ponytail

Forces the laziest solution that actually works, simplest, shortest, most minimal. Channels a senior dev who has seen everything: question whether the task needs to exist at all (YAGNI), reach for the standard library before custom code, native platform features before dependencies, one line before fifty. Supports intensity levels: lite, full (default), ultra. Use on ANY coding task: writing, adding, refactoring, fixing, reviewing, or designing code, and choosing libraries or dependencies. Also use whenever the user says "ponytail", "be lazy", "lazy mode", "simplest solution", "minimal solution", "yagni", "do less", or "shortest path", or complains about over-engineering, bloat, boilerplate, or unnecessary dependencies. Do NOT use for non-coding requests (general knowledge, prose, translation, summaries, recipes).

Quality

83%

Does it follow best practices?

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Securityby

Passed

No findings from the security scan

Quality

Content

75%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.

A dense, opinionated, well-structured behavioral skill that delivers concrete actionable guidance via the ladder and worked examples while staying lean. The main weakness is triple repetition of the 'understand the problem first' safety point across sections.

Suggestions

Consolidate the 'understand the problem first' guidance into a single statement; it currently appears in The ladder, Rules, and When NOT to be lazy sections.

Consider extracting the intensity worked-example block or the ladder into a reference file so the SKILL.md body reads as a tighter overview.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	Lean and assumes Claude's competence (no 'what is a stdlib' padding); the persona aphorisms earn their place, though the 'understand the problem first' point is repeated three times (ladder, rules, 'When NOT to be lazy') and could be trimmed.	4 / 5
Actionability	Concrete actionable guidance throughout: a 7-rung ladder with real examples ('`<input type="date">` over a picker lib', 'CSS over JS'), a worked intensity example using `@lru_cache(maxsize=1000)`, and a concrete `# ponytail: ...` comment syntax — minor gaps only.	4 / 5
Workflow Clarity	The ladder is a clear numbered sequence with 'stop at the first rung that holds' as a feedback loop and an explicit pre-step ('read the task and the code it touches first'), plus a validation rule ('leaves ONE runnable check behind'); minor error-recovery gaps keep it below 5.	4 / 5
Progressive Disclosure	Well-organized into clear sections (Persistence, The ladder, Rules, Output, Intensity, When NOT to be lazy, Boundaries) with no bundle files and all content appropriately inline for a behavioral skill; slightly above 50 lines so not a clean 5.	4 / 5
	Total	16 / 20 Passed

Description

91%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.

A strong, well-structured description that clearly states what the skill does and when to use it with comprehensive natural trigger phrases and an explicit negative scope. Minor overlap risk stems from the 'ANY coding task' breadth, slightly capping distinctiveness.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	Lists several concrete actions ('reach for the standard library before custom code', 'native platform features before dependencies', 'one line before fifty', 'writing, adding, refactoring, fixing, reviewing, or designing code') but much is behavioral framing ('Channels a senior dev') rather than concrete manipulations, leaving minor gaps in coverage.	4 / 5
Completeness	Explicitly answers both what ('Forces the laziest solution that actually works, simplest, shortest, most minimal') and when ('Use on ANY coding task... Also use whenever the user says... Do NOT use for non-coding requests') with concrete trigger phrases.	5 / 5
Trigger Term Quality	Comprehensive natural trigger phrases including synonyms and a distinctive invocation: 'ponytail', 'be lazy', 'lazy mode', 'simplest solution', 'minimal solution', 'yagni', 'do less', 'shortest path', plus complaint triggers ('over-engineering', 'bloat', 'boilerplate', 'unnecessary dependencies').	5 / 5
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	Distinctive triggers ('ponytail', 'lazy mode') and an explicit exclusion clause ('Do NOT use for non-coding requests') carve a niche, but 'Use on ANY coding task' is broad enough to risk overlap with general coding skills.	4 / 5
	Total	18 / 20 Passed

Validation

93%

Warnings & errors only

Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.

Validation — 15 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

Criteria	Description	Result
frontmatter_unknown_keys	Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata	Warning

	Total	15 / 16 Passed

Repository: DietrichGebert/ponytail
Path: skills/ponytail/SKILL.md
Commit: 2ed6c52

Reviewed: 9 days ago

Table of Contents

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