Ponytail
DavidObando/gsharp
Forces the laziest solution that actually works, simplest, shortest, most minimal.
A skill your agent uses when the user asks what could be deleted or reduced to simplify a codebase, says "simplify", "over-engineered", or wants a repo-, folder-, or file-wide audit for…
Install Fuck Over Engineering
$ npx skills add vinta/hal-9000 --skill fuck-over-engineering -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install vinta/hal-9000 fuck-over-engineering --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/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/fuck-over-engineering .claude/skills/fuck-over-engineering && 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 "fuck-over-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/fuck-over-engineering into .claude/skills/fuck-over-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "fuck-over-engineering", 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/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/fuck-over-engineeringType 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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill fuck-over-engineering -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install vinta/hal-9000 fuck-over-engineering --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/fuck-over-engineering .agents/skills/fuck-over-engineering && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "fuck-over-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/fuck-over-engineering into .agents/skills/fuck-over-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "fuck-over-engineering", 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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill fuck-over-engineering -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install vinta/hal-9000 fuck-over-engineering --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/fuck-over-engineering .cursor/skills/fuck-over-engineering && 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 "fuck-over-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/fuck-over-engineering into .cursor/skills/fuck-over-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "fuck-over-engineering", 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/vinta/hal-9000.git --path skills/fuck-over-engineering--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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill fuck-over-engineering -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install vinta/hal-9000 fuck-over-engineering --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/fuck-over-engineering .gemini/skills/fuck-over-engineering && 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 "fuck-over-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/fuck-over-engineering into .gemini/skills/fuck-over-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "fuck-over-engineering", 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 vinta/hal-9000 fuck-over-engineeringInstalls 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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill fuck-over-engineering -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/fuck-over-engineering .github/skills/fuck-over-engineering && 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 "fuck-over-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/fuck-over-engineering into .github/skills/fuck-over-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "fuck-over-engineering", 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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill fuck-over-engineering -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install vinta/hal-9000 fuck-over-engineering --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/fuck-over-engineering .opencode/skills/fuck-over-engineering && 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 "fuck-over-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/vinta/hal-9000/tree/main/skills/fuck-over-engineering into .opencode/skills/fuck-over-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "fuck-over-engineering", 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
fuck-over-engineering- GitHub stars
- 138
- Token cost
- ~890 tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 446 words
- Files
- 2
- Skills in repo
- 15
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
A skill your agent uses when the user asks what could be deleted or reduced to simplify a codebase, says "simplify", "over-engineered", or wants a repo-, folder-, or file-wide audit for…
- The user asks what could be deleted
- SKILL.md covers Tags, Hunt, Evidence and Output, plus 1 more section
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
- Reduced to simplify a codebase
What it does
Fuck Over Engineering is an agent skill from vinta/hal-9000. Use when the user asks what could be deleted or reduced to simplify a codebase, says "simplify", "over-engineered", or wants a repo-, folder-, or file-wide audit for over-engineering — hunts dead code, reinvented stdlib, needless dependencies, and single-implementation abstractions, reports ranked cuts, applies only the picks. Not a diff review and not a bug hunt
Its SKILL.md is about 890 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 1 other file (for example `README.md`).
It sits in Development, covering Code simplification. The repository describes itself as: Opinionated AI coding agent and dev environment automation for macOS. The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- The user asks what could be deleted
- Reduced to simplify a codebase
- Over-engineered
- File-wide audit for over-engineering — hunts dead code
Example prompts
- “simplify”
- “over-engineered”
- “/fuck-over-engineering”
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 46dc048. 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
Fuck Over Engineering loads about 890 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 97 tokens; SKILL.md has 446 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 vinta/hal-9000 at commit 46dc048, republished under its MIT licence (© vinta). 446 words, ~890 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/fuck-over-engineering/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.- name
- fuck-over-engineering
- description
- Use when the user asks what could be deleted or reduced to simplify a codebase, says "simplify", "over-engineered", or wants a repo-, folder-, or file-wide audit for over-engineering — hunts dead code, reinvented stdlib, needless dependencies, and single-implementation abstractions, reports ranked cuts, applies only the picks. Not a diff review and not a bug hunt
- argument-hint
- [path, module, or area — omit for whole repo]
Fuck Over-Engineering
Audit the scope for over-engineering and report what to cut, ranked biggest cut first. The best outcome is a shorter codebase with the same behavior. The argument is the scope; without one, the whole tree. Read what the scope holds before judging it, and fan out subagents when it will not fit in context.
Tags
delete:dead code, unused flexibility, speculative feature. Nothing replaces it.reuse:hand-written code that a helper already in this codebase, or an installed dependency, already provides. Name the helper or function.stdlib:hand-rolled thing the language's standard library ships. Name the function.native:dependency or code doing what the platform already does. Name the feature.yagni:abstraction with one implementation, config nobody sets, layer with one caller.shrink:same logic, fewer lines. Show the shorter form.
Hunt
Dependencies the stdlib or platform already covers, single-implementation interfaces, factories with one product, wrappers that only delegate, files exporting one thing, dead flags and config, hand-rolled stdlib, near-duplicates of an existing helper, special-case branches bolted onto shared paths, feature logic living in shared modules.
