| name | harness-risk |
| description | Classify a proposed change by blast radius (leaf/branch/core/infra) and determine required gates. Use when planning a change that touches multiple files, core logic, infrastructure, auth, schema, or deployment config. Triggers on "risk level", "blast radius", "classify change", "what gates do I need", or "is this safe to auto-merge". |
Harness Risk
Classify a proposed change by blast radius and determine required gates.
Prerequisites
Read before starting:
../../references/DOMAIN-AWARENESS.md for risk-aware terminology- BLAST_RADIUS_GUIDE.md for the full classification guide
Risk Levels
| Level | Autonomy | Scope | Gates |
|---|
| leaf | High | Isolated, single-file, no downstream dependents | lint + unit_test |
| branch | Medium | Feature-level, multi-file, bounded behavioral change | spec + plan + tests + review |
| core | Low | Domain model, auth, storage, permissions, protocols | human_spec_review + architecture_review + rollback + security |
| infra | Very Low | Deployment, CI/CD, secrets, migrations, config | dry_run + human_approval + rollback + security |
Classification Process
Option A: Deterministic Classifier (Preferred)
harness classify-risk --base=main
harness classify-risk --base=HEAD~3
Returns: risk level, affected files, required gates, HITL required (boolean).
Option B: Manual Decision Tree
If harness classify-risk is unavailable, walk this tree:
-
Does the change touch deployment, CI/CD, secrets, or database migrations?
→ Yes: infra
→ No: continue
-
Does the change touch auth, permissions, domain model, or cross-cutting protocols?
→ Yes: core
→ No: continue
-
Does the change span more than one file or affect a user-facing behavior?
→ Yes: branch
→ No: continue
-
Is the change isolated to a single file with no downstream dependents?
→ Yes: leaf
→ No: branch (default safe escalation)
When in doubt, escalate. Classifying a branch change as leaf is an error. Classifying a leaf change as branch is cautious and acceptable.
Output Format
## Risk Classification
**Level:** [leaf|branch|core|infra]
**HITL Required:** [true|false]
**Affected Files:**
- `path/to/file1.go` (create)
- `path/to/file2.go` (modify)
**Required Gates:**
- [ ] gate 1
- [ ] gate 2
**Rationale:** [one sentence explaining why this level was chosen]
HITL Determination
| Risk Level | HITL Required? | Exception |
|---|
| leaf | No | — |
| branch | No | If spec says "human review required" |
| core | Yes | — |
| infra | Yes | — |
Usage in Other Skills
harness-tasks uses risk level to set HITL/AFK classificationharness-tdd uses risk level to determine if REVIEWER report requires human sign-offharness-plan uses risk level to determine plan depth requirements
Terminology
Use the four terms exactly: leaf, branch, core, infra. Do not substitute synonyms like "minor", "medium", "critical", or "infrastructure". See DOMAIN-AWARENESS.md for the full glossary.
