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name: harness description: TigerStyle development workflow harness. Wraps development tasks in a state machine (GROUNDING → PLANNING → IMPLEMENTING → VERIFYING → COMPLETE) with vision alignment, decision logging, and verification. Use when starting non-trivial coding tasks. Adapts to whatever vision files exist in the project.

TigerStyle Development Harness

A workflow wrapper for disciplined development. Inspired by TigerBeetle's TigerStyle and FoundationDB's simulation-first approach.

State Machine

CopyGROUNDING → PLANNING → IMPLEMENTING → VERIFYING → COMPLETE
                           ↓              ↓
                       BLOCKED ←──────────┘

Automatic Actions by State

On Invocation (GROUNDING)

1. Check for .vision/ directory

   • If exists: Read whatever files are there
   • If missing: Offer to help create relevant vision docs (interview user)

2. For any EVOLVING docs found (have Last Updated date):

   • If > 30 days old, ask user if it needs updating

3. Read recent plans in .progress/ to understand current state

4. Summarize relevant guidance for this task

On Plan Creation (PLANNING)

1. Create plan file: .progress/NNN_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_task-name.md (NNN = next sequence number)
2. Document what vision files were read (or note none exist)
3. Define test requirements if applicable
4. Get approval (or auto-proceed for small tasks)

During Work (IMPLEMENTING)

1. Log significant decisions to plan file
2. Track what tests are needed
3. Update plan after each phase

Before Completion (VERIFYING)

1. Run tests if project has them
2. Run /no-cap verification
3. Check alignment with any documented constraints
4. BLOCK if gates fail

On Completion (COMPLETE)

1. Update plan state to COMPLETE
2. Commit with clear message
3. Push to remote

Gate Requirements

Plan File Template

Use .progress/templates/plan.md or create with key sections:

Copy# Task: [Name]
**Created:** YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
**State:** GROUNDING | PLANNING | IMPLEMENTING | VERIFYING | COMPLETE

## Vision Alignment
**Vision files read:** [list files or "None"]
**Relevant guidance:** [constraints that apply]

## Options & Decisions
[Document options considered, trade-offs, decisions made]

## Checkpoints
- [ ] Plan approved
- [ ] Implemented
- [ ] Tests passing (if applicable)
- [ ] /no-cap passed

What This Harness Enforces (OUTCOMES)

What This Harness Does NOT Prescribe

Offering to Create Vision Docs

If .vision/ doesn't exist or seems incomplete, offer options:

"I don't see vision docs for this project. Would you like me to help create any of these?"

• CONSTRAINTS.md - Non-negotiable rules for this project
• ARCHITECTURE.md - System design decisions
• PHILOSOPHY.md - Design principles
• [Custom] - Something specific to your domain

Or we can proceed without them if this is a small task.

Don't assume all files are needed. Ask what would be helpful.

Quick Reference

Copy/harness                    # Start workflow
GROUNDING                   # Read vision (whatever exists), understand context
PLANNING                    # Create .progress/ plan, document decisions
IMPLEMENTING                # Do the work, log decisions
VERIFYING                   # Tests, /no-cap, alignment check
COMPLETE                    # Commit and push