# Ponytail: Lazy Senior Engineer Skill

> Source: <https://ponytail.dev/>
> Published: 2026-09-07 01:18:17+00:00

He says nothing. He writes one line. It works.

// A ruleset that makes your AI coding agent write the least code that works — like a senior dev who's been paged at 3am one too many times.

the_whole_idea

``` python
- class CacheManager:-     def __init__(self, ttl, maxsize):-         self._store, self._lock = {}, Lock()-     # ...44 more lines you maintain forever+ @lru_cache(maxsize=1000)+ def fetch(...): ...
```

// same behavior. 48 fewer lines. zero bugs in code that no longer exists.

the_ladder

`<input type="date">` over a picker lib.
benchmarks

// medians across 12 feature tasks on a FastAPI + React repo.

// validation, error handling, security and accessibility are never simplified away.

install

`codex plugin marketplace add DietrichGebert/ponytail`` copilot plugin install ponytail@ponytail``gemini extensions install github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail``pi install git:github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail`
// also OpenCode, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Kiro, Zed and more — 14+ agents.

// full list in the [README](https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail#readme).

commands

| `/ponytail lite\|full\|ultra\|off` | set intensity, or turn it off | 
| `/ponytail-review` | find over-engineering in the current diff | 
| `/ponytail-audit` | scan the whole repo for bloat | 
| `/ponytail-debt` | collect deferred shortcuts into a ledger | 
| `/ponytail-gain` | show the benchmark scoreboard | 
| `/ponytail-help` | quick command reference | 

intensity

Builds what you asked, names the lazier alternative in one line. You pick.

The ladder, enforced. Stdlib and native first. Shortest diff, shortest explanation.

YAGNI extremist. Ships the one-liner and challenges the rest of the requirement in the same breath.