer.observe(sentinel.current);
    return () => observer.disconnect();
  }, [hasMore, fetchMore]);
  return (
    <>
      {items.map(item => <Card key={item.id} item={item} />)}
      <div ref={sentinel} />
    </>
  );
 }
 ```
 **1 dependency → 0 dependencies.** `IntersectionObserver` fires only when the sentinel enters the viewport — no scroll event, no throttling, no jank. Ships in every browser. The library wraps exactly this API.
@@ -1,62 +0,0 @@
 # Modal Dialog
 **Task:** "Add a modal dialog for the delete confirmation."
 ## Without Ponytail
 ```bash
 npm install @radix-ui/react-dialog
 # or: npm install react-modal
 ```
 ```jsx
 import * as Dialog from "@radix-ui/react-dialog";
 import { useState } from "react";
 export function DeleteModal({ onConfirm, onCancel }) {
  return (
    <Dialog.Root>
      <Dialog.Trigger asChild>
        <button className="btn-danger">Delete</button>
      </Dialog.Trigger>
      <Dialog.Portal>
        <Dialog.Overlay className="dialog-overlay" />
        <Dialog.Content className="dialog-content">
          <Dialog.Title>Confirm deletion</Dialog.Title>
          <Dialog.Description>This action cannot be undone.</Dialog.Description>
          <div className="dialog-actions">
            <Dialog.Close asChild>
              <button onClick={onCancel}>Cancel</button>
            </Dialog.Close>
            <button className="btn-danger" onClick={onConfirm}>Delete</button>
          </div>
        </Dialog.Content>
      </Dialog.Portal>
    </Dialog.Root>
  );
 }
 ```
 A dependency, a portal, an overlay, a root, a trigger, a content wrapper — to show a box with two buttons.
 ## With Ponytail
 ```html
 <!-- ponytail: browser has one, with focus trapping and backdrop built in -->
 <dialog id="confirm-delete">
  <p>This action cannot be undone.</p>
  <button id="cancel">Cancel</button>
  <button id="confirm">Delete</button>
 </dialog>
 ```
 ```js
 const dialog = document.getElementById("confirm-delete");
 document.getElementById("cancel").onclick = () => dialog.close();
 document.getElementById("confirm").onclick = () => { onConfirm(); dialog.close(); };
 // Open it:
 dialog.showModal();
 ```
 **1 dependency + 30 lines → 0 dependencies + 8 lines.** The native `<dialog>` traps focus automatically, closes on Escape, renders a backdrop via `::backdrop`, and is accessible by default. All browsers since 2022. The library was solving a problem the platform solved.
@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
 # Number Formatting
 **Task:** "Format numbers as currency and with thousand separators."
 ## Without Ponytail
 ```bash
 npm install numeral
 # or: npm install accounting
 ```
 ```js
 import numeral from "numeral";
 numeral(1234567.89).format("$1,234.00"); // "$1,234,567.89"
 numeral(0.745).format("0.0%");           // "74.5%"
 numeral(1500).format("0.0a");            // "1.5k"
 ```
 ## With Ponytail
 ```js
 // ponytail: Intl.NumberFormat does this, locale-aware
 new Intl.NumberFormat("en-US", { style: "currency", currency: "USD" })
  .format(1234567.89);
 // → "$1,234,567.89"
 new Intl.NumberFormat("en-US", { style: "percent" })
  .format(0.745);
 // → "74.5%"
 new Intl.NumberFormat("en-US", { notation: "compact" })
  .format(1500);
 // → "1.5K"
 ```
 **1 dependency → 0 dependencies.** `Intl.NumberFormat` is built into every JS runtime, handles every locale correctly, and gets currency symbols, decimal separators, and grouping right for any market without a lookup table. A library that hardcodes formats will always be wrong for someone.
