Durable Session State
ZaxbyHub/opencode-swarm
Keeps plans, decisions, evidence and reviewer verdicts in small files so long multi-phase tasks survive context compaction and session resumes.
Set up and improve harness engineering (AGENTS.md, docs/, lint rules, eval systems, project-level prompt engineering) for AI-agent-friendly codebases.
Install Harness Engineering
$ npx skills add 10xChengTu/harness-engineering --skill harness-engineering -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install 10xChengTu/harness-engineering harness-engineering --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/harness-engineering .claude/skills/harness-engineering && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "harness-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/harness-engineering into .claude/skills/harness-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "harness-engineering", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/harness-engineeringType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add 10xChengTu/harness-engineering --skill harness-engineering -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install 10xChengTu/harness-engineering harness-engineering --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/harness-engineering .agents/skills/harness-engineering && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "harness-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/harness-engineering into .agents/skills/harness-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "harness-engineering", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add 10xChengTu/harness-engineering --skill harness-engineering -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install 10xChengTu/harness-engineering harness-engineering --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/harness-engineering .cursor/skills/harness-engineering && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "harness-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/harness-engineering into .cursor/skills/harness-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "harness-engineering", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering.git --path skills/harness-engineering--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add 10xChengTu/harness-engineering --skill harness-engineering -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install 10xChengTu/harness-engineering harness-engineering --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/harness-engineering .gemini/skills/harness-engineering && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "harness-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/harness-engineering into .gemini/skills/harness-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "harness-engineering", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install 10xChengTu/harness-engineering harness-engineeringInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add 10xChengTu/harness-engineering --skill harness-engineering -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/harness-engineering .github/skills/harness-engineering && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "harness-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/harness-engineering into .github/skills/harness-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "harness-engineering", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add 10xChengTu/harness-engineering --skill harness-engineering -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install 10xChengTu/harness-engineering harness-engineering --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/harness-engineering .opencode/skills/harness-engineering && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "harness-engineering" agent skill from https://github.com/10xChengTu/harness-engineering/tree/main/skills/harness-engineering into .opencode/skills/harness-engineering/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "harness-engineering", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
harness-engineering- GitHub stars
- 102
- Used in
- 1 other repo
- Token cost
- ~1k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 354 words
- Files
- 10 (incl. references)
- Skills in repo
- 2
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- None found
At a glance
Set up and improve harness engineering (AGENTS.md, docs/, lint rules, eval systems, project-level prompt engineering) for AI-agent-friendly codebases.
- Works in 7 steps: Assess — What's the project? Tech stack?… → Setup — Create foundational harness… → Context — Design information… → …
- : new/empty project setup for AI agents
- SKILL.md covers Core Principle, When This Skill Activates, Workflow and Harness Layers (Quick Reference), plus 1 more section
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Harness Engineering is an agent skill from 10xChengTu/harness-engineering. Set up and improve harness engineering (AGENTS.md, docs/, lint rules, eval systems, project-level prompt engineering) for AI-agent-friendly codebases. Triggers on: new/empty project setup for AI agents, AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md creation, harness engineering questions, making agents work better on a codebase. ALSO triggers when users are frustrated or complaining about agent quality — e.g. 'the agent keeps ignoring conventions', 'it never follows instructions', 'why does it keep doing X', 'the agent is broken' —…
Its SKILL.md is about 1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 10 other files, including reference files (for example `references/01-project-setup.md`, `references/02-context-engineering.md` and `references/03-constraints.md`).
It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Autonomous loops, Agent instruction files and Context engineering. The repository describes itself as: Set up and improve harness engineering (AGENTS.md, docs/, lint rules, eval systems, project-level prompt engineering) for AI-agent-friendly codebases. Triggers on: new/empty…
When your agent uses it
- : new/empty project setup for AI agents
- CLAUDE.md creation
- Harness engineering questions
- Making agents work better on a codebase
Example prompts
- “the agent keeps ignoring conventions”
- “it never follows instructions”
- “why does it keep doing X”
- “/harness-engineering”
Workflow steps
7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Assess — What's the project? Tech stack? Team size? How will agents be used?
- Setup — Create foundational harness files → read references/01-project-setup.md
- Context — Design information architecture → read references/02-context-engineering.md
- Constraints — Add guardrails and linters → read references/03-constraints.md
- Evaluate — Set up feedback loops → read references/05-eval-feedback.md
- If project involves multi-agent or long tasks → read references/04-multi-agent.md, references/06-long-running.md
- If agents will run unattended (scheduled tasks, CI loops) → read references/08-loops.md; if agents should learn across sessions → read…
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 8a210eb. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Harness Engineering loads about 1k tokens when it runs, and up to ~14k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 223 tokens; SKILL.md has 354 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
Without a licence we can't republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 354 words (~1,014 tokens).
