Harness Engineering — Agent-First Knowledge Base Bootstrap

Overview

Bootstrap a universal, stack-agnostic knowledge base optimized for agent-first development. Creates AGENTS.md as a table of contents (not an encyclopedia), with deep knowledge in structured docs, mechanically discoverable, progressively disclosed.

Based on the system that produced ~1M LOC across 1,500 PRs with zero manually-written code. See references/harness-engineering-article.md for the full source material.

When to Use

• Initializing a new repository for agent-first development
• Adding structured knowledge scaffolding to an existing repo
• User invokes /harness-init

Flow

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  HARNESS ENGINEERING FLOW                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│  /harness-init          Bootstrap scaffolding               │
│       ↓                 (AGENTS.md, docs/, commands, hooks) │
│                                                             │
│  /harness-shape         Fill with real project context      │
│       ↓                 (analyze repo → confirm → fill)     │
│                                                             │
│  /harness-onboard       Existing repo gap-fill              │
│       ↓                 (audit → onboarding plan)           │
│                                                             │
│  /harness-eslint        Optional: mechanical enforcement    │
│                         (ESLint rules for JS/TS repos)      │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Typical sequence:
  New repo:      /harness-init → /harness-shape
  Existing repo: /harness-init → /harness-onboard → /harness-shape
  JS/TS repo:    ... → /harness-eslint (optional add-on)

Workflow

Step 1: Detect Repo State

Determine whether the target is a new or existing repository:

Check:
1. Does .git/ exist? → existing repo
2. Does AGENTS.md exist? → likely already bootstrapped (prefer audit + gap-fill)
3. Does the default docs/ directory have existing content? → potential conflict

Notes:

• The bootstrap script is idempotent and will skip existing files. If the repo is already bootstrapped, prefer running the existing repo onboarding audit (Step 6) instead of re-running bootstrap.

Step 2: Choose Base Directory

The knowledge base defaults to docs/ but is configurable.

If docs/ already has significant content (>5 non-generated files), surface to user:

"docs/ already contains files. Options:"

1. Use docs/ anyway (merge alongside existing content)
2. Use knowledge/ instead
3. Use a custom path
4. Cancel

All generated files, templates, and path references adapt to the chosen base directory.

Step 3: Gather Project Context

Ask the user (skip if already provided via args):

1. Project name — used in AGENTS.md header
2. One-liner description — what the project does
3. Stack (optional) — language/framework
4. Primary domains (optional) — initial areas for ARCHITECTURE.md

If the user declines, use placeholders.

Step 4: Run Bootstrap Script

Execute the bootstrap shell script which handles all file creation:

bash .claude/skills/harness-engineering/scripts/bootstrap.sh \
  --target "$(pwd)" \
  --name "Project Name" \
  --description "One-liner" \
  --base-dir "docs" \
  --stack "TypeScript" \
  --domains "| Auth | src/auth/ | — | Authentication |"

The script is idempotent — it skips existing files and reports what was created vs skipped.

What the script creates (knowledge base — skips existing files):

Root files:

• AGENTS.md — table of contents (~70 lines, all paths reference chosen base dir)
• CLAUDE.md — repo-level Claude instructions
• ARCHITECTURE.md — domain map template

Knowledge base (under <base-dir>/):

• design-docs/index.md + design-docs/core-beliefs.md
• product-specs/index.md
• golden-principles.md — mechanical rules
• quality-score.md — grading rubric (A-F)
• tech-debt-tracker.md — debt register
• DESIGN.md, PLANS.md, PRODUCT_SENSE.md, RELIABILITY.md, SECURITY.md
• .gitkeep in: plans/, plans/in-progress/, plans/complete/, plan-details/, product-specs/, references/, generated/

Repo checks (root):

• scripts/harness/knowledge-check.sh — minimal mechanical checks to keep the knowledge base legible to agents (wire into CI when ready)

What the script deploys (agent tooling — always overwrites for updates):

Slash commands:

• .claude/commands/harness-init.md — bootstrap entry point
• .claude/commands/harness-shape.md — fill knowledge base with real project context
• .claude/commands/harness-onboard.md — existing repo audit + gap-fill plan
• .claude/commands/harness-standards.md — alias for harness-shape (original name)
• .claude/commands/harness-eslint.md — optional ESLint enforcement

Hooks:

