DistilCodeAll techniques

Technique 03 / 14

Ponytail mode

Cut output tokens at the source by asking for the smallest change that solves the task.

Interactive model

See the change.

Task: “Add a date formatter.” Compare the default agent’s diff with Ponytail’s.

Ponytail+1 line

Add a date formatter

const fmt = (d: Date) =>
  d.toLocaleDateString('en-GB')

Conceptual demonstration. Counts illustrate the flow, not measured production savings.

How it works

Less context. Same thread of work.

Coding agents tend to over-build: new abstractions, config files and helpers for a one-line change. Every extra line is output you pay for, and code the agent has to read back on later turns. Ponytail adds standing instructions to the main agent: prefer what the codebase and platform already provide, and write the shortest diff that does the job.

Where a deliberate shortcut has a known ceiling, the agent leaves a short ponytail: comment naming the limit and the upgrade path. Ponytail is on by default for the main agent, not subagents, and can be switched off per session or per repository.

In practice

The operating loop

  1. 01

    Reuse first

    Existing helpers, platform APIs and dependencies come before anything new.

  2. 02

    Shortest working diff

    The change stops once the task works; speculative structure is left out.

  3. 03

    Name the ceiling

    A ponytail: comment records where a shortcut stops scaling and how to upgrade it.