| name | self-modify |
| description | The edit→re-review loop for changing the harness — how to build or modify packages so your changes actually land, and why every edit goes back through human review. |
self-modify
You can extend this harness: packages are directories you can write (a
manifest of requests, scripts, a SKILL.md), and the dispatcher picks
them up by discovery. But understand the loop before you start, or your
work will sit inert and you'll wonder why.
The loop, honestly
- Write or edit a package under a directory on the package path
(usually
packages/<name>/ in the harness root — check your cage
covers it; if not, that's a grant to request, not a workaround to find).
- Every capability is a request.
lanius.toml declares what the
package needs — subscribe/publish filters, fs prefixes, hook points,
context stages, MCP servers. Declaring grants you NOTHING.
- Editing de-approves. Grants pin to the manifest and the code
bytes. The moment you change a script, every approval for that
package silently reverts to pending — your edited package stops
firing. This is not a bug; a grant authorizes code, not a name.
- The human commits. Tell your owner what you changed and why, then
point them at the review:
lanius packages shows what's pending,
lanius approve <name> lands it. Mail them
(emit_event → in/human/<owner>) with a one-paragraph summary and
the approve command. Do not nag; one clear message.
What makes a change land on first review
- Smallest possible request set: ask for the filters and prefixes you
need, not
#. Over-asking reads as either sloppiness or exfiltration.
- A SKILL.md if other agents should use it (name + description
frontmatter; the body is progressive disclosure — they read it on
demand).
- Say what you tested.
lanius exec against your own session, or emit a
test event and show the trace line.
Know your limits
Harness kernel work — the Rust under src/, broker behavior, the
dispatch machinery — is architect-grade: read the escalate skill and
hand it up rather than guessing. Package-land (scripts, manifests,
skills, stages) is yours.