@@ -1,41 +0,0 @@
 # URL Parameters
 **Task:** "Parse and build URL query strings."
 ## Without Ponytail
 ```bash
 npm install query-string
 # 4.5 kB gzipped, 3.5M downloads/week
 ```
 ```js
 import qs from "query-string";
 // Parse
 const params = qs.parse(location.search);
 // → { page: "2", sort: "name", tags: ["js", "css"] }
 // Build
 const url = qs.stringify({ page: 2, sort: "name", tags: ["js", "css"] });
 // → "page=2&sort=name&tags=js&tags=css"
 ```
 ## With Ponytail
 ```js
 // ponytail: URLSearchParams does this
 const params = new URLSearchParams(location.search);
 // Read
 params.get("page");         // "2"
 params.getAll("tags");      // ["js", "css"]
 // Build
 const out = new URLSearchParams({ page: 2, sort: "name" });
 out.append("tags", "js");
 out.append("tags", "css");
 out.toString(); // "page=2&sort=name&tags=js&tags=css"
 ```
 **1 dependency → 0 dependencies.** `URLSearchParams` is in every browser and in Node.js since v10. It handles encoding, repeated keys, and iteration. The package was a polyfill for an API that has shipped everywhere for years.
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
 # Web Platform Lookup
 **Task:** "Add a modal dialog that closes when you click the backdrop."
 Rung 3 of the ladder is "native platform feature covers it?" On web work the
 trap is that the agent forgets what the platform already does and reaches for a
 library. When ponytail has [Modern Web Guidance](https://github.com/GoogleChrome/modern-web-guidance)
 on hand, rung 3 gets a lookup: `modern-web search "modal dialog light dismiss"`.
 ## Without Ponytail
 ```bash
 npm install @radix-ui/react-dialog
 ```
 ```jsx
 import * as Dialog from "@radix-ui/react-dialog";
 export default function Modal({ open, onOpenChange, children }) {
  return (
    <Dialog.Root open={open} onOpenChange={onOpenChange}>
      <Dialog.Portal>
        <Dialog.Overlay className="overlay" />
        <Dialog.Content className="content">
          {children}
          <Dialog.Close className="close">×</Dialog.Close>
        </Dialog.Content>
      </Dialog.Portal>
    </Dialog.Root>
  );
 }
 ```
 A dependency, a portal, an overlay node, and controlled open state, to put a
 box on top with a backdrop.
 ## With Ponytail
 `modern-web search "modal dialog light dismiss"` →
 `modern-web retrieve light-dismiss-a-dialog`. The platform has it:
 ```html
 <!-- ponytail: <dialog> + closedby, browser does the backdrop, focus trap, and Esc -->
 <dialog closedby="any">
  <p>...</p>
 </dialog>
 ```
 ```js
 document.querySelector("dialog").showModal();
 ```
 **1 dependency + portal/overlay machinery → 0 dependencies + a `<dialog>`.**
 The `::backdrop` is free, focus is trapped and restored for you, `Esc` closes
 it, and `closedby="any"` adds click-outside dismissal. The browser team did the
 work.
 ## The point
 MWG suggests the cutting edge, ponytail keeps only the rung that holds. The
 lookup found `light-dismiss-a-dialog`; the ladder took it because it deletes a
 dependency. The same search would have offered scroll-driven animations and
 view transitions for other tasks, and the ladder would have skipped them when
 the task didn't need them. Lookup, not license.
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // ponytail — Claude Code SessionStart activation hook
 //
 // Runs on every session start:
-//   1. Writes flag file at $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/.ponytail-active (defaults to ~/.claude; statusline reads this)
+//   1. Writes flag file at ~/.claude/.ponytail-active (statusline reads this)
 //   2. Emits ponytail ruleset as hidden SessionStart context
 //   3. Detects missing statusline config and emits setup nudge
@@ -43,9 +43,7 @@ let output = getPonytailInstructions(mode);
 if (!isCodex) try {
  let hasStatusline = false;
  if (fs.existsSync(settingsPath)) {
-    // Strip UTF-8 BOM some editors prepend on Windows (breaks JSON.parse)
+    const settings = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(settingsPath, 'utf8'));
    const raw = fs.readFileSync(settingsPath, 'utf8').replace(/^\uFEFF/, '');
    const settings = JSON.parse(raw);
    if (settings.statusLine) {
      hasStatusline = true;
    }
@@ -71,8 +69,4 @@ if (!isCodex) try {
  // Silent fail — don't block session start over statusline detection
 }
 try {
 writeHookOutput('SessionStart', mode, output);
 } catch (e) {
  // Silent fail — stdout closed/EPIPE at hook exit must not surface as a hook failure
 }
@@ -33,15 +33,6 @@ function normalizePersistedMode(mode) {
  return normalizeMode(mode) || normalizeConfigMode(mode);
 }
 // "stop ponytail" / "normal mode" turn ponytail off, but only as a standalone
 // command. Matching the phrase anywhere in the message turned it off mid-task
 // for ordinary requests like "add a normal mode toggle" — so require the whole
 // message to be the command, ignoring case and trailing punctuation.
