Harness
Reference

Every command, subcommand and flag of ak-harness, walked from the program itself.

View raw Markdown · llms.txt · For agents

ak-harness is the harness; ak-verify is an alias of the same binary for the common verification protocol. Every loop command takes -f <path-to-loop.config.yaml> and defaults to ./loop.config.yaml.

ak-harness doctor

Validate the contract without starting a run.

ak-harness doctor [options]

ak-harness plan

Approve the frozen task contract and create a planned run.

ak-harness plan [options] <decision>
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--by &lt;actor&gt;approval actor"human"
--allow-dirtyallow a human-authorized dirty worktree
--context-file &lt;path&gt;attach a context snapshot JSON file

ak-harness context

Resolve portable, provenance-bearing context snapshots.

ak-harness context [options] [command]

ak-harness context resolve

Resolve a Doc Bridge snapshot from the local index.

ak-harness context resolve [options] <query>
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--provider &lt;provider&gt;context provider"doc-bridge"
--scope &lt;scope...&gt;optional search scopes
--index &lt;path&gt;Doc Bridge index path".doc-bridge/index.json"

ak-harness discovery

Assess a structured discovery result before implementation.

ak-harness discovery [options] [command]

ak-harness discovery assess

Emit Ready or a human decision packet from a discovery JSON file.

ak-harness discovery assess [options] <input>

ak-harness wip

Assess deterministic WIP admission before starting work.

ak-harness wip [options] [command]

ak-harness wip assess

Emit an admission decision from WIP ledger JSON.

ak-harness wip assess [options] <input>

ak-harness experiment

Select a runtime only from a controlled, comparable experiment.

ak-harness experiment [options] [command]

ak-harness experiment select

Select the eligible runtime from experiment JSON.

ak-harness experiment select [options] <input>

ak-harness delivery

Assess deterministic G2–G5 gates and prepare idempotent PR handoff.

ak-harness delivery [options] [command]

ak-harness delivery preflight

ak-harness delivery preflight [options] <input>

ak-harness delivery pr

ak-harness delivery pr [options] <input>

ak-harness delivery integration

ak-harness delivery integration [options] <input>

ak-harness delivery production

ak-harness delivery production [options] <input>

ak-harness delivery acceptance

ak-harness delivery acceptance [options] <input>

ak-harness delivery cleanup

ak-harness delivery cleanup [options] <input>

ak-harness pilot

Freeze and assess a ten-issue pilot cohort.

ak-harness pilot [options] <input>

ak-harness cycle

Run the five-step improvement cycle with explicit adjustment and bounded repetition.

ak-harness cycle [options] [command]

ak-harness cycle assess

Assess run → verify → adjust → repeat from a cycle JSON file.

ak-harness cycle assess [options] <input>

ak-harness block

Validate and assess a portable execution block manifest.

ak-harness block [options] [command]

ak-harness block validate

ak-harness block validate [options] <input>

ak-harness block assess

ak-harness block assess [options] <input>
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--completed &lt;ids...&gt;completed dependency IDs

ak-harness preflight

Plan safe, file-scoped validation before commit.

ak-harness preflight [options] [command]

ak-harness preflight files

ak-harness preflight files [options] <input>

ak-harness snapshot

Create or validate a deterministic status snapshot.

ak-harness snapshot [options] [command] <input>

ak-harness snapshot validate

ak-harness snapshot validate [options] <input>

ak-harness learning

Parse retrospectives into proposed learnings.

ak-harness learning [options] [command]

ak-harness learning parse

ak-harness learning parse [options] <input>
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--source &lt;source&gt;

ak-harness coordination

Manage idempotent issue/worktree claims and dispatch records.

ak-harness coordination [options] [command]

ak-harness coordination claim

ak-harness coordination claim [options] <input>

ak-harness artifacts

Inspect versioned, provenance-bound run artifacts.

ak-harness artifacts [options] [command]

ak-harness artifacts inspect

Validate and print one artifact as JSON or Markdown.

ak-harness artifacts inspect [options] <path>

ak-harness artifacts list

List artifacts for the latest or selected run.

ak-harness artifacts list [options] [run-id]

ak-harness artifacts schema

Print the artifact schema version.

ak-harness artifacts schema [options]

ak-harness loop

Keep-pushing SDLC loop: drain one person's Linear queue through Orca worktrees with role-based model routing.

ak-harness loop [options] [command]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
-f, --file &lt;path&gt;loop config path"loop.config.yaml"

ak-harness loop validate

Validate loop.config.yaml and print the effective configuration.