• .claude/hooks/lint-on-save.sh — immediate lint feedback on Edit/Write (ESLint, ruff, shellcheck)
• .claude/hooks/shaping-ripple.sh — PostToolUse on Edit/Write. Detects edits to shaping: true files and reminds agent to check cross-level consistency
• Plan-capture — PostToolUse on ExitPlanMode. Reminds agent to symlink approved plan into docs/plans/ with proper <slug>-YYYY-MM-DD.md name
• Plan-pipeline — prompt-based Stop hook. Fires at end of turn to verify plans are in the correct pipeline stage

Companion skills:

• .claude/skills/git-worktree/ — isolated parallel development with env file management

Claude config:

• .claude/settings.json — planDirectory + lint-on-save hook config

Step 5: Git Operations

New repo:

1. git init + rename branch to main
2. Stage all generated files
3. Commit: chore: bootstrap agent-first knowledge base

Existing repo:

1. Create branch: chore/add-knowledge-base
2. Stage new files only
3. Commit: chore: add agent-first knowledge base scaffold
4. Optionally open PR if user wants

Step 6: Existing Repo Onboarding Audit (Gap Fill)

For existing repositories, the hard part isn’t creating empty scaffolding. It’s filling the Phase 0: Standards gaps using the repo’s real context (code, README, CI, existing conventions), and producing a short execution plan so agents don’t drift.

Run the audit script to generate a concrete onboarding plan:

bash .claude/skills/harness-engineering/scripts/audit.sh --target "$(pwd)" --write-plan

The audit will:

• Infer the knowledge base base dir from .claude/settings.json when possible
• Detect stack signals (JS/TS, Python, Ruby, Go, Rust, etc.)
• Suggest candidate domains by scanning common directory roots (src/, apps/, packages/, etc.)
• Write a plan to <base-dir>/plans/harness-onboard-existing-YYYY-MM-DD.md

Optional: Mechanical Enforcement Add-On (Agent-Directed Linters)

The source article emphasizes enforcing invariants via custom linters and structural tests with agent-readable remediation.

This skill ships a minimal, stack-agnostic enforcement loop:

bash scripts/harness/knowledge-check.sh

When the repo is JS/TS-heavy and ESLint is already in play, consider:

• Adding custom ESLint rules for your project conventions (best)
• Or using an external rule set for inspiration (e.g. @factory/eslint-plugin) and adapting it

The right outcome is not “more rules.” It’s “rules that eliminate whole classes of agent mistakes.”

This template includes a small, repo-local ESLint plugin skeleton you can copy into a JS/TS repo:

bash .claude/skills/harness-engineering/scripts/add-eslint-agent-lints.sh --target "$(pwd)" --install

It creates:

• tools/eslint-plugin-harness/ (tiny plugin with agent-readable messages)
• eslint.config.cjs
• package.json lint script (if missing)

If the repo already has a stack and package manager, ask the user one tight question:

• "Do you want to add mechanical enforcement now?"
  • "No, not yet" (keep only scripts/harness/knowledge-check.sh)
  • "Yes, minimal" (wire scripts/harness/knowledge-check.sh into CI)
  • "Yes, stack-specific" (add JS/TS ESLint or Python ruff, etc., plus CI)

Step 7: Report

Print summary:

• Files created vs skipped
• Base directory used
• Next steps: run the existing-repo audit (if relevant), customize ARCHITECTURE.md, fill PRODUCT_SENSE.md, create first plan

Key Principles Encoded

The generated templates encode these agent-first principles:

1. AGENTS.md is a table of contents — short, maps questions to docs
2. Knowledge is mechanically discoverable — structured, not tribal
3. Progressive disclosure — pointer → doc → code
4. Plans are first-class artifacts — versioned, reviewed, completed
5. Quality is measured — grading rubric, no regression
6. Tech debt is visible — tracked, not ignored
7. No tribal knowledge — if it's not in the repo, it doesn't exist
8. Validate at boundaries — trust internals
9. Tests prove behavior — not implementation
10. Docs ship with code — same commit

Recommended Skills & Tools (Post-Bootstrap)

After bootstrapping, install these tools to unlock the full agent-first development loop. The audit script (audit.sh) checks for their presence on PATH.