“Harness = the operating system for AI agents working on your project. Model is CPU, context window is RAM, harness is OS.”
- name
- harness-engineering
Files
SKILL.md and 9 other files (references) in skills/harness-engineering of 10xChengTu/harness-engineering.
- SKILL.md
- references/01-project-setup.md
- references/02-context-engineering.md
- references/03-constraints.md
- references/04-multi-agent.md
- references/05-eval-feedback.md
- references/06-long-running.md
- references/07-diagnosis.md
- references/08-loops.md
- references/09-memory.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 8a210eb
Used in 1 other repository
We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in 10xChengTu/harness-engineering, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.
Compare with similar skills
Harness Engineering next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harness Engineering this skill10xChengTu/harness-engineering | 102 | 1 repos | ~1k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Durable Session StateZaxbyHub/opencode-swarm | 488 | — | ~896 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Memori Long-Term MemoryMemoriLabs/Memori | 17k | — | ~2k | Automated safety check: Notes | Custom licence | |
| Planning with FilesOthmanAdi/planning-with-files | 27k | — | ~2.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| User Thoughts Memorysickn33/agentic-awesome-skills | 47k | 1 repos | ~2.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Planning With FilesOthmanAdi/planning-with-files | 27k | — | ~3k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
Similar skills
Memori Long-Term Memory
MemoriLabs/Memori
Connects Claude Code to Memori Cloud for long-term memory, recalling stored context before substantive replies and saving new context afterward.
Planning with Files
OthmanAdi/planning-with-files
Keeps a task plan, findings and progress log in markdown files on disk so long agent tasks survive context resets, with Gemini hooks and helper scripts.
User Thoughts Memory
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills
Saves a user's project decisions, rules and preferences into a project-local mdbase so later sessions and other agents can recover the intent.
Planning With Files
OthmanAdi/planning-with-files
Keeps a task plan, findings and progress log as Markdown files in the project so long multi-step agent work survives context resets.
Planning with Files for Kiro
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Keeps task_plan.md, findings.md and progress.md on disk as the agent's working memory for multi-step work, wired into Kiro steering, with no hooks.
More from 10xChengTu/harness-engineering
Harness Engineering Zh
10xChengTu/harness-engineering
为 AI Agent 友好的代码库搭建和改进 Harness 工程（包括 AGENTS.md、docs/、Lint 规则、Eval 系统、项目级 Prompt 工程）。触发场景：为 AI Agent 设置新项目/空项目，创建 AGENTS.md 或 CLAUDE.md，关于 Harness 工程的问题，让 Agent 在代码库上更高效地工作。当用户感到沮丧或抱怨 Agent…
Related
Categories
Questions about Harness Engineering
What does Harness Engineering do?
Set up and improve harness engineering (AGENTS.md, docs/, lint rules, eval systems, project-level prompt engineering) for AI-agent-friendly codebases. Harness Engineering is an agent skill from 10xChengTu/harness-engineering.md, docs/, lint rules, eval systems, project-level prompt engineering) for AI-agent-friendly codebases.
When should I use Harness Engineering?
Harness Engineering fits situations like: : new/empty project setup for AI agents; CLAUDE.md creation; harness engineering questions; making agents work better on a codebase.
How do I install Harness Engineering in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add 10xChengTu/harness-engineering --skill harness-engineering -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/harness-engineering in 10xChengTu/harness-engineering) into .claude/skills/harness-engineering in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Harness Engineering in Codex?
Run `npx skills add 10xChengTu/harness-engineering --skill harness-engineering -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/harness-engineering in 10xChengTu/harness-engineering) into .agents/skills/harness-engineering in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Harness Engineering in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add 10xChengTu/harness-engineering --skill harness-engineering -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/harness-engineering, .gemini/skills/harness-engineering, .github/skills/harness-engineering and .opencode/skills/harness-engineering in your project.
What does Harness Engineering need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Harness Engineering is instructions for the agent only.
Does Harness Engineering access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Harness Engineering safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Harness Engineering use?
No licence was found for Harness Engineering or its repository. Without one, default copyright applies: ask the author before reusing or redistributing it.
How many tokens does Harness Engineering use?
About 1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.1k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 13k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Harness Engineering?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Harness Engineering: Durable Session State (ZaxbyHub/opencode-swarm, 488 stars), Memori Long-Term Memory (MemoriLabs/Memori, 17k stars), Planning with Files (OthmanAdi/planning-with-files, 27k stars) and User Thoughts Memory (sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, 47k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Harness Engineering?
10xChengTu (a GitHub user) maintains it in 10xChengTu/harness-engineering, which has 102 GitHub stars. The repository holds 2 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 2, 2026.
Source: 10xChengTu/harness-engineering on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.