AC ponytail
Forces the laziest solution that actually works, simplest, shortest, most minimal. Channels a senior dev who has seen everything: question whether the task needs to exist at all (YAGNI), reach for the standard library before custom code, native platform features before dependencies, one line before fifty. Supports intensity levels: lite, full (default), ultra. Use on ANY coding task: writing, adding, refactoring, fixing, reviewing, or designing code, and choosing libraries or dependencies. Also use whenever the user says "ponytail", "be lazy", "lazy mode", "simplest solution", "minimal solution", "yagni", "do less", or "shortest path", or complains about over-engineering, bloat, boilerplate, or unnecessary dependencies. Do NOT use for non-coding requests (general knowledge, prose, translation, summaries, recipes).
Forces the laziest solution that actually works, simplest, shortest, most minimal.
As a process C 61/100 · Has gaps — weak spots: inputs and preconditions, failures and branches, running it twice
How to improve
- Your own cases (evals/evals.json, 4–6 real requests with expected answers): the full check would then run those instead of a model-drafted suite.
- A spec.yaml with trigger phrases and assertions — a behaviour contract for CI; `skilltest init` writes a template.
Guard findings · 0
✓ No critical or high findings
Files scanned: 2. Evidence is masked. Grey chips explain why severity was lowered.
Against the Agent Skills spec
✓ No remarks against the Agent Skills spec
Process rating: all ten parameters 61/100
- 0Inputs and preconditions. Does not say what the process needs to start
- 0Failures and branches. Linear process with no failure handling
- 0Progress reporting. Says nothing while it works
- 30Running it twice. 1 mutating operations with no state check
- 60Tools and files. Uses tools (web) that frontmatter does not declare
- 60Result and completion. Output format stated, no completion criterion
- 100Steps. 17 steps
- 100When it triggers. States when to use and when not to
- 100Consistency. Name and required fields are in place
- 100Execution cost. Instruction body is 1420 tokens
- medium Safety rules and hard prohibitions inside a skill: they belong in the system prompt, here they protect nothing
- high The skill tells the model to perform an irreversible action with no human approval
Everything here is measured from the skill text rather than judged by a model, so the numbers are checkable. A parameter weighs more when it is a more common reason for the process to stall.
Quality signals
- +3Description length 825: 120–800 characters recommended
- +4No input/output examples
- +2Single-language instructions
- +5Description quotes 7 example trigger phrases
- +4Description says when NOT to use the skill
- +4Structure: 8 headings
- +3Step-by-step instructions: 17 items
- +3Output format is stated explicitly
- +1License stated
Quality base 70; lint remarks subtract, signals add up to 100. Result: 90.