Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Repo Quality Audit agent skill (ponytail-audit)
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The ponytail-audit skill is a set of instructions that tells an AI agent to review a whole code project like a careful senior developer who has just inherited it. It is for developers who need a ranked list of risks before they change anything, for teams getting ready for more users, and for maintainers who want to find dead code. After this guide you will know what the skill makes the agent do, how to install it, how to ask for an audit, and where its limits are.
Repo Quality AuditDietrichGebert/ponytail · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Download the ponytail-audit ZIP from this page.
- 2Unzip the skill. Unzip it so the ponytail-audit folder with SKILL.md is inside ~/.claude/skills/ or your project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 3Or upload it in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
- 4Open your repo. Start an agent session in the project you want to review.
- 5Ask for an audit. Say in plain words what to audit, such as the whole repo or one folder.
- 6Read the findings. Work through the numbered findings from the most important group down.
- 7Choose fixes. Reply with the numbers you want fixed, for example "fix 2 and 5".
What an agent skill is and what this one makes the agent do
An agent skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file. The file tells an AI agent how to handle one kind of task. This skill, ponytail-audit, tells the agent to audit a repository and write a report.
The agent first maps the project: it reads the README, the build and deploy config, the dependency list, the entry points and the tests. It then traces the main flows from input to storage to output. It looks for bugs, security and data-loss risks, code that would fail under many users, missing tests, slow code, and code that could be removed. Findings are ordered by importance.
- Must fix: bugs, security, data loss, and anything that breaks at the expected load.
- Should fix: risky code without a test, real slowness, duplicated helpers, and functions that mix several jobs.
- Nice to have: small speed-ups and shorter forms of code.
- Each finding includes what it is, the problem, a small suggested fix, and what happens if you skip it.
- The skill is a one-shot report. It does not change any code.
Install the ponytail-audit skill
Download the ZIP file from this page. Unzip it so that the ponytail-audit folder, which contains SKILL.md, ends up in one of these locations:
For all of your projects, use your personal skills folder: ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, put it in that project's .claude/skills/ folder. You can also upload the ZIP in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/ponytail-audit/
- Project install: <your-project>/.claude/skills/ponytail-audit/
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP.
How to trigger the audit with natural requests
You do not need a special command. Ask the agent in plain words to audit the repo or a part of it. The skill runs when the request matches its description: a quality audit of the whole repo that covers bugs, security, load, tests, speed and what to delete.
If you name a folder, package or the whole repo, the agent audits that part. If you name nothing, it audits the whole repo. For a large project, you can ask it to focus on one area.
- "Audit this repo for bugs and security problems before I change anything."
- "Do a quality audit of the billing folder and tell me what to fix first."
- "Check whether this project can handle 10,000 users at once."
- "Find dead code and unnecessary dependencies in this repo."
What the report looks like
The report starts with a short summary of what the repo does and the load the agent assumed. Findings are numbered across all groups, so you can reply with something like "fix 2 and 5".
Each finding has a file location, what the code does, the problem, a concrete case that triggers it, and the fix. The report ends with a verdict, a line count for lean findings when there are any, and a list of parts the agent did not check.
- Findings are numbered in order of importance.
- At most 20 findings are listed. If it left smaller ones out, it says how many.
- The agent only reports findings it can back with a concrete case, and it skips style opinions.
What the skill needs and what it does not do
The skill lists no requirements. It does not run scripts and does not use the network, according to its listing. The agent reads your code and works with what it can read and run.
The report depends on what the agent reads and can run, so it can miss issues. For large repositories the agent goes deep only where mistakes cost most, and it lists what it skipped.
- Requires: nothing listed.
- Runs scripts: no.
- Uses network: no.
- License: MIT.
What people use it for
- Reviewing a codebase you inherited before you change anything.
- Checking whether a project can handle more users or traffic.
- Finding dead code, duplicated helpers and unnecessary dependencies before a cleanup.
- Getting a prioritized list of risks to plan a sprint around.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ponytail-audit skill?
It is an agent skill, a folder with a SKILL.md file, that tells an AI agent to audit a whole code repository. The report covers bugs, security, load, missing tests, speed and code that could be removed. It is ordered by importance.
Do I need to install anything else to use it?
The skill lists no requirements. You add the ponytail-audit folder to ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload the ZIP in Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Is ponytail-audit free to use?
The skill is published under the MIT license. The source does not mention prices, so check the listing and your own agent setup for any costs.
Does the audit change my code?
No. The skill is a one-shot report and does not change any code. You decide which fixes to apply.
Does it replace a professional security audit?
No. The report depends on what the agent reads and can run, so it can miss issues. It is not a guaranteed security audit.
Will it check code style or formatting?
No. The skill explicitly skips style opinions and focuses on correctness and risk.
New agent skills, repos and AI tools — every week
The best new skills and open-source projects, the fastest-growing repos, and one free prompt. Five minutes to read. Unsubscribe anytime.
Our verdict
Use ponytail-audit if you inherited a codebase, need a ranked list of risks before changing it, or want to find dead code and unneeded dependencies. Skip it for quick style reviews, for very large repositories you need read in full, or if you need a guaranteed security audit.
Download the skill