ponytail-help

name	ponytail-help
description	Quick reference for ponytail modes and companion skills. One-shot display, not a persistent mode. Use when the user asks how to use ponytail, which modes exist, or what ponytail commands/skills are available.
license	MIT

Ponytail Help

Display this reference card when invoked. One-shot, do NOT change mode or persist anything.

Levels

Level	Trigger	What changes
Lite	/ponytail lite	Build what's asked, but name the lazier alternative in one line.
Full	/ponytail	YAGNI -> reuse -> stdlib -> native -> one line -> minimum. Default.
Ultra	/ponytail ultra	YAGNI extremist. Deletion before addition. Challenges requirements before building.

Skills

Skill	Trigger	What it does
ponytail	/ponytail	Lazy mode itself. Simplest correct solution.
ponytail-review	/ponytail-review	Over-engineering review for a diff.
ponytail-audit	/ponytail-audit	Repo-wide over-engineering audit.
ponytail-help	/ponytail-help	This card.

Codex commonly invokes these as @ponytail, @ponytail-review, @ponytail-audit, and @ponytail-help.

Deactivate

Say "stop ponytail" or "normal mode".

Configure Default Mode

Environment variable:

export PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE=ultra

Config file:

{ "defaultMode": "lite" }

Resolution order: env var -> config file -> full.