ak-harness loop validate [options]

ak-harness loop doctor

Check Orca, providers, usage, machine slots, routing, and the Linear queue without dispatching.

ak-harness loop doctor [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--no-probeskip provider probe commands

ak-harness loop precheck

Read-only Orca precheck: exit 0 when the stage (tick | deliver) has work.

ak-harness loop precheck [options] <stage>

ak-harness loop deliver

Drive dispatched workers to merge: PR detection, CI, review, fix rounds, squash-merge, Linear Done, cleanup.

ak-harness loop deliver [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--dry-rundecide only; no terminal input, no review, no merge, no Linear write
--issue &lt;identifier&gt;restrict to one issue

ak-harness loop stage

Run one stage (tick | deliver | retro | observe | release | intake | maintain) as an Orca precheck: prints the JSON report and exits 1 so Orca records the run without launching an agent — except observe, which exits 0 when a human has to look.

ak-harness loop stage [options] <stage>

ak-harness loop tick

One keep-pushing tick: intake → admit → contract → dispatch workers into Orca worktrees.

ak-harness loop tick [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--dry-runplan only; no worktree, no Linear write, no contract cached
--max &lt;n&gt;max dispatches this tick
--issue &lt;identifier&gt;restrict to one issue
--skip-contractdo not call the orchestrator when no contract is cached

ak-harness loop contract

Freeze (or show) the orchestrator contract for one Linear issue.

ak-harness loop contract [options] <identifier>
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--refreshregenerate even when a cached contract exists
--dry-rungenerate but do not cache

ak-harness loop init

Grill the essentials and write loop.config.yaml from a preset (web-app | library | monorepo | data-pipeline | mobile). Everything the preset already says is left unsaid.

ak-harness loop init [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--preset &lt;name&gt;skip the question and use this preset
--repo &lt;owner/name&gt;GitHub repository
--name &lt;name&gt;project name
--team &lt;key&gt;Linear team key
--workspace &lt;id&gt;Linear workspace id
--person &lt;name&gt;whose queue this machine drains
--globalalso write ~/.agentskit/harness.yaml when it does not exist
--forcereplace an existing file
--dry-runprint what it would write

ak-harness loop install

Guided install: doctor + environment checks, optional dry-run tick, then create/update the Orca automations after confirmation (idempotent by name).

ak-harness loop install [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--yesaccept every prompt (non-interactive)
--forcecontinue past failed checks
--skip-rehearsaldo not run the dry-run tick
--skip-local-configdo not offer to create loop.config.local.yaml
--dry-runshow checks and the exact orca argv; create nothing
--provider &lt;agent&gt;Orca agent id that runs the automation prompt
--plainlegacy behaviour: no checks, no prompts, install immediately

ak-harness loop uninstall

Remove the loop automations from Orca.

ak-harness loop uninstall [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--dry-runprint what would be removed

ak-harness loop status

Show the loop automations Orca knows about and their latest runs.

ak-harness loop status [options]

ak-harness loop resume

Resume a paused issue (clears its failure counter and removes the pause label) or, with --stage, a paused tick/deliver stage.

ak-harness loop resume [options] [issue]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--stage &lt;stage&gt;resume a paused stage (tick | deliver) instead of an issue

ak-harness loop paused

List issues the loop has paused after repeated failures (local state, no network calls).

ak-harness loop paused [options]

ak-harness loop hook

Status-only line for a SessionStart hook: never installs or changes anything; always exits 0 within a few seconds.

ak-harness loop hook [options]

ak-harness loop debrief

Human-facing explanation of what the loop is working on right now (in-flight issues, holds, escalations, cooldowns). Read-only; Markdown by default.

ak-harness loop debrief [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--issue &lt;identifier&gt;restrict to one issue
--since &lt;window&gt;how far back to look for escalations/events"24h"

ak-harness loop observe

Read-only anomaly scan and operating metrics for the loop (queue, workers, delivery, machine, memory, cache, tokens).

ak-harness loop observe [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--since &lt;window&gt;window such as 24h, 7d or an ISO date"24h"
--precheckexit 0 when an action is required, 1 when healthy (for schedulers)

ak-harness loop watch

Watch delivery.json (+ optional live PR) for in-flight issues; prints DONE / FAILED / ACTION_REQUIRED / PROGRESS. Read-only.

