0003: Ponytail kept, scoped to development only

• Status: Accepted
• Date: 2026-08-28
• Related: 0001

Context

"Ponytail" is a lazy/minimal-code-first development style: before writing new code, work down a ladder — does this need to exist at all, is it already in the codebase, does the standard library or a native platform feature cover it, can it be one line — and only then write the minimum code that works. It was evaluated as something Orion's implementer stage could apply.

Decision

Ponytail is kept, but scoped strictly to the development/build stage — how much code the implementer writes for a given task. It does not touch who decides what work happens, what gets committed, or any gating or review decision.

Consequences

• Because it only shapes code-writing style within a stage Orion already owns (per 0001), it composes cleanly: there is no control-flow conflict, unlike superpowers' /execute-plan (see 0002).
• Applying ponytail-style preferences outside development — e.g. to review verdicts, PM decomposition, or gating logic — is out of scope for this decision and would need its own evaluation before it's assumed to apply there too.