134k stars · MIT (read from the About sidebar on 2026-09-10) · v4.9.0 (07 Aug, therefore 7 August 2026 — a past bare date), read from /releases/latest · Track this in Scout
A plugin that makes a coding assistant look for the existing answer before writing a new one.
▶Repo detailsthe review · specs · pros & cons · install
What it is
Ponytail is a plugin for coding assistants such as Claude Code, Codex and GitHub Copilot CLI. It installs a short list of questions the assistant must answer before it starts writing.
What it is good for. Anyone who builds software by asking an assistant to do it. The usual complaint is not that the assistant writes bad code. It is that it writes far too much of it, and a solo builder then owns every line. The project's own testing claims about 54% less code produced and about 20% lower cost, which is their figure and not a measured promise. The example in the README is a good one: instead of pulling in a component library for a date picker, it uses the date field the browser already has. This is for anyone building with a coding assistant. Every extra file it writes is a file somebody has to understand later.
- Two commands to install, and removing it is just as quick. Nothing about your project changes.
- It is a plugin, not a service. There is no account, no server and no cost.
- The safety parts are protected. Input checking, security, error handling and accessibility are never treated as code to remove.
- It works through the plugin system of each assistant. If you use a tool with no plugin support, this does nothing for you.
- Node.js must be on your system path for the plugin hooks to run. The skill files work without it, the hooks do not.
- "Write less" is a preference, not a law. Sometimes the longer answer is the right one, and you still have to read what comes out.
/plugin marketplace add DietrichGebert/ponytail /plugin install ponytail@ponytail
