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.

Select the repository skill in your agent's skill picker. Codex CLI supports
$ponytail; desktop picker syntax can vary. Claude Code uses the slash-command
forms above. Other hosts can load the named skill or its SKILL.md explicitly.

Deactivate

Say "stop ponytail" or "normal mode". With hooks, /ponytail off also works;
resume with /ponytail (off enables the default level; an active mode reports its level).

Checkout scope

This checkout bundles skills plus Node.js lifecycle hooks for Codex, Claude Code,
Copilot and Cursor. From a reviewed checkout, initialize them with
node .vendor/workflow-kit/scripts/install-ponytail-hooks.mjs, then enable the host's project trust/hooks
to activate the default mode at session start. Default priority: PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE, then personal
Ponytail config defaultMode, then full. Supported defaults: off/lite/full/ultra.
/ponytail default lite saves a personal default; ordinary mode switches do not.
No global statusline or automatic plugin update is installed. Other hosts use
the skills directly. Repository workflow, validation and security rules remain authoritative.

Update

Updates arrive through repository changes. See
checkout usage and updates.
Regenerate local links and cloud files together; retain patches and MIT attribution.

More

Full docs + examples: https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail