ponytail-audit
Whole-repo audit for over-engineering. Like ponytail-review, but scans the entire codebase instead of a diff: a ranked list of what to delete, simplify, or replace with stdlib/native equivalents. Use when the user says "audit this codebase", "audit for over-engineering", "what can I delete from this repo", "find bloat", "ponytail-audit", or "/ponytail-audit". One-shot report, does not apply fixes.
npx skills add DietrichGebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-audit --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
ponytail-review, repo-wide. Scan the whole tree instead of a diff. Rank findings biggest cut first. ## Tags Same as ponytail-review: - `delete:` dead code, unused flexibility, speculative feature. Replacement: nothing. - `stdlib:` hand-rolled thing the standard library ships. Name the function. - `native:` dependency or code doing what the platform already does. Name the feature. - `yagni:` abstraction with one implementation, config nobody sets, layer with one caller. - `shrink:` same logic, fewer lines. Show the shorter form. ## Hunt Deps the stdlib or platform already ships, single-implementation interfaces, factories with one product, wrappers that only delegate, files exporting one thing, dead flags and config, hand-rolled stdlib. ## Output One line per finding, ranked: `<tag> <what to cut>. <replacement>. [path]`. End with `net: -<N> lines, -<M> deps possible.` Nothing to cut: `Lean already. Ship.` ## Boundaries Scope: over-engineering and complexity only. Correctness bugs, security holes, and performance are explicitly out of scope. Route them to a normal review pass. Lists findings, applies nothing. One-shot. "stop ponytail-audit" or "normal mode" to revert.
- Tags
- Hunt
- Output
- Boundaries
What does the ponytail-audit skill do?
Whole-repo audit for over-engineering. Like ponytail-review, but scans the entire codebase instead of a diff: a ranked list of what to delete, simplify, or replace with stdlib/native equivalents. Use when the user says "audit this codebase", "audit for over-engineering", "what can I delete from this repo", "find bloat", "ponytail-audit", or "/ponytail-audit". One-shot report, does not apply fixes.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add DietrichGebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-audit --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From DietrichGebert/ponytail, a repository with 95,650 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.