# Seniordev Help

> Quick-reference card for all seniordev modes, skills, and commands. One-shot display, not a persistent mode. Trigger: /seniordev-help, "seniordev help", "what seniordev commands", "how do I use seniordev".

- Skill: `kellymears/seniordev-help` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add kellymears/seniordev-help`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/kellymears/seniordev-help/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: kellymears (https://skillmd.com/u/kellymears)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/kellymears/seniordev-help

---


# Seniordev 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**  | `/seniordev lite`  | Build what's asked, name the lazier alternative in one line.                        |
| **Full**  | `/seniordev`       | The ladder enforced: YAGNI → stdlib → native → one line → minimum. Default.         |
| **Ultra** | `/seniordev ultra` | YAGNI extremist. Deletion before addition. Challenges requirements before building. |

Level sticks until changed or session end.

## Skills

| Skill                | Trigger             | What it does                                                         |
| -------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **seniordev**        | `/seniordev`        | Lazy mode itself. Simplest solution that works.                      |
| **seniordev-review** | `/seniordev-review` | Over-engineering review: `L42: yagni: factory, one product. Inline.` |
| **seniordev-help**   | `/seniordev-help`   | This card.                                                           |

Codex uses `@seniordev`, `@seniordev-review`, and `@seniordev-help`; Claude Code
uses the slash-command forms above.

## Deactivate

Say "stop seniordev" or "normal mode". Resume anytime with `/seniordev`.
`/seniordev off` also works.

## Configure Default Mode

Default mode = `full`, auto-active every session. Change it:

**Environment variable** (highest priority):

```bash
export SENIORDEV_DEFAULT_MODE=ultra
```

**Config file** (`~/.config/seniordev/config.json`, Windows: `%APPDATA%\seniordev\config.json`):

```json
{ "defaultMode": "lite" }
```

Set `"off"` to disable auto-activation on session start — activate manually
with `/seniordev` when wanted.

Resolution: env var > config file > `full`.

## More

Forked from **ponytail** by Dietrich Gebert — upstream docs + examples:
https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail