ponytail-debt

dietrichgebert/ponytail/ponytail-debt

This skill scans the codebase for all comments starting with `ponytail:` and compiles them into a debt ledger. Each comment names a ceiling and an upgrade path, which the skill extracts and reports. It also flags any comments that lack an upgrade path or trigger, as those are at risk of silently rotting. The output is a report grouped by file, listing each marker with its location, the simplification made, the ceiling, and the trigger to revisit. It ends with a summary count of markers and those without triggers. The skill is read-only and makes no changes to the codebase.

Installs · 965View source

Installation

npx skills add https://github.com/dietrichgebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-debt

Skill files

SKILL.md

Last synced · Oct 22, 2026

SKILL.md›

---
name: ponytail-debt
description: >
  List every `shortcut:` comment (and older `ponytail:` ones) as a debt ledger. One-shot report,
  changes nothing. Use for "ponytail debt", "what did ponytail defer", "list the
  shortcuts", /ponytail-debt.
---

Every deliberate ponytail shortcut is marked with a `shortcut:` comment naming
its ceiling and upgrade path (older code may say `ponytail:`). This collects them into one ledger so a deferral
can't quietly become permanent.

## Scan

Grep the repo for comment markers, skipping `.git` and everything the
`.gitignore` files ignore (dependencies, build output, caches, in any stack):

`git grep --no-index --exclude-standard -nE '(#|//|/[*]) ?(shortcut|ponytail):'`  (add other comment prefixes if your stack uses them)

If the user names their own marker word (`/ponytail-debt TODO`), grep for that word instead.

Each hit is one ledger row. The comment prefix keeps prose that merely mentions
the convention out of the ledger. Skip hits that are not a deferral, like a note
about a keyboard shortcut.

## Output

One row per marker, grouped by file:

`<file>:<line>, <what was simplified>. ceiling: <the limit named>. upgrade: <the trigger to revisit>.`

The convention is `shortcut: <ceiling>, <upgrade path>`, so pull the ceiling
and the trigger straight from the comment. Want an owner per row too? add
`git blame -L<line>,<line>`.

Flag the rot risk: any marker comment that names no upgrade path or
trigger gets a `no-trigger` tag, those are the ones that silently rot.

End with `<N> markers, <M> with no trigger.` Nothing found: `No shortcut debt. Clean ledger.`

## Boundaries

Reads and reports only, changes nothing. To persist it, ask and it writes the
ledger to a file (e.g. `PONYTAIL-DEBT.md`). One-shot.