ak-harness loop watch [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--issue &lt;identifier&gt;restrict to one issue
--interval &lt;seconds&gt;poll interval30
--oncesingle snapshot then exit
--timeout &lt;seconds&gt;stop after N seconds (0 = until terminal)0
--no-live-prdo not call gh; filesystem state only

ak-harness loop retro

Digest of the loop over a window: escalations, dispatches, reviews, merges, cooldowns, Orca runs, and calibration suggestions. Markdown by default, --json for the report.

ak-harness loop retro [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--since &lt;window&gt;window such as 7d, 12h, 30m or an ISO date"7d"
--learningsprint harness learning records (proposed) instead of the digest
--no-orcaskip the Orca run summary
--target &lt;target&gt;only suggestions for one side: project | harness

ak-harness loop plan

Requirements → PRD → technical design → issues. One question per round, two human gates, and the queue entry stays a human gesture.

ak-harness loop plan [options] [command]

ak-harness loop plan start

Start a plan from a vague objective and ask the first question.

ak-harness loop plan start [options] <objective...>

ak-harness loop plan answer

Answer the open question and ask the next one. The interview ends when the PRD has no gap left — the machine decides that, not the model.

ak-harness loop plan answer [options] <id> <answer...>

ak-harness loop plan show

Show a plan (Markdown by default), or list every plan when no id is given.

ak-harness loop plan show [options] [id]

ak-harness loop plan approve

Human gate: approve the PRD, which starts the architect.

ak-harness loop plan approve [options] <id>
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--by &lt;actor&gt;who approves"human"

ak-harness loop plan architect

Produce the technical design for the whole PRD and put it to a vote (2 of 3 by default).

ak-harness loop plan architect [options] <id>

ak-harness loop plan approve-design

Human gate: approve the design after it reached consensus. Everything built afterwards inherits it.

ak-harness loop plan approve-design [options] <id>
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--by &lt;actor&gt;who approves"human"

ak-harness loop plan decompose

Break the approved design into issues. Without --create nothing is written to the tracker.

ak-harness loop plan decompose [options] <id>
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--createcreate the issues in the tracker, in the queue entry state

ak-harness loop release

Promote the integration branch to the release branch and run the project deploy — only for a batch a human approved.

ak-harness loop release [options] [command]

ak-harness loop release status

What is merged on the integration branch and not yet released, and whether it is approved.

ak-harness loop release status [options]

ak-harness loop release approve

Human gate: approve exactly the batch currently on the integration branch. Anything merged afterwards needs its own approval.

ak-harness loop release approve [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--by &lt;actor&gt;who approves"human"

ak-harness loop release run

Promote and deploy the approved batch (same work as loop stage release, but with a human-readable report).

ak-harness loop release run [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--dry-runshow what would happen; touch nothing

ak-harness loop learning

Continuous-improvement learnings ledger and approved memory writes.

ak-harness loop learning [options] [command]

ak-harness loop learning list

Show the learnings ledger under stateDir (proposed/promoted/rejected).

ak-harness loop learning list [options]

ak-harness loop learning promote

Human-only: promote learning IDs into approved loop memory (token-reducing context for later tickets).

ak-harness loop learning promote [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--ids &lt;ids&gt;comma-separated learning ids
--by &lt;actor&gt;must be human"human"
--revision &lt;rev&gt;sourceRevision stamped on memory records (default: unknown)

ak-harness loop learning reject

Revoke learnings — including any the loop promoted by itself as loop-auto. The record stays in the ledger, marked rejected, and stops reaching worker briefs.

ak-harness loop learning reject [options]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--ids &lt;ids&gt;comma-separated learning ids
--by &lt;actor&gt;who revokes"human"

ak-harness loop learning promoted

List the learnings currently promoted, and which of them the loop promoted by itself.

ak-harness loop learning promoted [options]

ak-harness start

Move a planned run into implementation.

ak-harness start [options]

ak-harness verify

Execute every configured check and record evidence.

ak-harness verify [options]

ak-harness run

Alias for verify, compatible with the common protocol.

ak-harness run [options]

ak-harness approve

Record human approval or rejection. Use only <decision> to apply it to the latest pending run; run IDs remain an audit detail.

ak-harness approve [options] <run-id-or-decision> [decision-or-run-id]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--by &lt;actor&gt;approval actor"human"

ak-harness authorize

Authorize or reject declared external tracking. Use only <decision> to apply it to the latest pending run; run IDs remain an audit detail.

ak-harness authorize [options] <run-id-or-decision> [decision-or-run-id]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--by &lt;actor&gt;approval actor"human"

ak-harness retry

Create a new implementation attempt after a blocked or stale run.

