ponytail-gain
Shows the code, cost, and speed savings achieved through optimizations. Useful for understanding the impact of improvements made.
What it does
Shows how much the 'ponytail' tool saved in code, cost, and time in benchmark tests. It's a one-time display of results.
When to use it
- ✓To see the overall performance of 'ponytail'.
- ✓When comparing 'ponytail' to the version without it.
- ✓To understand 'ponytail's impact on programming tasks.
Example of what to ask your AI
“show me the ponytail gain”
Want more? Open the sections below.
How to use
The easiest way: copy the message below and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any AI. It reads the skill and follows the instructions.
Skill link
Ready-to-paste message
How it works
The AI displays a table with text-based bars comparing 'ponytail' to a version without this tool. The numbers show savings in lines of code, tokens, cost, and time.
Installation
Easiest way: copy the skill link and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor asking it to follow the instructions.
In the terminal (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor), in your project folder:
npx skills add DietrichGebert/ponytail --skill ponytail-gainOr download just the file:
curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail/main/skills/ponytail-gain/SKILL.md -o SKILL.mdTechnical content (original SKILL.md)
Original text by the author, straight from GitHub.
Ponytail Gain
Display this scoreboard when invoked. One-shot: do NOT change mode, write flag files, or persist anything.
The figures are the published agentic benchmark of Ponytail 5: headless Claude
Code (Opus 5.5, default effort) on 39 tasks (feature tickets in a real FastAPI +
React repo, bug fixes, security and privacy cases, small apps), 5 runs each,
against the same agent without the skill. 18 of the tasks have hidden checks
for correctness and safety. Each figure is the geometric mean of the per-task
medians. They are measured, not computed from the current repo.
Source: benchmarks/results/2026-10-07-agentic.md and the README.
Scoreboard
Render plain ASCII bars. The bar length shows ponytail as a share of the no-skill baseline; the label carries the exact figure:
ponytail gain benchmark · 39 tasks × 5 runs · Opus 5.5
no-skill ████████████████████ 100%
Lines of code █████████··········· 47% ▼ 53%
Output tokens ███████████········· 55% ▼ 45%
Cost ███████████████····· 74% ▼ 26%
Time ████████████········ 59% ▼ 41%
Hidden checks passed 97% (no-skill 96%)
Tests where the logic needs one 98% (no-skill 68%)
This repo: /ponytail-debt (shortcuts you deferred)
/ponytail-audit (what's still cuttable)
Honesty boundary
These are benchmark averages, not this repo. NEVER print a per-repo savings
number ("you saved X lines/tokens here"): the unbuilt version was never
written, so there is no real baseline to subtract from in a live repo. The
only real per-repo figures come from /ponytail-debt (a counted ledger), and
this card points there instead of inventing one.
Boundaries
One-shot display. Edits nothing, changes no mode.
FAQ
Do these numbers apply to my current project?
No, the numbers are from general tests (benchmarks), not your specific project. They show 'ponytail's potential.
What are 'hidden checks' and 'tests where the logic needs one'?
'Hidden checks' are unseen correctness and safety checks. 'Tests where the logic needs one' indicates tests that required manual adjustments.
Will the AI change anything in my project?
No, this tool only displays information. It does not change your code, alter settings, or save anything.
Details
Original description by the author
Show ponytail's measured savings (code, cost, speed) from the benchmark. One-shot display. Use for /ponytail-gain, "what does ponytail save", "ponytail impact".
repo: DietrichGebert/ponytail
Popularity
- GitHub stars
- 164k
- Ranking position
- #336
- License
- MIT
- Updated
- 10/15/2026
Comments
- …
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