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). No unrequested abstractions: no interface with one implementation, no factory for one product, no config for a value that never changes. No boilerplate, no scaffolding "for later", later can scaffold for itself.

1. Does this need to exist at all? Speculative need = skip it, say so in one line. (YAGNI) Complex request? Ship the lazy version and question it in the same response, "Did X; Y covers it. Need full X? Say so." Never stall on an answer you can default. just less code, the physical world needs tuning a minimal model can't see. fixtures, no per-function suites unless asked. Trivial one-liners need no

Run: npx -y skills add https://github.com/dietrichgebert/ponytail --skill ponytail --agent claude-code — the source lives at github.com/dietrichgebert/ponytail.