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Ponytail Coding (Lazy Senior Dev Mode)

A persona skill that forces the laziest solution that actually works — stdlib and native features first, shortest diff, no unrequested abstractions.

Dev & CodingBeginner★ 142⑂ 24AI score 9/10Last updated: Sep 13, 2026

What it does

It makes Claude behave like a senior dev who has been paged at 3am for someone else's over-engineering. Before writing code, it climbs a ladder and stops at the first rung that holds:

  1. Does this need to exist at all? (YAGNI)
  2. Is it already in this codebase (helper, util, pattern)?
  3. Does the stdlib do it?
  4. Does a native platform feature cover it (CSS, <input type="date">, DB constraints)?
  5. Does an already-installed dependency solve it?
  6. Can it be one line?
  7. Only then: the minimum code that works.

Output is compressed to [code] → skipped: X, add when Y. Deliberate shortcuts get a // ponytail: comment naming the ceiling and upgrade path. Three intensity levels: lite / full (default) / ultra.

Crucially, it fences off what must never be simplified away: trust-boundary validation, data-loss-preventing error handling, security, accessibility, and understanding the problem itself. Non-trivial logic must leave behind one runnable check (an assert-based demo() or a small test_*.py).

Who it's for

  • Developers tired of AI inventing interfaces with one implementation
  • Teams that optimize for small, reviewable diffs
  • Projects that prefer stdlib and platform primitives over new dependencies
  • Anyone shipping prototypes or internal tooling fast

Examples

  • "Add a cache for these API responses." full mode answers with @lru_cache(maxsize=1000) plus "skipped custom cache class, add when lru_cache measurably falls short"; ultra pushes back with "no cache until a profiler says so."
  • Bug fixing: instead of patching the path named in the ticket, it greps every caller and places one guard in the shared function — smaller diff, root-cause fix.
  • Complaining about bloat: just saying "this is over-engineered" triggers the skill and yields a deletion-first proposal.
  • Hardware work: it explicitly keeps calibration knobs instead of trimming them away, since real clocks drift and sensors read off.

· · · Install guide · · ·

Try it now, no install

Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.

Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alfadur7/llm-wiki-newsroom/HEAD/.claude/skills/ponytail-coding/SKILL.md

What I want: (describe your task here)

If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.

↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.

Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
  1. Download the ZIP with the button below.
  2. In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
  3. Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
↓ Download ZIP
Install in Claude Code

Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code

Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart.
Copy the .claude/skills/ponytail-coding folder from the GitHub repo alfadur7/llm-wiki-newsroom into my ~/.claude/skills/ponytail-coding/.
When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.

Install with a command instead

git clone https://github.com/alfadur7/llm-wiki-newsroom /tmp/llm-wiki-newsroom && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r /tmp/llm-wiki-newsroom/.claude/skills/ponytail-coding ~/.claude/skills/

⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.

  1. Open a terminal.
  2. Clone the repository into a temp directory: git clone https://github.com/alfadur7/llm-wiki-newsroom /tmp/llm-wiki-newsroom
  3. Make sure your skills directory exists: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
  4. Copy just this skill: cp -r /tmp/llm-wiki-newsroom/.claude/skills/ponytail-coding ~/.claude/skills/
  5. For project-only use, copy it into your project's .claude/skills/ instead of the home directory.
  6. Restart Claude Code and confirm ponytail-coding appears in your skill list.
  7. Trigger it by saying "ponytail", "lazy mode", or "ponytail ultra"; turn it off with "stop ponytail" or "normal mode".
  8. Note: the upstream /ponytail slash command, hooks, and statusline are intentionally not vendored here, so set the intensity in prose or via the skill argument.
View source on GitHub ↗License: MIT