Emerging Practice · 2026
Harness Engineering
The component architecture for reliable agent-first development
Human Layer
Harness Layer
Execution Layer
Feedback Loop
writes to
establishes
configures
injects context
enforces
provisions
triggers
delivers output
failure logs
gaps found
feedback
refines
extends
Human Intent
Human
Intent
Prompt · Spec
Plan
Context Layer
Context
Layer
AGENTS.md · Docs
Schemas · Plans
Architectural Guardrails
Architectural
Guardrails
Linters · Layer Deps
Structural Tests
Tool Access
Tool
Access
Filesystem · Bash
MCP · Observability
Sandboxed Execution
Sandboxed
Execution
Isolated VMs · Snapshots
Concurrent Sessions
Verification Loop
Verification
Loop
Tests · Telemetry
Visual Preview · CI
Intent Review
Intent
Review
Accountability
Merge Gate
Harness Improvement
Harness
Improvement
Failure → Fix Harness
Meta-Agent
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