ponytail-review
Code review focused exclusively on over-engineering. Finds what to delete: reinvented standard library, unneeded dependencies, speculative abstractions, dead flexibility. One line per finding: location, what to cut, what replaces it. Use when the user says "review for over-engineering", "what can we delete", "is this over-engineered", "simplify review", or invokes /ponytail-review. Complements correctness-focused review, this one only hunts complexity.
npx skills add DietrichGebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-review --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.
Review diffs for unnecessary complexity. One line per finding: location, what to cut, what replaces it. The diff's best outcome is getting shorter. ## Format `L<line>: <tag> <what>. <replacement>.`, or `<file>:L<line>: ...` for multi-file diffs. Tags: - `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. ## Examples ❌ "This EmailValidator class might be more complex than necessary, have you considered whether all these validation rules are needed at this stage?" ✅ `L12-38: stdlib: 27-line validator class. "@" in email, 1 line, real validation is the confirmation mail.` ✅ `L4: native: moment.js imported for one format call. Intl.DateTimeFormat, 0 deps.` ✅ `repo.py:L88: yagni: AbstractRepository with one implementation. Inline it until a second one exists.` ✅ `L52-71: delete: retry wrapper around an idempotent local call. Nothing replaces it.`
- Format
- Examples
- Scoring
- Boundaries
What does the ponytail-review skill do?
Code review focused exclusively on over-engineering. Finds what to delete: reinvented standard library, unneeded dependencies, speculative abstractions, dead flexibility. One line per finding: location, what to cut, what replaces it. Use when the user says "review for over-engineering", "what can we delete", "is this over-engineered", "simplify review", or invokes /ponytail-review. Complements correctness-focused review, this one only hunts complexity.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add DietrichGebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-review --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.