ponytail-debt

1Every deliberate ponytail shortcut is marked with a `shortcut:` comment naming
2its ceiling and upgrade path (older code may say `ponytail:`). This collects them into one ledger so a deferral
3can't quietly become permanent.
4 
5## Scan
6 
7Grep the repo for comment markers, skipping `.git` and everything the
8`.gitignore` files ignore (dependencies, build output, caches, in any stack):
9 
10`git grep --no-index --exclude-standard -nE '(#|//|/[*]) ?(shortcut|ponytail):'`  (add other comment prefixes if your stack uses them)
11 
12If the user names their own marker word (`/ponytail-debt TODO`), grep for that word instead.
13 
14Each hit is one ledger row. The comment prefix keeps prose that merely mentions
15the convention out of the ledger. Skip hits that are not a deferral, like a note
16about a keyboard shortcut.
17 
18## Output
19 
20One row per marker, grouped by file:
21 
22`<file>:<line>, <what was simplified>. ceiling: <the limit named>. upgrade: <the trigger to revisit>.`
23 
24The convention is `shortcut: <ceiling>, <upgrade path>`, so pull the ceiling
25and the trigger straight from the comment. Want an owner per row too? add
26`git blame -L<line>,<line>`.
27 
28Flag the rot risk: any marker comment that names no upgrade path or
29trigger gets a `no-trigger` tag, those are the ones that silently rot.
30 
31End with `<N> markers, <M> with no trigger.` Nothing found: `No shortcut debt. Clean ledger.`
32 
33## Boundaries
34 
35Reads and reports only, changes nothing. To persist it, ask and it writes the
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