ak-harness retry [options]

ak-harness cancel

Cancel an active run.

ak-harness cancel [options] [run-id]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--by &lt;actor&gt;cancellation actor"human"
--reason &lt;reason&gt;cancellation reason"Run cancelled by a human."

ak-harness status

Show the latest run after reconciling its audit evidence.

ak-harness status [options]

ak-harness audit

Reconcile a run projection with its verified lifecycle decisions.

ak-harness audit [options] [run-id]

ak-harness events

Inspect the lifecycle audit log.

ak-harness events [options] [command]

ak-harness events verify

Verify the latest or selected event log hash chain.

ak-harness events verify [options] [run-id]

ak-harness events lock

Inspect the latest or selected event-log lock.

ak-harness events lock [options] [run-id]

ak-harness events unlock

Recover an old event-log lock after confirming its owner is dead.

ak-harness events unlock [options] [run-id]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--by &lt;actor&gt;recovery actor"human"
--max-age-ms &lt;milliseconds&gt;minimum lock age300000

ak-harness events export

Export a reconciled COMPLETE run as a signed evidence bundle.

ak-harness events export [options] [run-id]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--output &lt;path&gt;bundle output path
--private-key &lt;path&gt;Ed25519 private key path
--key-id &lt;id&gt;stable signing key identity

ak-harness events verify-bundle

Verify an exported signed evidence bundle independently.

ak-harness events verify-bundle [options] <path>
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--trusted-key-store &lt;path&gt;JSON trust store with active or revoked public keys

ak-harness benchmark

Aggregate reproducible metrics from historical runs.

ak-harness benchmark [options] [command]
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--manifest &lt;path&gt;benchmark manifest for baseline comparison

ak-harness benchmark baseline

Record one controlled baseline observation in a benchmark manifest.

ak-harness benchmark baseline [options] <taskId>
FlagWhat it doesDefault
--manifest &lt;path&gt;benchmark manifest path
--status &lt;status&gt;passed, failed, blocked, or not-run
--source &lt;source&gt;baseline source or run reference
--evidence-file &lt;path&gt;JSON file with criterion-level baseline evidence
--recorded-at &lt;timestamp&gt;ISO-8601 timestamp
--attempts &lt;count&gt;attempt count
--duration-ms &lt;milliseconds&gt;duration in milliseconds
--review-minutes &lt;minutes&gt;human review time in minutes
--escaped-incomplete &lt;count&gt;incomplete deliveries discovered after handoff

ak-harness clean

Remove only configured task-owned temporary artifacts.

ak-harness clean [options]

On this page

ak-harness doctorak-harness planak-harness contextak-harness context resolveak-harness discoveryak-harness discovery assessak-harness wipak-harness wip assessak-harness experimentak-harness experiment selectak-harness deliveryak-harness delivery preflightak-harness delivery prak-harness delivery integrationak-harness delivery productionak-harness delivery acceptanceak-harness delivery cleanupak-harness pilotak-harness cycleak-harness cycle assessak-harness blockak-harness block validateak-harness block assessak-harness preflightak-harness preflight filesak-harness snapshotak-harness snapshot validateak-harness learningak-harness learning parseak-harness coordinationak-harness coordination claimak-harness artifactsak-harness artifacts inspectak-harness artifacts listak-harness artifacts schemaak-harness loopak-harness loop validateak-harness loop doctorak-harness loop precheckak-harness loop deliverak-harness loop stageak-harness loop tickak-harness loop contractak-harness loop initak-harness loop installak-harness loop uninstallak-harness loop statusak-harness loop resumeak-harness loop pausedak-harness loop hookak-harness loop debriefak-harness loop observeak-harness loop watchak-harness loop retroak-harness loop planak-harness loop plan startak-harness loop plan answerak-harness loop plan showak-harness loop plan approveak-harness loop plan architectak-harness loop plan approve-designak-harness loop plan decomposeak-harness loop releaseak-harness loop release statusak-harness loop release approveak-harness loop release runak-harness loop learningak-harness loop learning listak-harness loop learning promoteak-harness loop learning rejectak-harness loop learning promotedak-harness startak-harness verifyak-harness runak-harness approveak-harness authorizeak-harness retryak-harness cancelak-harness statusak-harness auditak-harness eventsak-harness events verifyak-harness events lockak-harness events unlockak-harness events exportak-harness events verify-bundleak-harness benchmarkak-harness benchmark baselineak-harness clean