# Technical Debt Ledger

Collect shortcut comments into one debt ledger so deferrals get tracked.

- Repository: https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail (182067 stars)
- Category: Engineering
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-29
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add DietrichGebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-debt -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add DietrichGebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-debt -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add DietrichGebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-debt -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add DietrichGebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-debt -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add DietrichGebert/ponytail`

## Description

Harvest every shortcut: comment into one debt ledger, so deferrals get tracked instead of forgotten. One-shot report.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

Every deliberate ponytail shortcut is marked with a `shortcut:` comment naming
its ceiling and upgrade path (older code may say `ponytail:`). This collects them into one ledger so a deferral
can't quietly become permanent.

## Scan

Grep the repo for comment markers, skipping `.git` and everything the
`.gitignore` files ignore (dependencies, build output, caches, in any stack):

`git grep --no-index --exclude-standard -nE '(#|//|/[*]) ?(shortcut|ponytail):'`  (add other comment prefixes if your stack uses them)

If the user names their own marker word (`/ponytail-debt TODO`), grep for that word instead.

Each hit is one ledger row. The comment prefix keeps prose that merely mentions
the convention out of the ledger. Skip hits that are not a deferral, like a note
about a keyboard shortcut.

## Output

One row per marker, grouped by file:

`<file>:<line>, <what was simplified>. ceiling: <the limit named>. upgrade: <the trigger to revisit>.`

The convention is `shortcut: <ceiling>, <upgrade path>`, so pull the ceiling
and the trigger straight from the comment. Want an owner per row too? add
`git blame -L<line>,<line>`.

Flag the rot risk: any marker comment that names no upgrade path or
trigger gets a `no-trigger` tag, those are the ones that silently rot.

End with `<N> markers, <M> with no trigger.` Nothing found: `No shortcut debt. Clean ledger.`

## Boundaries

Reads and reports only, changes nothing. To persist it, ask and it writes the
ledger to a file (e.g. `PONYTAIL-DEBT.md`). One-shot.