Ponytail
DavidObando/gsharp
Forces the laziest solution that actually works, simplest, shortest, most minimal.
A skill your agent uses when the user asks to write code efficiently, avoid over-engineering, reduce dependencies, or prevent unnecessary abstractions.
Install Minimalist
$ npx skills add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill minimalist -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install alirezarezvani/claude-skills minimalist --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/engineering/minimalist .claude/skills/minimalist && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "minimalist" agent skill from https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/main/engineering/minimalist into .claude/skills/minimalist/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "minimalist", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/main/engineering/minimalistType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill minimalist -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install alirezarezvani/claude-skills minimalist --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/engineering/minimalist .agents/skills/minimalist && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "minimalist" agent skill from https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/main/engineering/minimalist into .agents/skills/minimalist/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "minimalist", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill minimalist -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install alirezarezvani/claude-skills minimalist --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/engineering/minimalist .cursor/skills/minimalist && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "minimalist" agent skill from https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/main/engineering/minimalist into .cursor/skills/minimalist/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "minimalist", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills.git --path engineering/minimalist--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill minimalist -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install alirezarezvani/claude-skills minimalist --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/engineering/minimalist .gemini/skills/minimalist && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "minimalist" agent skill from https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/main/engineering/minimalist into .gemini/skills/minimalist/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "minimalist", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install alirezarezvani/claude-skills minimalistInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill minimalist -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/engineering/minimalist .github/skills/minimalist && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "minimalist" agent skill from https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/main/engineering/minimalist into .github/skills/minimalist/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "minimalist", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill minimalist -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install alirezarezvani/claude-skills minimalist --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/engineering/minimalist .opencode/skills/minimalist && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "minimalist" agent skill from https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/main/engineering/minimalist into .opencode/skills/minimalist/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "minimalist", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
minimalist- GitHub stars
- 28k
- Token cost
- ~804 tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 425 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 342
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
A skill your agent uses when the user asks to write code efficiently, avoid over-engineering, reduce dependencies, or prevent unnecessary abstractions.
- Works in 7 steps: YAGNI — Does this need to be built at… → Reuse — Does it already exist in this… → Standard Library — Does the standard… → …
- The user asks to write code efficiently
- SKILL.md covers Overview, The Efficiency Ladder, Rules of Engagement and Workflow, plus 2 more sections
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Minimalist is an agent skill from alirezarezvani/claude-skills. Use when the user asks to write code efficiently, avoid over-engineering, reduce dependencies, or prevent unnecessary abstractions. Enforces a strict efficiency ladder: YAGNI, reuse, stdlib, native platform, existing deps — before writing any new code.
Its SKILL.md is about 800 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in Development, covering Code simplification. The repository describes itself as: 380 Claude Code skills & agent skills & plugins (30+ Agents, 70+ custom commands, 380+ skills, customizable references, scripts)for Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, and 8… The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- The user asks to write code efficiently
- Avoid over-engineering
- Reduce dependencies
- Prevent unnecessary abstractions
Example prompts
- “/minimalist”
Workflow steps
7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- YAGNI — Does this need to be built at all? If the user hasn't asked for it, don't build it.
- Reuse — Does it already exist in this codebase? Find the helper, util, or pattern and reuse it.
- Standard Library — Does the standard library already do this? Use it directly.
- Native Platform — Does a native platform feature cover it? Use it.
- Existing Dependency — Does an already-installed dependency solve it? Use it.
- One-Liner — Can this be one line? Make it one line.
- Minimum Code — Only then, write the minimum code that works.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 19392f7. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Minimalist loads about 804 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 66 tokens; SKILL.md has 425 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from alirezarezvani/claude-skills at commit 19392f7, republished under its MIT licence (© alirezarezvani). 425 words, ~804 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/minimalist/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- minimalist
- description
- Use when the user asks to write code efficiently, avoid over-engineering, reduce dependencies, or prevent unnecessary abstractions. Enforces a strict efficiency ladder: YAGNI, reuse, stdlib, native platform, existing deps — before writing any new code.
Minimalist
You are highly efficient. The best code is the code never written.
Overview
Use this skill whenever the goal is to solve a problem with the least code possible. It prevents common AI failure modes: inventing helper classes for single-use logic, installing packages for one-line operations, and producing boilerplate that the user will never need.
The Efficiency Ladder
Before writing any new code, stop at the first rung that holds:
- YAGNI — Does this need to be built at all? If the user hasn't asked for it, don't build it.
- Reuse — Does it already exist in this codebase? Find the helper, util, or pattern and reuse it.
- Standard Library — Does the standard library already do this? Use it directly.
- Native Platform — Does a native platform feature cover it? Use it.
- Existing Dependency — Does an already-installed dependency solve it? Use it.
- One-Liner — Can this be one line? Make it one line.
- Minimum Code — Only then, write the minimum code that works.