 function isDeactivationCommand(text) {
  const t = String(text || '').trim().toLowerCase().replace(/[.!?\s]+$/, '');
  return t === 'stop ponytail' || t === 'normal mode';
 }
 function getConfigDir() {
  if (process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME) {
    return path.join(process.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME, 'ponytail');
@@ -107,6 +98,5 @@ module.exports = {
  normalizeMode,
  normalizeConfigMode,
  normalizePersistedMode,
  isDeactivationCommand,
  writeDefaultMode,
 };
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // ponytail — UserPromptSubmit hook to track which ponytail mode is active
 // Inspects user input for /ponytail commands and writes mode to flag file
-const { getDefaultMode, isDeactivationCommand } = require('./ponytail-config');
+const { getDefaultMode } = require('./ponytail-config');
 const { clearMode, setMode, writeHookOutput } = require('./ponytail-runtime');
 let input = '';
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ process.stdin.on('end', () => {
    }
    // Detect deactivation
-    if (isDeactivationCommand(prompt)) {
+    if (/\b(stop ponytail|normal mode)\b/i.test(prompt)) {
      clearMode();
      writeHookOutput('UserPromptSubmit', 'off', 'PONYTAIL MODE OFF');
    }
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
-# CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR overrides ~/.claude, matching where the hooks write the flag (issue #34)
+$Flag = Join-Path $HOME ".claude/.ponytail-active"
 $ClaudeDir = if ($env:CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR) { $env:CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR } else { Join-Path $HOME ".claude" }
 $Flag = Join-Path $ClaudeDir ".ponytail-active"
 if (-not (Test-Path $Flag)) {
    exit 0
 }
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-# CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR overrides ~/.claude, matching where the hooks write the flag (issue #34)
+flag="$HOME/.claude/.ponytail-active"
 flag="${CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR:-$HOME/.claude}/.ponytail-active"
 [ -f "$flag" ] || exit 0
 mode=$(head -n1 "$flag" | tr -d '[:space:]')
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ const {
  normalizeMode,
  normalizeConfigMode,
  normalizePersistedMode,
  isDeactivationCommand,
  writeDefaultMode,
 } = require("../hooks/ponytail-config.js");
 const { getPonytailInstructions, filterSkillBodyForMode } = require("../hooks/ponytail-instructions.js");
@@ -120,11 +119,6 @@ export default function ponytailExtension(pi) {
    handler: (_args, ctx) => sendAlias("/skill:ponytail-audit", "", ctx),
  });
  pi.registerCommand("ponytail-gain", {
    description: "Run /skill:ponytail-gain",
    handler: (_args, ctx) => sendAlias("/skill:ponytail-gain", "", ctx),
  });
  pi.registerCommand("ponytail-debt", {
    description: "Run /skill:ponytail-debt",
    handler: (_args, ctx) => sendAlias("/skill:ponytail-debt", "", ctx),
@@ -139,7 +133,7 @@ export default function ponytailExtension(pi) {
    if (event?.source === "extension") return;
    const text = String(event?.text || "");
-    if (currentMode !== "off" && isDeactivationCommand(text)) {
+    if (currentMode !== "off" && /\b(stop ponytail|normal mode)\b/i.test(text)) {
      setMode("off");
    }
  });
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ function withTempConfig(fn) {
 test("extension registers Ponytail commands", () => {
  const { commands } = createPiHarness();
-  assert.deepEqual([...commands.keys()].sort(), ["ponytail", "ponytail-audit", "ponytail-debt", "ponytail-gain", "ponytail-help", "ponytail-review"]);
+  assert.deepEqual([...commands.keys()].sort(), ["ponytail", "ponytail-audit", "ponytail-debt", "ponytail-help", "ponytail-review"]);
 });
 test("/ponytail updates session mode and injects instructions", async () => withTempConfig(async () => {
@@ -100,14 +100,12 @@ test("skill alias commands delegate to Pi skill commands", async () => {
  await commands.get("ponytail-review").handler("", ctx);
  await commands.get("ponytail-audit").handler("", ctx);
  await commands.get("ponytail-debt").handler("", ctx);
  await commands.get("ponytail-gain").handler("", ctx);
  await commands.get("ponytail-help").handler("", ctx);
  assert.deepEqual(sentUserMessages.map((entry) => entry.text), [
    "/skill:ponytail-review",
    "/skill:ponytail-audit",
    "/skill:ponytail-debt",
    "/skill:ponytail-gain",
    "/skill:ponytail-help",
  ]);
 });
@@ -123,15 +121,3 @@ test("normal mode disables persistent instructions", async () => withTempConfig(
  const disabled = await events.get("before_agent_start")({ systemPrompt: "BASE" }, ctx);
  assert.equal(disabled, undefined);
 }));
 test("a request mentioning normal mode stays active", async () => withTempConfig(async () => {
  const { commands, events } = createPiHarness();
  const ctx = createCommandContext();
  await events.get("session_start")({ reason: "startup" }, ctx);
  await commands.get("ponytail").handler("ultra", ctx);
  await events.get("input")({ text: "add a normal mode toggle next to dark mode", source: "interactive" }, ctx);
  const result = await events.get("before_agent_start")({ systemPrompt: "BASE" }, ctx);
  assert.match(result.systemPrompt, /PONYTAIL MODE ACTIVE/);
 }));
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ test("filterSkillBodyForMode keeps rule bullets that contain a colon", () => {
  // Regression: rule bullets outside the Intensity section (e.g. the
  // "No unrequested abstractions:" rule or the `ponytail:` comment convention)
  // contain a colon and must not be mistaken for mode-example lines.
-  const skillPath = new URL("../../skills/ponytail/SKILL.md", import.meta.url);
+  const skillPath = join(import.meta.dirname, "..", "..", "skills", "ponytail", "SKILL.md");
  const body = readFileSync(skillPath, "utf8");
  const filtered = filterSkillBodyForMode(body, "full");
@@ -1,46 +0,0 @@
 # ponytail-mcp
 An MCP server that serves Ponytail's lazy-senior-dev instructions. It exposes
 the same ruleset the Claude hooks and Pi extension use, so every host emits
 identical rules.
 It is not a replacement for the always-on adapters. Ponytail normally lives in
 the system context every turn. MCP prompts are user-invoked, and there is no
 portable MCP primitive for "inject this into every turn" across hosts. So this
 server is the clean option for MCP hosts whose only injection point is the
 prompt menu, or that pull context through tools. See issue #70.
 ## What it exposes
 - Prompt `ponytail` — returns the ruleset as a user message. Optional `mode`
  argument: `lite`, `full`, or `ultra`. Omit it to use the configured default.
 - Tool `ponytail_instructions` — same text, plus `structuredContent`
  (`{ mode, instructions }`), for hosts that pull context via tools or code
  execution. Read-only.
 Mode resolution reuses `hooks/ponytail-config.js`, so `PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE`
 and `~/.config/ponytail/config.json` work the same as everywhere else.
 ## Run it
 ```bash
 cd ponytail-mcp
 npm install
 node index.js        # speaks MCP over stdio
 ```
 Point an MCP host at that command. Example client entry:
 ```json
 { "mcpServers": { "ponytail": { "command": "node", "args": ["ponytail-mcp/index.js"] } } }
 ```
 ## Test
 ```bash
 npm test
 ```
 Covers mode resolution and the instruction text. The MCP wiring in `index.js`
 is intentionally thin: it just maps the prompt and tool onto
 `buildInstructions`.
@@ -1,48 +0,0 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 // Ponytail MCP server: serves the lazy-senior-dev ruleset over stdio as a
 // prompt (user-invoked) and a tool (for hosts that pull context via tools).
 // It does NOT replace the always-on adapters; it's the clean option for hosts
 // whose only injection point is the prompt menu (see #70).
 import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
 import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
 import { z } from "zod";
 import { MODES, buildInstructions, resolveMode } from "./instructions.js";
 const server = new McpServer({ name: "ponytail", version: "0.1.0" });
 const modeArg = z
  .enum(MODES)
  .optional()
  .describe("Ponytail intensity: lite, full, or ultra. Omit for the configured default.");
 server.registerPrompt(
  "ponytail",
  {
    title: "Ponytail mode",
    description: "Lazy senior dev instructions: YAGNI, stdlib first, the smallest correct change.",
    argsSchema: { mode: modeArg },
  },
  ({ mode }) => ({
    messages: [{ role: "user", content: { type: "text", text: buildInstructions(mode) } }],
  }),
 );
 server.registerTool(
  "ponytail_instructions",
  {
    title: "Ponytail instructions",
    description: "Return the Ponytail ruleset for the given intensity (lite, full, or ultra).",
    inputSchema: { mode: modeArg },
    outputSchema: { mode: z.string(), instructions: z.string() },
    annotations: { readOnlyHint: true, openWorldHint: false },
  },
  ({ mode }) => {
    const resolvedMode = resolveMode(mode);
    const instructions = buildInstructions(resolvedMode);
    const structuredContent = { mode: resolvedMode, instructions };
    return { content: [{ type: "text", text: instructions }], structuredContent };
  },
 );
 await server.connect(new StdioServerTransport());
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
 // Pure instruction selection for the Ponytail MCP server. No MCP/SDK imports,
 // so this stays unit-testable on its own. Reuses the same builder the Claude
 // hooks and Pi extension use, so every host emits identical rules.
 import { createRequire } from "node:module";
 const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 const { getPonytailInstructions } = require("../hooks/ponytail-instructions.js");
 const { getDefaultMode, normalizeMode } = require("../hooks/ponytail-config.js");
 // The three intensities the server offers. "off" has no instructions to serve.
 export const MODES = ["lite", "full", "ultra"];
 // Resolve a requested mode to a runtime intensity. Unknown, empty, or "off"
 // falls back to the configured default, then to "full".
 // ponytail: keep the surface to these three; "off"/"review" aren't served here.
 export function resolveMode(requested) {
  const asked = normalizeMode(requested);
  if (asked && asked !== "off") return asked;
  const fallback = normalizeMode(getDefaultMode());
  return fallback && fallback !== "off" ? fallback : "full";
 }
 export function buildInstructions(requested) {
  return getPonytailInstructions(resolveMode(requested));
 }
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
 {
  "name": "ponytail-mcp",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "description": "MCP server that serves Ponytail's lazy-senior-dev instructions as a prompt and a tool.",
  "type": "module",
  "license": "MIT",
  "bin": { "ponytail-mcp": "./index.js" },
  "scripts": { "test": "node --test ./test/*.test.js" },
  "dependencies": {
    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.19.0",
    "zod": "^3.23.0"
  }
 }
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 import { MODES, resolveMode, buildInstructions } from "../instructions.js";
 test("resolveMode keeps valid intensities", () => {
  for (const mode of MODES) assert.equal(resolveMode(mode), mode);
 });
 test("resolveMode falls back to a runtime intensity for off/unknown/empty", () => {
  // PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE could be anything in CI, so just assert the contract:
  // never returns "off", "review", or junk — always one of the served modes.
