ponytail-audit
Installation
Copy the prompt below and send it to your AI assistant (e.g. Claude Code) — it will follow the instructions and install automatically.
Install the "ponytail-audit" skill by following the instructions at https://skill123.me/install/ponytail-audit.
Run in your terminal — downloads and installs to ~/.claude/skills/.
curl -fsSL https://skill123.me/install/ponytail-audit.sh | bash
Download the zip and extract it into your skills directory (e.g. ~/.claude/skills/), then restart your session.
⬇ Download v1.0.0 · 1 KBNot live-tested yet — this skill is rated on static analysis only.
About this skill
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.
ponytail-review, repo-wide. Scan the whole tree instead of a diff. Rank
findings biggest cut first.
Documentation
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.
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.reuse:equivalent helper, util, or pattern already in this repo. Name the path.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, helpers duplicating an
equivalent that already lives in this repo.
Before emitting delete:, grep the whole tree for the symbol, including tests,
fixtures and string or dynamic references.
Output
One line per finding, numbered and ranked: <N>. <tag> <what to cut>. <replacement>. [path],
so the user can say "fix 2 and 5".
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.
Score breakdown
Assessment methodology
Version history
Imported from DietrichGebert/ponytail@main