Rules of Engagement
- No unrequested abstractions: Do not invent interfaces, base classes, or generics for future-proofing unless the user explicitly asks.
- No unnecessary dependencies: If the standard library can do it cleanly, do not install a package.
- No boilerplate: Deletion over addition. Boring over clever. Fewest files possible.
- Question complex requests: Ask "Do you actually need X, or does Y cover it?" before building X.
- Shortest working diff wins: But only once you understand the problem. The smallest change in the wrong place isn't lazy — it's a second bug.
Show full SKILL.md (169 more words)Show less
Workflow
When asked to implement something:
- Pause before writing code.
- Walk the ladder — can rungs 1–6 resolve this without new code?
- State your decision — "Using stdlib
pathlibinstead of a custom file helper." - Write minimum code only if the ladder doesn't resolve it.
- Do not add comments, logging, or error handling that wasn't asked for.
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-Pattern | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| Installing a package for a one-liner | Use the standard library |
| Writing a class for a single function | Write the function |
| Adding a config file for a single hardcoded value | Hardcode it until there are 2+ uses |
| Creating a utility module before it's reused anywhere | Write inline, extract later |
| Adding docstrings/comments the user didn't ask for | Skip them |
| Building error handling for errors that can't happen | Skip it |
| Adding logging before the code works | Ship the code first |
Cross-References
- Related:
engineering/strict-api— prevents hallucinated APIs when writing minimal code; use together. - Related:
engineering/zero-hallucination-coder— enforces verified-only API usage. - Related:
engineering/karpathy-coder— Karpathy-inspired behavioral guidelines for LLM-assisted coding.
© alirezarezvani, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
Just SKILL.md in engineering/minimalist of alirezarezvani/claude-skills.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 19392f7
Compare with similar skills
Minimalist next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimalist this skillalirezarezvani/claude-skills | 28k | — | ~804 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| PonytailDavidObando/gsharp | 564 | 8 repos | ~1.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Ponytail Reviewkortix-ai/suna | 20k | 4 repos | ~593 | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Ponytail Lazy Developer ModeDietrichGebert/ponytail | 159k | — | ~873 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Code Simplification for ego-litecitrolabs/ego-lite | 17k | — | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Refactor Pass for Simplicitystar-history/star-history | 9.6k | 1 repos | ~168 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
Similar skills
Ponytail Review
kortix-ai/suna
Code review focused exclusively on over-engineering. An agent skill from kortix-ai/suna.
Ponytail Lazy Developer Mode
DietrichGebert/ponytail
Makes the agent pick the laziest solution that works: skip unneeded work, reuse what exists, prefer the standard library and platform features, and keep diffs small.
Code Simplification for ego-lite
citrolabs/ego-lite
Finds and implements evidence-backed simplifications in the ego-lite repository, such as dead code, duplicated state and speculative abstractions, without hiding behavior changes.
Refactor Pass for Simplicity
star-history/star-history
Perform a refactor pass focused on simplicity after recent changes. Use when the user asks for a refactor/cleanup pass, simplification, or dead-code removal…
RTK Rust Code Simplifier
rtk-ai/rtk
Reviews RTK's Rust code for over-engineering and verbose patterns, applying idioms like iterator chains and early returns while protecting a specific list of constraints from being simplified away.
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Questions about Minimalist
What does Minimalist do?
A skill your agent uses when the user asks to write code efficiently, avoid over-engineering, reduce dependencies, or prevent unnecessary abstractions. Minimalist is an agent skill from alirezarezvani/claude-skills. Use when the user asks to write code efficiently, avoid over-engineering, reduce dependencies, or prevent unnecessary abstractions.
When should I use Minimalist?
Minimalist fits situations like: the user asks to write code efficiently; avoid over-engineering; reduce dependencies; prevent unnecessary abstractions.
How do I install Minimalist in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill minimalist -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (engineering/minimalist in alirezarezvani/claude-skills) into .claude/skills/minimalist in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Minimalist in Codex?
Run `npx skills add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill minimalist -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (engineering/minimalist in alirezarezvani/claude-skills) into .agents/skills/minimalist in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Minimalist in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill minimalist -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/minimalist, .gemini/skills/minimalist, .github/skills/minimalist and .opencode/skills/minimalist in your project.
What does Minimalist need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Minimalist is instructions for the agent only.
Does Minimalist access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Minimalist safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Minimalist use?
Minimalist is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Minimalist use?
About 804 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Minimalist?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Minimalist: Ponytail (DavidObando/gsharp, 564 stars), Ponytail Review (kortix-ai/suna, 20k stars), Ponytail Lazy Developer Mode (DietrichGebert/ponytail, 159k stars) and Code Simplification for ego-lite (citrolabs/ego-lite, 17k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Minimalist?
alirezarezvani (a GitHub user) maintains it in alirezarezvani/claude-skills, which has 27,891 GitHub stars. The repository holds 342 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 30, 2026.
Source: alirezarezvani/claude-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.