# 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".

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

---


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

Level sticks until changed or session end.

## Skills

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

Codex uses `@ponytail`, `@ponytail-review`, and `@ponytail-help`; Claude Code
and OpenCode use the slash-command forms above (OpenCode ships `/ponytail` and
`/ponytail-review`).

## Deactivate

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

## Configure Default Mode

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

**Environment variable** (highest priority):

```bash
export PONYTAIL_DEFAULT_MODE=ultra
```

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

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

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