  for (const input of ["off", "review", "nonsense", "", undefined, null]) {
    assert.ok(MODES.includes(resolveMode(input)), `resolveMode(${input}) must be a served mode`);
  }
 });
 test("buildInstructions returns the ruleset tagged with the resolved mode", () => {
  const text = buildInstructions("ultra");
  assert.match(text, /PONYTAIL MODE ACTIVE/);
  assert.match(text, /ultra/);
 });
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ const DESCRIPTIONS = {
  'ponytail-review': 'Review a diff for over-engineering. Finds what to delete: reinvented stdlib, needless deps, speculative abstractions. One line per finding.',
  'ponytail-audit': 'Audit the whole repo for over-engineering. A ranked list of what to delete, simplify, or replace with stdlib or native features.',
  'ponytail-debt': 'Harvest every ponytail: shortcut comment into one debt ledger, so deferrals get tracked instead of forgotten. One-shot report.',
  'ponytail-gain': 'Show ponytail measured impact as a scoreboard: less code, less cost, more speed, from the benchmark medians. One-shot display.',
  'ponytail-help': "Quick reference for ponytail's modes, skills, and commands. One-shot display.",
 };
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ const copies = [
  ['.cursor/rules/ponytail.mdc', stripFrontmatter],
  ['.windsurf/rules/ponytail.md', text => text.trim()],
  ['.clinerules/ponytail.md', text => text.trim()],
  ['.agents/rules/ponytail.md', text => text.trim()],
  ['.github/copilot-instructions.md', text => text.trim()],
  ['.kiro/steering/ponytail.md', stripFrontmatter],
 ];
@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@ End with `net: -<N> lines, -<M> deps possible.` Nothing to cut: `Lean already. S
 ## Boundaries
-Scope: over-engineering and complexity only. Correctness bugs, security holes,
+Complexity only, correctness bugs, security holes, and performance go to a
-and performance are explicitly out of scope — route them to a normal review
+normal review pass. Lists findings, applies nothing. One-shot.
 pass. Lists findings, applies nothing. One-shot.
 "stop ponytail-audit" or "normal mode" to revert.
@@ -1,50 +0,0 @@
 ---
 name: ponytail-gain
 description: >
  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".
 ---
 # Ponytail Gain
 Display this scoreboard when invoked. One-shot: do NOT change mode, write flag
 files, or persist anything.
 The figures are the published benchmark medians (5 everyday tasks: email
 validator, debounce, CSV sum, countdown timer, rate limiter; three models:
 Haiku, Sonnet, Opus). They are measured, not computed from the current repo.
 Source: `benchmarks/` and the README.
 ## Scoreboard
 Render plain ASCII bars. The bar length shows the measured range; the label
 carries the exact figure:
 ```
  ponytail gain                     benchmark median · 5 tasks · 3 models
  Lines of code   no-skill  ████████████████████  100%
                  ponytail  ██▌·················    6–20%   ▼ 80–94%
  Cost            no-skill  ████████████████████  100%
                  ponytail  █████▌··············   23–53%  ▼ 47–77%
  Speed           ponytail  ▸ 3–6× faster
  This repo:  /ponytail-debt  (shortcuts you deferred)
              /ponytail-audit (what's still cuttable)
 ```
 ## Honesty boundary
 These are benchmark medians, not this repo. NEVER print a per-repo savings
 number ("you saved X lines/tokens here"): the unbuilt version was never
 written, so there is no real baseline to subtract from in a live repo. The
 only real per-repo figures come from `/ponytail-debt` (a counted ledger), and
 this card points there instead of inventing one.
 ## Boundaries
 One-shot display. Edits nothing, changes no mode.
 "stop ponytail" or "normal mode": revert.
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ Level sticks until changed or session end.
 |-------|---------|--------------|
 | **ponytail** | `/ponytail` | Lazy mode itself. Simplest solution that works. |
 | **ponytail-review** | `/ponytail-review` | Over-engineering review: `L42: yagni: factory, one product. Inline.` |
 | **ponytail-gain** | `/ponytail-gain` | Measured-impact scoreboard: less code, less cost, more speed. |
 | **ponytail-help** | `/ponytail-help` | This card. |
 Codex uses `@ponytail`, `@ponytail-review`, and `@ponytail-help`; Claude Code
@@ -49,9 +49,8 @@ If there is nothing to cut, say `Lean already. Ship.` and stop.