Required

Tool	Purpose	Install
gh	GitHub CLI — PRs, issues, CI checks	brew install gh

Recommended

Tool	Purpose	Install
agent-browser	Headless browser automation — screenshot validation, DOM inspection, user flow testing	npm i -g agent-browser && agent-browser install
playwriter	Control user's Chrome via extension — authenticated flows, debugging	Load skill: /playwriter
peekaboo	macOS screenshot/click automation — visual QA	brew install steipete/tap/peekaboo

Recommended Skills

Skill	Purpose
harness-engineering	This skill — bootstrap + onboard + standards
git-worktree	Isolated parallel development — one worktree per task
compound-engineering:agent-browser	Browser automation skill (load with /compound-engineering:agent-browser)

Agent Capabilities

These patterns are enabled by the tools above:

Browser Validation: Drive the app with Chrome DevTools for visual QA. Use agent-browser (headless) or playwriter (user's Chrome). Enables: screenshot validation, DOM inspection, user flow testing.

Doc Gardening: Recurring scan for stale docs that don't match code behavior. Pattern: agent reads code → compares to docs → opens fix-up PRs for drift.

Quality Sweeps: Background task scanning for golden principle violations. Updates quality scores in <base-dir>/quality-score.md. Opens targeted refactoring PRs.

Plan Lifecycle: Manage plans as first-class artifacts:

• Create in <base-dir>/plans/
• Track status in <base-dir>/PLANS.md
• Move to <base-dir>/plans/complete/ when done

ESLint Plugin Rules

The bundled eslint-plugin-harness ships these rules, mapped to the article's lint categories:

Rule	Category	Severity	Description
no-console-log	Observability	error	No committed console.log
no-default-export	Grep-ability	warn	Named exports only — highest leverage for agents
no-eval	Security	error	Block eval() and new Function()
filename-match-export	Grep-ability	warn	Filename matches single named export
structured-logging	Observability	error	Static message + metadata object
max-file-lines	Glob-ability	warn	Keep files < 500 LOC

See assets/eslint-plugin-harness/rules/<rule>/README.md for per-rule docs with rationale and examples.

Resources (All Bundled)

This skill is fully self-contained. Everything needed to bootstrap a repo lives inside this directory.

scripts/

• bootstrap.sh — creates knowledge base + deploys all tooling. Accepts --target, --name, --description, --base-dir, --stack, --domains flags. Idempotent for knowledge base; always updates tooling.
• audit.sh — analyzes existing repo for stack, CI, domains, agent tooling, placeholders. Generates onboarding plans.
• add-eslint-agent-lints.sh — scaffolds local ESLint plugin with agent-readable rules into JS/TS repos.

assets/templates/

15 template files with {{PLACEHOLDER}} markers: {{PROJECT_NAME}}, {{DESCRIPTION}}, {{BASE_DIR}}, {{STACK}}, {{DOMAINS}}, {{DATE}}. The bootstrap script handles substitution.

assets/commands/

5 slash command files deployed to .claude/commands/ during bootstrap:

• harness-init.md — bootstrap entry point
• harness-shape.md — fill knowledge base with real project context (primary post-bootstrap command)
• harness-standards.md — alias for harness-shape (original name)
• harness-onboard.md — existing repo audit + gap-fill plan
• harness-eslint.md — optional ESLint enforcement

assets/hooks/

• lint-on-save.sh — PostToolUse hook deployed to .claude/hooks/. Runs ESLint (JS/TS), ruff (Python), or shellcheck (Shell) after every Edit/Write. Exit 2 blocks with feedback.

Plugin-only hooks (defined in hooks/hooks.json, no deployed asset)

• plan-capture.sh — PostToolUse on ExitPlanMode. Reminds agent to symlink approved plan into docs/plans/ with proper <slug>-YYYY-MM-DD.md naming.
• Plan-pipeline Stop — prompt-based Stop hook. Fires at end of turn. Uses LLM reasoning to check if plans are in the correct pipeline stage (draft → in-progress → complete).

assets/skills/

• git-worktree/ — companion skill deployed to .claude/skills/git-worktree/. Manages worktree create/list/switch/cleanup with env file copying and .worktree-config for agent use.

assets/eslint-plugin-harness/

6-rule ESLint plugin with agent-readable error messages. Deployed to tools/eslint-plugin-harness/ via /harness-eslint.

references/

• harness-engineering-article.md — key insights from the OpenAI harness engineering article (includes lint categories, enforcement patterns, and development cycle)