| name | harness-init |
| description | Initialize a new project with Harness engineering discipline. Creates directory structure, copies templates, sets up Makefile, installs skills. Use when starting a new project or adopting Harness on an existing codebase. |
Harness Init
Bootstrap a project with the full Harness engineering stack: spec governance, DDD enforcement, TDD role isolation, and blast-radius-based autonomy.
What it creates
Directory structure
{project_root}/
├── .harness/
│ └── config.yaml
├── .pm/
│ ├── stable/
│ ├── runtime/
│ └── design/
│ └── generated-concepts/
├── specs/
├── maintenance/
│ ├── debug/
│ └── index.md
├── docs/
│ └── adr/
├── CONTEXT.md
├── CLAUDE.md
├── AGENTS.md
└── Makefile
Files copied from templates
| Template | Destination | Purpose |
|---|
Makefile | ./Makefile | Gatekeeper targets (verify, verify-ai) |
CONSTITUTION_TEMPLATE.md | ./CONSTITUTION.md | Project principles |
AGENTS.md | ./AGENTS.md | Cross-agent standards |
CLAUDE.md | ./CLAUDE.md | Claude-specific routing layer |
CACHE.md | ./CACHE.md | Cache geometry protocol (stable-first context order) |
Scripts copied from Harness
| Source | Destination | Purpose |
|---|
scripts/verify-ai.sh | ./scripts/verify-ai.sh | TDD role boundary enforcement |
scripts/classify-risk.sh | ./scripts/classify-risk.sh | Path-based blast radius classifier |
Skeleton files created
CONTEXT.md — empty glossary stub with the format from ../domain-language/CONTEXT_FORMAT.mdUBIQUITOUS_LANGUAGE.md — empty DDD term mapping stub.harness/config.yaml — project config (project name, risk policy path, skill paths)specs/ — empty directory for feature specsmaintenance/debug/ — empty directory for debug recordsmaintenance/index.md — empty maintenance index (from DEBUG_INDEX_TEMPLATE.md)docs/adr/ — empty directory for architecture decision records
PM directory skeleton (with --pm flag)
When --pm is specified, additionally create:
.pm/stable/ — copy all templates from references/templates/pm/ (product.md, evidence.md, value-proposition.md, ux-principles.md, user-journeys.md, ui-direction.md, roadmap.md, stage-definitions.md, architecture-guardrails.md, acceptance-rubric.md).pm/runtime/ — copy runtime templates (state.yaml, active-stage.md, next-task.md, worker-report.md, acceptance-review.md, spike-report.md, blockers.md, loop-log.md, handoff.md, loop-control, worker-config.yaml).pm/design/ — empty directory for design probes and UI feedback.pm/decisions.md — decision log template.pm/runtime/loop-control — initialized with CONTINUE
Process
1. Detect project state
Check if this is a greenfield project (empty directory) or an existing codebase. If existing, scan for conflicts with existing files before overwriting.
2. Resolve template paths
Templates live in the Harness repo at templates/. If running from an installed skill, resolve relative to the skill's install location. For details, see INIT_GUIDE.md.
3. Create directories and copy files
Create the directory tree. Copy templates. Copy Harness scripts (verify-ai.sh, classify-risk.sh) to ./scripts/. Generate skeleton files.
Never overwrite existing files. If a file already exists (e.g., the project already has a Makefile), print a warning and skip. The user can merge manually.
4. Install skills
Run harness install-skills (or equivalent) to wire skill references into the agent's config.
5. Print next steps
✅ Harness initialized. Next steps:
1. Fill CONTEXT.md with your domain terms (use harness-domain-language)
2. Write your first spec: specs/001-{feature}/spec.md
3. Debug issues go to: maintenance/debug/
4. Run make verify to check setup
Options
--force — overwrite existing files (use with caution)--minimal — only create CONTEXT.md, docs/adr/, and Makefile (skip templates)--pm — additionally create .pm/ directory with all PM file templates for product evolution--templates-dir <path> — use custom template directory instead of built-in
For the full initialization guide including template resolution and post-init workflows, see INIT_GUIDE.md.
PM Init (standalone)
If a project already has Harness but needs PM support, harness-grill-product will create missing .pm/ files on first run. Alternatively, manually create the structure:
mkdir -p .pm/stable .pm/runtime .pm/design/generated-concepts
