harness-loop

Set up

State these items before you start. Ask only about an item that blocks safe work.

1. Goal: one sentence.
2. Check: one command that proves the goal.
3. Stop condition: the check passes, the turn cap is reached, or a blocker stops the work.
4. Turn cap: 20 turns unless the user says another number. Never raise the cap yourself.
5. Out of scope: what you will not touch.

Write the progress file .agents/progress/<goal-slug>.md. It holds the five items above, the done list, the next step and the blockers. Read it at the start of each turn. A new context resumes from this file.

Loop

1. Read the repository rules, the project memory and the specs that the goal touches.
2. For work on more than one file, run the deliver workflow (.claude/workflows/deliver.js) with the goal as args. The workflow plans, then splits the work into 2 file groups at most. Workers build. A reviewer checks in a fresh context. Fixes take 2 rounds at most. Without workflow support, do the same steps with the scout, worker and reviewer agents.
3. Do one phase in each turn.
4. After each phase, read your diff and run the check.
5. Fix a failure that you introduced before you start the next phase.
6. Write the result in the progress file.
7. At the cap, report "partial" with the blocker. Do not continue.

Parallel work

1. Run 2 workers at most. Give them files that do not overlap.
2. Before the first edit in a worktree or a new branch, run git log --oneline main..HEAD and git log --oneline HEAD..main.
3. If the branch is behind and has no commits of its own, run git merge --ff-only main.
4. If the branch is behind and has its own commits, tell the parent. Do not rebase.
5. If the user allows commits, commit each finished piece. A session that dies loses uncommitted work.
6. Stay inside the files that your task names.
7. Do not remove a worktree because it looks finished. Wait for the signal of the orchestrator.

Worktree fence

The desktop app fences each subagent. A hook refuses Edit, Write and git commands that target another worktree.

1. Run the shared steps in the session worktree: merge, screenshots, land.
2. A reviewer of a lane worktree calls EnterWorktree with the lane path first.
3. Read a saved subagent report for "the hook refused" notes before you trust it. A refusal appears in the notes, not as a failure.

Safety

• Do not commit, push, open a PR, deploy, publish, write to production or run a migration on production without approval.
• Use only commands that exist: in package.json, in a Makefile, or in the documented command list. Do not invent one.
• Prefer a narrow fix to a broad rewrite.

Handoff

Give the goal, the files changed, each command with its result, the risks and the next step.