What problem does it solve? Codebases accumulate over-engineered abstractions, unnecessary dependencies, and speculative features that create maintenance burden. This Skill forces the simplest working solution for any coding task by applying a strict decision ladder: question whether the work is needed at all (YAGNI), reuse existing code, prefer the standard library and native platform features, and only write new code as a last resort. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Minimal-Solution Ladder: A seven-step decision hierarchy that stops at the first rung that works, from YAGNI elimination down to the minimum code that solves the problem. - Adjustable Intensity Levels: Three modes (lite, full, ultra) control how aggressively simplification is enforced, from suggesting lazier alternatives to challenging the requirement itself. - Root-Cause Bug Fixing: Directs fixes to the shared function all callers route through rather than patching individual symptoms. - Use Case: When asked to add a response cache, instead of building a custom cache class, the Skill applies a one-line @lru_cache(maxsize=1000) and notes when a custom solution would actually be warranted. ## Quick Start Ask the AI to implement or refactor any piece of code using ponytail mode, for example by saying "use ponytail to add caching to this API client".
