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Category: Development & EngineeringNo API key required

init-harness

Creates AI agent task management structure with feature backlog (ai/tasks/), TDD enforcement, and progress tracking. Use when setting up agent-foreman, initializing feature-driven development, creating task backlog, or enabling TDD mode. Triggers on 'init harness', 'setup feature tracking', 'create feature backlog', 'enable strict TDD', 'initialize agent-foreman'.

personAuthor: jakexiaohubgithub

⚡ Init Harness

One command: agent-foreman init

Quick Start

agent-foreman init

Creates: ai/tasks/, ai/progress.log, ai/init.sh, CLAUDE.md

TDD Mode (Default: Recommended)

During init, you'll be prompted for TDD mode. Recommended is the default (tests suggested but not required).

| User Says | TDD Mode | Effect | |-----------|----------|--------| | "strict TDD" / "require tests" | strict | Tests REQUIRED - check/done fail without tests | | "recommended" / "optional tests" / (default) | recommended | Tests suggested but not enforced | | "disable TDD" / "no TDD" | disabled | No TDD guidance |

The prompt auto-skips after 10 seconds with recommended mode.

Modes

| Mode | Command | Effect | |------|---------|--------| | Merge (default) | agent-foreman init | Keep existing + add new features | | Fresh | agent-foreman init --mode new | Replace all features | | Preview | agent-foreman init --mode scan | Show without changes |

Task Types

| Type | Command | Use Case | |------|---------|----------| | Code (default) | agent-foreman init | Software development | | Ops | agent-foreman init --task-type ops | Operational tasks, runbooks | | Data | agent-foreman init --task-type data | ETL, data pipelines | | Infra | agent-foreman init --task-type infra | Infrastructure provisioning | | Manual | agent-foreman init --task-type manual | Manual-only verification |

Auto-Detection

  1. ARCHITECTURE.md exists → use it (fast)
  2. Source code exists → AI scan + auto-save ARCHITECTURE.md
  3. Empty project → generate from goal

Pre-Init (Recommended)

For existing projects:

agent-foreman init --analyze    # First: understand project
agent-foreman init              # Then: create harness

Created Files

ai/
├── tasks/              # Task backlog (modular markdown)
│   ├── index.json      # Task index
│   └── {module}/       # Module directories
│       └── {id}.md     # Individual tasks
├── progress.log        # Session audit log
├── init.sh             # Bootstrap script
└── capabilities.json   # Detected test/lint/build
CLAUDE.md               # AI agent instructions
docs/ARCHITECTURE.md    # Auto-generated architecture doc