Evidence
Every finding cites the evidence that makes it a cut: caller count, implementation count, or the stdlib or platform feature and the version that ships it. Count callers through dynamic dispatch, entry points, hooks, and tests, not grep alone. A published package's public export stays at zero in-repo callers. Verify stdlib: and native: claims against current docs (the find-docs skill when present) before asserting them.
A finding removes lines or concepts; moving them between files is a refactor, not a cut. Fewer, bigger cuts beat a long list: a shrink: that saves two lines earns a slot only when it also removes a concept.
Show full SKILL.md (163 more words)Show less
Output
Use AskUserQuestion in Claude Code or request_user_input in Codex when available.
One line per finding, numbered, ranked biggest cut first:
N. <tag> <what to cut>. <replacement>. <evidence>. [path:line]
delete: omits the replacement sentence. End with net: -<N> lines, -<M> deps possible. Nothing to cut: Lean already. Ship.
1. yagni: AbstractRepository with one implementation. Inline it. 1 subclass, 3 call sites typed to the base. [repo.py:88]2. reuse: hand-rolled slugify. python-slugify is installed, slugify(). 1 caller. [utils/text.py:10-31]3. delete: retry wrapper around an idempotent local call. 0 callers outside its own test. [src/net.py:52-71]
Then offer the findings as multi-select questions, in ranked batches of four per question, and apply the picks.
Boundaries
Over-engineering and complexity only: correctness bugs, security holes, and performance belong to a normal review pass. Trust-boundary validation, data-loss handling, security, and accessibility are never cuts. A single smoke test or assert-based self-check is the minimum, not bloat. Tests enter the report only as a side effect of a deleted target.
© vinta, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
SKILL.md and 1 other file in skills/fuck-over-engineering of vinta/hal-9000.
- SKILL.md
- README.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 46dc048
Compare with similar skills
Fuck Over Engineering 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuck Over Engineering this skillvinta/hal-9000 | 138 | — | ~890 | 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.
More from vinta/hal-9000
All 15 skills in this repoPublish Plugins Version Bump
vinta/hal-9000
Finds which plugins in the repository changed, bumps only the ones not already bumped since origin/main, and checks that each plugin's two manifests stay in sync.
Claude Code Settings Audit
vinta/hal-9000
Audits your Claude Code settings and environment variables against the current official docs and returns a ranked list of changes tied to how you actually work.
Logical Git Commits
vinta/hal-9000
Commits everything in the working tree as one logical change per commit, splitting files by hunk, with bodies that say what was wrong before and never an invented reason.
PR
vinta/hal-9000
A skill your agent uses when the user explicitly asks to push the current branch and open a PR, rewrite an open PR's body from its commits, or wait for CI and merge it
Ansible Playbook Updater
vinta/hal-9000
Keeps Ansible install tasks in line with upstream docs by fixing version, install-method and link drift one tool at a time, with a commit for each.
Simple English Rewriter
vinta/hal-9000
Rewrites docs, READMEs, issues, comments or UI text in plain Global English that translates well and still sounds native, keeping every fact intact.
Related
Categories
Questions about Fuck Over Engineering
What does Fuck Over Engineering do?
A skill your agent uses when the user asks what could be deleted or reduced to simplify a codebase, says "simplify", "over-engineered", or wants a repo-, folder-, or file-wide audit for…. Fuck Over Engineering is an agent skill from vinta/hal-9000. Use when the user asks what could be deleted or reduced to simplify a codebase, says "simplify", "over-engineered", or wants a repo-, folder-, or file-wide audit for over-engineering — hunts dead code, reinvented stdlib, needless dependencies, and single-implementation abstractions, reports ranked cuts, applies only the picks.
When should I use Fuck Over Engineering?
Fuck Over Engineering fits situations like: the user asks what could be deleted; reduced to simplify a codebase; over-engineered; file-wide audit for over-engineering — hunts dead code.
How do I install Fuck Over Engineering in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add vinta/hal-9000 --skill fuck-over-engineering -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/fuck-over-engineering in vinta/hal-9000) into .claude/skills/fuck-over-engineering in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Fuck Over Engineering in Codex?
Run `npx skills add vinta/hal-9000 --skill fuck-over-engineering -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/fuck-over-engineering in vinta/hal-9000) into .agents/skills/fuck-over-engineering in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Fuck Over Engineering 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 vinta/hal-9000 --skill fuck-over-engineering -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/fuck-over-engineering, .gemini/skills/fuck-over-engineering, .github/skills/fuck-over-engineering and .opencode/skills/fuck-over-engineering in your project.
What does Fuck Over Engineering need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Fuck Over Engineering is instructions for the agent only.
Does Fuck Over Engineering 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 Fuck Over Engineering 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 Fuck Over Engineering use?
Fuck Over Engineering 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 Fuck Over Engineering use?
About 890 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.6k 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 Fuck Over Engineering?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Fuck Over Engineering: 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 Fuck Over Engineering?
vinta (a GitHub user) maintains it in vinta/hal-9000, which has 138 GitHub stars. The repository holds 15 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 8, 2026.
Source: vinta/hal-9000 on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.