ponytail-debt git:20261008.2a1fe84A

Immutable. This exact content never changes and is served at /api/v1/blob/111a7abae3f000f2.

---
name: ponytail-debt
description: "Harvest every shortcut: comment into one debt ledger, so deferrals get tracked instead of forgotten. One-shot report."
homepage: https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail
license: MIT
---

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 `node_modules`, `.git`, and build
output:

`grep -rnE --exclude-dir=.git --exclude-dir=node_modules --exclude-dir=dist --exclude-dir=build '(#|//|/[*]) ?(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. "stop ponytail-debt" or
"normal mode" to revert.