create-harness-spec
Create a hedera-harness recipe — PRD, recipe file, validators, and optional stages — by grilling an idea into a runnable feature spec. Use when the user wants to turn a Hedera feature idea into harness inputs.
- Installs
- 474
- Last 24h
- —
- Trending rank
- —
- Security
- Not audited
Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/hedera-dev/hedera-skills --skill create-harness-spec- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads create-harness-spec automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Create Harness Spec
Grill a Hedera feature idea into a complete recipe for hedera-harness.
Load the shared vocabulary first: read
../harness-spec-anatomy/SKILL.md and its
GLOSSARY.md. Use those terms exactly.
Targets hedera-harness schemaVersion 3.
These skills are for authoring. Recipes do not list skills — product plugins
from hedera-skills are discovered per run and the generator picks. Keep the
run blind: the PRD carries journeys and outcomes; numbered assertions live
in the evaluate checklist.
Works in Claude Code (marketplace plugin) and Cursor / other agents that
load SKILL.md. Prefer /grilling when that skill is installed; otherwise use
the inline protocol — Claude Code typically takes the inline path.
Step 1: Locate the target
A recipe lives at .harness/ inside a scaffolded app. There is no other layout.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
Cwd is a scaffolded app (Scaffold HBAR or hedera-harness init) | Author into its .harness/ |
Cwd is an app without .harness/ | hedera-harness init adopts the harness in place |
| No app yet | hedera-harness init <dir> (optionally --template <name>) |
Cwd already has .harness/spec.yaml | Check schemaVersion. If absent, 1, or 2, rewrite to v3 (or regenerate with init and reapply edits). hedera-harness migrate is gone. |
Never treat a v1/v2 recipe as loadable. contract: → eval:, drop skills:,
set schemaVersion: 3.
Paths in the recipe file are relative to the project root.
Step 2: Grill
Follow references/grilling.md. Prefer /grilling if
available; otherwise use the inline protocol there.
Do not write files until the user confirms shared understanding.
Step 3: Emit the recipe
Prefer copying the shipped skeleton — it is always current:
cp -r "$(npm root -g)/hedera-harness/skeletons/project-harness/." .harness/
Then:
- Write
.harness/prd.md(or one file per increment under.harness/prds/) from the grill. Product-facing only — keep the run blind. - Fill
.harness/spec.yaml. Required:schemaVersion: 3,name,description, andbaselinewith a command literally namedinstall. Leave every default commented out. A four-key recipe is complete. Omitagent:unless the user wants Cursor (default is Claude). - Write
.harness/validators/static.jsonand.harness/validators/yarn.jsonagainst the feature deliverables. Do not assert ontemplate.json— create-scaffold-hbar removes it when scaffolding. - Do not add a
skills:list. Mention relevant Hedera services in the PRD so the generator can pick product skills. - Add SMOKE / EVALUATE / CHAIN only if the user opted in during the grill —
see
harness-spec-anatomy→ references/stage-strategy.md. Ifprd:is a list and EVALUATE is on, write a matchingeval:list. - Install the SMOKE host package if you just enabled it — at the project
root, not only inside a workspace. Doctor imports
playwrightfrom next tohedera-harness, and YarnnmHoistingLimits: workspaceshidespackages/nextjsinstalls.- SMOKE →
yarn add -D playwright(or npm/pnpm equivalent) Skip the add if the rootpackage.jsonalready lists it. Do this as part of emit, not as a follow-up afterdoctorfails. CHAIN does not need a project install:@hiero-ledger/sdkships withhedera-harness. Only the operator env vars are host-provided.
- SMOKE →
Reconstruct bodies by hand only when the skeleton is unavailable:
harness-spec-anatomy → references/spec-files.md.
Step 4: Completion criterion
Two checks, in order:
# 1. Does the recipe load? (authoritative — schema, defaults, baseline, network)
hedera-harness doctor .harness/spec.yaml --recipe-only
# 2. Is it coherent across files? (traceability, stage pairing, blind rule)
bash <path-to>/harness-spec-anatomy/scripts/check-spec.sh <project-root>
check-spec.sh runs doctor itself, so running it alone is enough when the
harness CLI is installed. If it reports that the schema was not validated,
that is a partial result — install or upgrade the harness and rerun.
Done when check-spec.sh exits clean.
Then hand off:
# Prefer /review-harness-spec next, then:
hedera-harness run .harness/spec.yaml --max-attempts 3
# or: yarn harness:run
Point at the harness README for install, agent auth, and stage host
prerequisites. hedera-harness doctor (without --recipe-only) checks those.
Do not expand CLI teaching beyond these next commands.
