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.

インストール · 226出典を見る

Installation

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

スキルファイル

SKILL.md

最終同期 · 2026/08/29

SKILL.md›

---
name: ponytail-debt
description: >
  Harvest every `ponytail:` comment in the codebase into a debt ledger, so the
  deliberate shortcuts and deferrals ponytail leaves behind get tracked instead
  of rotting into "later means never". Use when the user says "ponytail debt",
  "/ponytail-debt", "what did ponytail defer", "list the shortcuts", "ponytail
  ledger", or "what did we mark to do later". One-shot report, changes nothing.
---

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

## Scan

Grep the repo for comment markers, skipping `node_modules`, `.git`, and build
output:

`grep -rnE '(#|//) ?ponytail:' .`  (add other comment prefixes if your stack uses them)

Each hit is one ledger row. The comment prefix keeps prose that merely mentions
the convention out of the ledger.

## 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 `ponytail: <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 `ponytail:` 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 ponytail: 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. "stop ponytail-debt" or
"normal mode" to revert.