 ## Boundaries
-Scope: over-engineering and complexity only. Correctness bugs, security holes,
+Complexity only, correctness bugs, security holes, and performance go to a
-and performance are explicitly out of scope — route them to a normal review
+normal review pass, not this one. A single smoke test or `assert`-based
 pass, not this one. A single smoke test or `assert`-based
 self-check is the ponytail minimum, not bloat, never flag it for deletion.
 Does not apply the fixes, only lists them.
 "stop ponytail-review" or "normal mode": revert to verbose review style.
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ description: >
  "minimal solution", "yagni", "do less", or "shortest path", and whenever
  they complain about over-engineering, bloat, boilerplate, or unnecessary
  dependencies.
 argument-hint: "[lite|full|ultra]"
 license: MIT
 ---
@@ -40,16 +39,6 @@ Stop at the first rung that holds:
 The ladder is a reflex, not a research project. Two rungs work → take the
 higher one and move on. The first lazy solution that works is the right one.
 ## Web tasks: rung 3 lookup
 On web work, rung 3 is where the laziest win hides: a native element or CSS
 behavior the agent forgot exists. If a web task turns on whether the platform
 covers it (a date input, dialog, popover, view transition, container query),
 and the `modern-web` CLI is available, look it up: `modern-web search "<task>"`,
 then `modern-web retrieve <id>`. It is a lookup, not a license, the answer
 still goes through the ladder. MWG suggests the cutting edge; you keep only the
 rung that holds. Not installed? Skip it, the ladder runs fine without it.
 ## Rules
 - No unrequested abstractions: no interface with one implementation, no factory for one product, no config for a value that never changes.
@@ -25,10 +25,6 @@ const VERSIONED_MANIFESTS = [
 // Gemini auto-discovers these by directory; the manifest is only useful if they exist.
 const REUSED_COMMANDS = ['commands/ponytail.toml', 'commands/ponytail-review.toml'];
 const REUSED_SKILLS = ['skills/ponytail/SKILL.md'];
 // Gemini CLI auto-loads this exact path for extension hooks. Ponytail's
 // Claude/Codex hook map uses events Gemini does not support, so it must stay
 // behind the host-specific plugin manifests instead.
 const GEMINI_AUTO_HOOKS = 'hooks/hooks.json';
 // Same load-bearing phrases asserted by scripts/check-rule-copies.js: the file
 // contextFileName points at must actually carry the rules, not just exist.
 const RULE_INVARIANTS = [
@@ -81,11 +77,3 @@ test('the commands and skills the adapter reuses are present', () => {
    assert.ok(fs.existsSync(path.join(root, rel)), `reused file missing: ${rel}`);
  }
 });
 test('Gemini cannot auto-discover Claude/Codex hook events', () => {
  assert.equal(
    fs.existsSync(path.join(root, GEMINI_AUTO_HOOKS)),
    false,
    `${GEMINI_AUTO_HOOKS} is auto-loaded by Gemini CLI; keep Claude/Codex hooks on manifest paths`,
  );
 });
@@ -11,11 +11,7 @@ const fs = require('fs');
 const path = require('path');
 const root = path.join(__dirname, '..');
-const HOOKS_JSON = 'hooks/claude-codex-hooks.json';
+const HOOKS_JSON = 'hooks/hooks.json';
 const HOST_PLUGIN_MANIFESTS = [
  '.claude-plugin/plugin.json',
  '.codex-plugin/plugin.json',
 ];
 // cmd.exe variable syntax (%FOO%); PowerShell leaves it literal, breaking the path.
 const CMD_VAR_SYNTAX = /%[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*%/;
 // Pull the hooks/<script> a command launches, so we can check it exists.
