Generated files

init and adopt install the SDLC Harness protocol directly into the target repository. Use init for an empty repository. Use adopt for an existing project; it does not overwrite existing files.

Core state and protocol

Path	Purpose	Commit it?
`AGENTS.md`	Agent startup rules, Routing Map, and session requirements	Yes
`AGENTS.sdlc-harness.md`	Sidecar protocol generated when `AGENTS.md` already exists	Yes, and reference it from the original file
`feature_list.json`	Milestones, features, dependencies, `status`, `claim`, `workspace`, and evidence	Yes
`feature_list.schema.json`	Machine-readable structure for `feature_list.json`	Yes
`harness.config.json`	Project-level collaboration, stage, and environment command configuration	Yes
`progress.md`	Cross-session checkpoint	Yes

Design and workflow documentation

docs/workflow/ contains the nine-stage guides. docs/product/ stores requirements, user stories, and feedback templates. docs/architecture/ stores the architecture overview, and docs/adr/ stores architecture decisions. These files are not disposable scaffolding. Agents use AGENTS.md to route to the relevant documentation, and validate checks source references, ADR coverage, and traceability relationships.

Automation files

Path	Purpose
`.githooks/pre-commit`	Runs `validate` before a commit
`.github/workflows/ci.yml`	Audits the repository in CI and reserves steps for project checks
`.github/workflows/deploy.yml`	Audits before deployment and reserves a step for the real deployment
`.claude/skills/`	Provides workflow discovery entry points for Claude Code

The Git hook is not enabled automatically:

git config core.hooksPath .githooks

The generated CI and deployment templates fail closed when real project commands are not configured; placeholder output is not treated as success. Adapt the templates to the repository after adoption.

Runtime state

Path	Behavior
`.harness/events/*.jsonl`	Append-only audit log; commit and synchronize it across machines
`.harness/last-validated-features.json`	Derived snapshot created by a successful repository audit; do not commit
`.worktrees/`	Local Git `worktree` directories; do not commit

The generated .gitignore ignores the derived snapshot and .worktrees/, but does not ignore audit events or feature_list.json.

init --force overwrites the conflicting files it reports in advance. Prefer adopt for an existing repository and inspect each item in its skip list.

Getting started

Guides

Reference

Help

Core state and protocol

Design and workflow documentation

Automation files

Runtime state

​Core state and protocol

​Design and workflow documentation

​Automation files

​Runtime state

Core state and protocol

Design and workflow documentation

Automation files

Runtime state