ponytail

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 at all (YAGNI), reuse existing code, prefer the standard library and native platform features, and only write new code as a last resort. ## Core Features & Use Cases - The Ladder: A seven-step decision hierarchy that stops at the first sufficient solution, from deleting the requirement down to writing minimal new code. - 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 Fixes: 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) in one line and notes when a custom solution would actually be warranted. ## Quick Start Ask the assistant to use ponytail mode to implement your next feature or fix with the simplest possible solution.