docs · installation

Installation & Setup.

Three installation pathways: complete agent workbench bootstrap, standalone skill installation via skills.sh, or the zharness binary.

Prerequisites.

Ensure your environment satisfies the base requirements before proceeding with installation:

Node.js 18+ — Required for skill discovery and global CLI execution.
jq — Required for terminal statusline processing.
Git — Version control for repository tracking and hooks.
Rust (stable) (Optional) — Required only if compiling the zharness binary from source.
SSH Access — Valid key configured for git@github.com:therealtinhtute/mono-harness.git.

After installation, review ~/.claude/settings.json and ensure ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN or relevant provider tokens are set in your shell environment.

Give this to a coding agent.

Copy the block below into the consumer repository chat when you want the agent to install, refresh, or work with zharness on its own.

prompt — bootstrap this repository

Work in this git repository. Read https://github.com/therealtinhtute/mono-harness/blob/master/README.md and, once they exist, this repo's AGENTS.md and docs/WORKFLOW.md. If zharness is not on PATH or outdated, install/upgrade it with scripts/install-zharness.sh. If this repo has no docs/WORKFLOW.md, run zharness install. If the repo is already initialized, playbooks are outdated, or zharness install reports drifted files, run zharness update to refresh the latest playbooks (fresh-overwrite; PROJECT.md is never overwritten, and an edited AGENTS.md block makes update refuse with a diff). Plans live only in docs/plans/ — multi-session or complex work uses exactly one file at docs/plans/active/{slug}.md, moved to docs/plans/completed/ upon verified handoff. Small changes need no plan. zharness only manages the doc set (install/update/uninstall) — it does not run the lifecycle. Missing AGENTS.md: zharness install, do not invent the file. Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md, not AGENTS.md; if CLAUDE.md is missing, the consumer writes a thin file containing the line @AGENTS.md.

Option A: Full Claude Code bootstrap.

The recommended approach for setting up a full agent workstation. The bootstrap script deploys global agent instructions (CLAUDE.md), core rules, validation hooks, a settings template, the statusline script, and installs all 16 skills globally.

bash — bootstrap installer

# Clone repository to local workstation
$git clone git@github.com:therealtinhtute/mono-harness.git ~/mono-harness
$cd ~/mono-harness

# Execute bootstrap installer
$bash setup/install.sh

Existing configuration files such as ~/.claude/settings.json are safely preserved. Backups are created before replacing any global dotfiles.

Option B: Skills only (via skills.sh).

If you prefer to install only the skills without configuring global agent settings or rules, use the standard skills.sh package manager.

bash — skills.sh package manager

# Inspect published skills in repository without installing
$npx skills add git@github.com:therealtinhtute/mono-harness.git --list

# Install all skills globally for Claude Code
$npx skills add git@github.com:therealtinhtute/mono-harness.git -a claude-code -g -y

Option C: zharness binary installation.

The zharness CLI manages the lifecycle of workflow playbooks, identity documents, and base hashes in target projects.

Release Binary

Prebuilt

Download and install the prebuilt binary directly to ~/.local/bin/zharness (Linux & macOS on amd64 / arm64).

$bash scripts/install-zharness.sh
$zharness --version

Build From Source

Rust

Compile the binary with a stable Rust toolchain.

$cd cli
$cargo build --release
$cp target/release/zharness ~/.local/bin/zharness
$zharness --version

First run: Project workflow setup.

To enable the structured workflow in any target Git repository, complete these two steps:

Step

Action

Details

Scaffold Docs

zharness install

Scaffolds canonical playbooks into docs/playbooks/, creates WORKFLOW.md, adds AGENTS.md block.

Install Hooks

bash scripts/install-git-hooks.sh

Installs repository pre-commit hook to enforce fail-closed proof re-execution and independent judge separation.

Verification.

Verify that your installation is functional and ready for development work:

bash — installation verification

# 1. Verify CLI installation
$zharness --version
zharness version 0.24.0

# 2. Verify CLI commands
$zharness install --help
$zharness update --help
$zharness uninstall --help

# 3. Test pre-commit hook enforcement
$bash scripts/install-git-hooks.sh
installed .git/hooks/pre-commit with fail-closed proof re-execution