Additional resources
- references/grilling.md
- Companion:
/review-harness-spec - Vocabulary:
/harness-spec-anatomy - Upstream: docs/authoring-a-recipe.md
FAQ
What does the create-harness-spec skill do?
Create a hedera-harness recipe — PRD, recipe file, validators, and optional stages — by grilling an idea into a runnable feature spec. Use when the user wants to turn a Hedera feature idea into harness inputs.
How do I install create-harness-spec?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/hedera-dev/hedera-skills --skill create-harness-spec in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/create-harness-spec/ (personal) or .claude/skills/create-harness-spec/ (project).
Which AI agents can use create-harness-spec?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is create-harness-spec safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains create-harness-spec?
It is published by hedera-dev in hedera-dev/hedera-skills. It has 474 recorded installs.
More from hedera-dev/hedera-skills
hedera hackathon submission validator
hedera-dev/hedera-skills
This skill should be used when the user wants to validate, review, or score their Hedera hackathon submission before submitting. Triggered by phrases like "validate hackathon submission", "review my hackathon project", "hackathon scorecard", "check submission readiness", "score my hackathon", "submission review", "judge my project", "hackathon submission quality", or "improve hackathon score".
hedera hackathon prd
hedera-dev/hedera-skills
This skill should be used when the user wants to plan a Hedera hackathon project, create a PRD, write a project spec, brainstorm a hackathon idea, or structure their hackathon submission. Triggered by phrases like "hackathon project plan", "hackathon PRD", "plan my hackathon project", "hedera hackathon idea", "write a hackathon spec", "hackathon project structure", "prepare for hackathon", or "build for hackathon".
hedera-token-service
hedera-dev/hedera-skills
How to create, manage, and transfer tokens on Hedera using the Hiero JavaScript SDK (@hiero-ledger/sdk). Use this skill whenever the user wants to work with fungible tokens, NFTs, token creation, minting, burning, transfers, token association, custom fees (fixed, fractional, royalty), airdrops, KYC/freeze/wipe/pause operations, or any HTS (Hedera Token Service) operation in JavaScript or TypeScript. Also trigger when users mention @hashgraph/sdk token operations, ERC-20/ERC-721 equivalents on Hedera, or tokenization on the Hedera network.
hedera-consensus-service
hedera-dev/hedera-skills
How to create topics, submit messages, and subscribe to real-time message streams on Hedera using the Hiero JavaScript SDK (@hiero-ledger/sdk). Use this skill whenever the user wants to work with Hedera Consensus Service (HCS), including topic creation, message submission, pub/sub messaging, mirror node subscriptions, chunked large messages, topic fees, or any consensus-related operation in JavaScript or TypeScript. Also trigger when users mention @hashgraph/sdk topic operations, event logging on Hedera, decentralized messaging, audit trails, or ordered message streams.
project scaffolding
hedera-dev/hedera-skills
This skill should be used when the user wants to set up Claude for a project, create a CLAUDE.md file, scaffold the .claude directory, initialize an AI workflow, configure a project for Claude, set up dev intelligence, initialize a new project, or do a new project setup. Triggered by phrases like "set up claude for this project", "create CLAUDE.md", "scaffold .claude directory", "init AI workflow", "configure project for claude", "set up dev intelligence", "initialize project", "new project setup".
session management
hedera-dev/hedera-skills
This skill should be used when the user wants to resume previous work, continue from a last session, check what was being worked on, track completed work, log session activity, manage tech debt, review pending items, view session history, or maintain a work log. Triggered by phrases like "resume work", "continue from last session", "what was I working on", "track this work", "log what we did", "tech debt", "what's pending", "session history", "work log".
Popular code quality & workflow skills
grill-me
mattpocock/skills
A relentless interview to sharpen a plan or design.
improve-codebase-architecture
mattpocock/skills
Scan a codebase for deepening opportunities, present them as a visual HTML report, then grill through whichever one you pick.
handoff
mattpocock/skills
Compact the current conversation into a handoff document for another agent to pick up.
domain-modeling
mattpocock/skills
Build and sharpen a project's domain model. Use when discussing codebase terminology, writing or editing a GLOSSARY.md, or recording or editing an ADR.
codebase-design
mattpocock/skills
Shared vocabulary for designing deep modules. Use when the user wants to design or improve a module's interface, find deepening opportunities, decide where a seam goes, make code more testable or AI-navigable, or when another skill needs the deep-module vocabulary.
diagnosing-bugs
mattpocock/skills
Diagnosis loop for hard bugs and performance regressions. Use when the user says "diagnose"/"debug this", or reports something broken/throwing/failing/slow.