What problem does it solve? Codebases accumulate over-engineered abstractions, unnecessary dependencies, and speculative features that create maintenance burden. This Skill forces the simplest working solution for any coding task by applying a strict decision ladder: question whether the work is needed, reuse existing code, prefer the standard library and native platform features, and only write new code as a last resort. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Minimal-Solution Ladder: A seven-step decision hierarchy (YAGNI check, existing code reuse, stdlib, native platform features, installed dependencies, one-liners, minimal new code) applied to every coding task. - Adjustable Intensity Levels: Three modes (lite, full, ultra) control how aggressively simplification is enforced, from suggesting lazier alternatives to challenging the requirement itself. - Root-Cause Bug Fixing: Directs fixes to shared code paths rather than patching individual call sites, keeping diffs small and complete. - Use Case: When asked to add a response cache, instead of building a custom cache class, the Skill applies @lru_cache(maxsize=1000) and notes when a custom solution would become necessary. ## Quick Start Ask the assistant to use ponytail mode when writing or refactoring code, for example by saying "use ponytail to implement this feature with the simplest solution".