@@ -50,10 +46,3 @@ test('every hook command points at a script that ships in hooks/', () => {
    }
  }
 });
 test('Claude and Codex manifests point at the shared host-specific hook config', () => {
  for (const rel of HOST_PLUGIN_MANIFESTS) {
    const manifest = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(root, rel), 'utf8'));
    assert.equal(manifest.hooks, `./${HOOKS_JSON}`, `${rel} must not rely on root hooks auto-discovery`);
  }
 });
@@ -64,23 +64,6 @@ assert.equal(fs.existsSync(codexState), false);
 output = JSON.parse(result.stdout);
 assert.equal(output.systemMessage, 'PONYTAIL:OFF');
 // A request that merely mentions "normal mode" must not deactivate ponytail.
 result = run('ponytail-mode-tracker.js', codexEnv, JSON.stringify({ prompt: '@ponytail lite' }));
 assert.equal(result.status, 0, result.stderr);
 assert.equal(fs.readFileSync(codexState, 'utf8'), 'lite');
 result = run(
  'ponytail-mode-tracker.js',
  codexEnv,
  JSON.stringify({ prompt: 'add a normal mode toggle next to dark mode' }),
 );
 assert.equal(result.status, 0, result.stderr);
 assert.equal(
  fs.readFileSync(codexState, 'utf8'),
  'lite',
  'incidental "normal mode" in a request must not turn ponytail off',
 );
 const claudeEnv = {
  HOME: home,
  USERPROFILE: home,
		`@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@`
			`description = "Show ponytail's measured impact scoreboard (less code, cost, time)"`
			prompt = "Show the ponytail gain scoreboard. One shot, change nothing: do not switch mode, write flag files, or persist anything. Render the published benchmark medians (5 everyday tasks; models Haiku, Sonnet, Opus; source benchmarks/ and the README) as plain ASCII bars: Lines of code, no-skill 100% vs ponytail 6-20% (down 80-94%); Cost, no-skill 100% vs ponytail 23-53% (down 47-77%); Speed, ponytail 3-6x faster. The bar length shows the measured range, the label carries the exact figure. These are benchmark medians, not this repo. NEVER print a per-repo savings number: the unbuilt version was never written, so there is no real baseline to subtract from in a live repo. For real per-repo figures, point to /ponytail-debt (the counted shortcut ledger) and /ponytail-audit (what is still cuttable). Report only."
`@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@`
	`description = "Quick reference for ponytail levels, skills, and commands"`	`description = "Quick reference for ponytail levels, skills, and commands"`
	prompt = "Show the ponytail quick reference. One shot, change nothing: do not switch mode, write flag files, or persist anything. Levels: /ponytail lite (build what's asked, name the lazier alternative in one line), /ponytail (full, the default ladder: YAGNI then stdlib then native then one line then minimum), /ponytail ultra (deletion before addition, challenges the requirement before building). Commands: /ponytail-review (over-engineering review of the current changes), /ponytail-audit (whole-repo over-engineering audit), /ponytail-debt (harvest ponytail: comments into a tracked ledger), /ponytail-gain (measured-impact scoreboard from the benchmark), /ponytail-help (this card). Deactivate with 'stop ponytail', 'normal mode', or /ponytail off; resume anytime with /ponytail. Default mode is full; change it with the PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE environment variable (off\|lite\|full\|ultra) or a config file at ~/.config/ponytail/config.json (Windows: %APPDATA%\\ponytail\\config.json) with {\"defaultMode\": \"lite\"}. Resolution order: env var, then config file, then full."	prompt = "Show the ponytail quick reference. One shot, change nothing: do not switch mode, write flag files, or persist anything. Levels: /ponytail lite (build what's asked, name the lazier alternative in one line), /ponytail (full, the default ladder: YAGNI then stdlib then native then one line then minimum), /ponytail ultra (deletion before addition, challenges the requirement before building). Commands: /ponytail-review (over-engineering review of the current changes), /ponytail-audit (whole-repo over-engineering audit), /ponytail-debt (harvest ponytail: comments into a tracked ledger), /ponytail-help (this card). Deactivate with 'stop ponytail', 'normal mode', or /ponytail off; resume anytime with /ponytail. Default mode is full; change it with the PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE environment variable (off\|lite\|full\|ultra) or a config file at ~/.config/ponytail/config.json (Windows: %APPDATA%\\ponytail\\config.json) with {\"defaultMode\": \"lite\"}. Resolution order: env var, then config file, then full."