# ponytail-debt

> Claude/Codex skill by [@dietrichgebert](https://omgskills.com/library/dietrichgebert/index.md) · 167k stars · 43k installs · Updated 2026-10-18

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.

Tags: agent-skills, ai-agents, claude, claude-code, claude-code-plugin, cursor-rules, developer-tools, llm, prompt-engineering, yagni

## Install

```sh
git clone https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail /tmp/ponytail && ln -s /tmp/ponytail/skills/ponytail-debt ~/.claude/skills/ponytail-debt
```

## From README

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: : , . ceiling: . upgrade: . The convention is shortcut: , , so pull the ceiling and the trigger straight from the comment. Want an owner per row too? add git blame -L , . 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 markers, with no trigger. Nothing found: No shortcut debt. Clean ledger.

## Links

- HTML page: https://omgskills.com/skills/dietrichgebert/ponytail/ponytail-debt/
- GitHub: https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail
- Author: [@dietrichgebert](https://omgskills.com/library/dietrichgebert/index.md)

## More from this repo

- [ponytail](https://omgskills.com/skills/dietrichgebert/ponytail/ponytail/index.md) — Lazy senior dev mode: the smallest change that fully solves the task, and a reply a busy human understands in one read.
   - [@dietrichgebert](https://omgskills.com/library/dietrichgebert/index.md) · 167k stars
- [ponytail-audit](https://omgskills.com/skills/dietrichgebert/ponytail/ponytail-audit/index.md) — Quality audit of a whole repo: bugs, security holes, what breaks under real load, risky code without tests, slow paths,...
   - [@dietrichgebert](https://omgskills.com/library/dietrichgebert/index.md) · 167k stars
- [ponytail-gain](https://omgskills.com/skills/dietrichgebert/ponytail/ponytail-gain/index.md) — Show ponytail's measured savings (code, cost, speed) from the benchmark.
   - [@dietrichgebert](https://omgskills.com/library/dietrichgebert/index.md) · 167k stars