ponytail-help
Quick-reference card for all ponytail modes, skills, and commands. One-shot display, not a persistent mode. Trigger: /ponytail-help, "ponytail help", "what ponytail commands", "how do I use ponytail".
By dietrichgebert · 20,146 installs
npx skills add dietrichgebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-help
Source repository · Upstream listing
Ponytail Help
Display this reference card when invoked. One shot, do NOT change mode,
write flag files, or persist anything.
Levels
Level Trigger What change
Lite /ponytail lite Build what was asked, name the smaller option in one line.
Full /ponytail The smallest complete change, a check where the logic needs one, and a reply that names what was skipped and any risk. Default.
Ultra /ponytail ultra Also questions the request and pushes back before building.
Level sticks until changed or session end.
Skills
Skill Trigger What it does
ponytail /ponytail Lazy mode itself: least new code, clear replies that name skipped work and risks.
ponytail review /ponytail review Quality review of a diff: bugs, security, load, missing tests, speed, what to cut. Each finding says what goes wrong and how to fix it.
ponytail audit /ponytail audit The same quality review for the whole repo, ranked.
ponytail debt /ponytail debt Harvest shortcut: comments into a tracked ledger.
ponytail gain /ponytail gain Measured impact scoreboard: less code, less cost, more speed.
ponytail help /ponytail help This card.
In Codex CLI and the IDE extension, invoke skills with $ponytail:ponytail ,
$ponytail:ponytail review , or $ponytail:ponytail help . Claude Code and OpenCode use the
slash command forms above (OpenCode ships all six as slash commands).
Deactivate
Say "stop ponytail" or "normal mode". Resume anytime with /ponytail .
/ponytail off also works.
Band (Claude Code)
/ponytail band hides the band above the prompt, the same command brings it back.
/ponytail band on and /ponytail band off set it directly. The level stays.
/ponytail band import adds your past Claude Code sessions (cost, agent time, tokens) to the board.
Configure Default Mode
Default mode = full , auto active every session. Change it:
Environment variable (highest priority):
Config file ( ~/.config/ponytail/config.json , Windows: %APPDATA%\ponytail\config.json ):
Set "off" to disable auto activation on session start, activate manually
with /ponytail when wanted.
Resolution: env var config file full .
Update
Enable auto update once: open /plugin , go to Marketplaces, pick ponytail, Enable auto update. Claude Code then pulls new versions at startup (run /reload plugins when it prompts). Manual refresh: /plugin marketplace update ponytail then /reload plugins .
If /plugin is not recognized, your Claude Code is out of date. Update it ( npm install g @anthropic ai/claude code@latest , or brew upgrade claude code ) and restart. Other hosts use their own update flow.
More
Full docs + examples: https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail