Runtime compatibility

August 14, 2026 · View on GitHub

Engineer Software is one runtime-neutral workflow. Codex and DeepSeek Harness are independent entry points over the same canonical skill source; this document records the loading contracts and the evidence we can verify locally.

Official Harness facts

The implementation follows the official deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness repository, not similarly named community libraries.

  • The official README labels DeepSeek Harness (dsh) developer preview and warns of compatibility-breaking changes.
  • The official skills subsystem scans project roots in this order: .dsh/skills, .agents/skills, configured custom roots, and user roots. A skill bundle is <name>/SKILL.md with relative resources such as references/.
  • The official plugin publishing guide defines a package.json dsh.bundle.patch format for executable Cordis composition layers. It does not define a stable remote manifest for a Markdown-only skill.

The repository therefore ships a checked-in .dsh/skills/engineer-software/ projection generated from plugins/engineer-software/skills/engineer-software/. It is a real project-local Harness entry, not a claim of an official DeepSeek plugin or partnership. Run the deterministic probe:

The local contract review used official master commit 47f943859bef60e4160492346772ded9b24f765a on 2026-08-13. Recheck the upstream docs before treating this preview contract as stable.

python scripts/validate_harness.py --check

The probe verifies file identity, frontmatter, resource paths, and the one-source rule. It is a deterministic local check for the documented filesystem skill bundle.

Local loader smoke (not a CI gate)

During this audit (2026-08-14 UTC), the official @deepseek-ai/dsh@0.1.0-rc.6 package was started with an isolated DSH_HOME and the repository selected as a workspace. Its real FileSystemSkillProvider returned engineer-software from the project-dsh root at rank 100 and get() loaded the projected SKILL.md body with its generated references/ resource base. This records the filesystem loader contract for a pinned preview package; rerun it after Harness preview upgrades before treating the result as current.

Compatibility matrix

SurfaceCodexDeepSeek HarnessEvidenceStatus
Canonical workflowplugins/engineer-software/skills/engineer-software/same source projected to .dsh/skills/engineer-software/byte-for-byte sync testverified locally
Skill loaderCodex plugin manifest and marketplaceproject .dsh/skills/<name>/SKILL.mdofficial docs + static probe + 0.1.0-rc.6 loader smokeverified locally for that version; Harness preview
Relative referencesreferences/*.md in plugin skillcopied generated references/*.mdprojection checkverified locally
Routing fixturesevals/routing-cases.json and Codex runnersame cases through the byte-identical generated skill treecanonical case validation + projection identityshared contract verified
Install channelCodex marketplace/plugin commandsproject checkout or generated user skill rootcommands belowHarness contract may change

Install, upgrade, and remove

Codex

codex plugin marketplace add KirschBluteX/engineer-software
codex plugin add engineer-software@engineer-software
codex plugin list

Start a new task after installation so the skill catalog is refreshed. To upgrade an existing installation:

codex plugin marketplace upgrade engineer-software
codex plugin add engineer-software@engineer-software

Remove it with codex plugin remove engineer-software@engineer-software and confirm with codex plugin list. Command behavior is owned by the installed Codex CLI; this project does not emulate or wrap that manager.

The project checkout already contains the generated entry. After pulling a change, regenerate and check it from the repository root:

python scripts/sync_harness_skill.py --write
python scripts/validate_harness.py --check
npx @deepseek-ai/dsh web

Choose this repository as the Harness workspace, then ask for a software change. The local provider will discover .dsh/skills/engineer-software/SKILL.md; the six references remain relative to that directory. The npx command and Web UI are documented by the official Harness README. Model configuration is supplied by the user's Harness runtime.

To remove the project entry, delete the generated .dsh/skills/engineer-software/ directory from your checkout, or keep it and disable the skill in your Harness configuration. Do not edit the projection by hand: rerun the sync command after changing the canonical source.

DeepSeek Harness (user-global)

The official provider also scans <dshHome>/skills. A reviewed copy can be written to that root:

python scripts/sync_harness_skill.py --write `
  --target "$env:USERPROFILE\.dsh\skills\engineer-software"
python scripts/validate_harness.py --check `
  --target "$env:USERPROFILE\.dsh\skills\engineer-software"

Use the equivalent $DSH_HOME/skills/engineer-software path on other systems. Removing that target uninstalls the user-global copy; rerun --write after upgrading this repository. The command never deletes stale files, so inspect and remove obsolete generated files deliberately.

Troubleshooting

The skill does not appear. Confirm that Harness is using the intended workspace, that the path is exactly .dsh/skills/engineer-software/SKILL.md, and run python scripts/validate_harness.py --check. The project root is the nearest ancestor containing .git; launching from an unrelated directory will select a different root.

The skill appears but a reference cannot be loaded. Run python scripts/sync_harness_skill.py --write, then check for drift. Every reference must be under the generated bundle's references/ directory; nested recursive skill discovery is not part of the official local provider contract.

The projection check reports drift. Edit only the canonical Codex tree, then regenerate. A drift report is an integrity failure, not a reason to maintain a second hand-edited copy.

A Harness upgrade breaks loading. Treat this as a preview compatibility issue. Capture the Harness commit/version, rerun the static probe, and consult the official repository's current skill and plugin docs before changing this project. Do not infer a manifest or install command from a community project with a similar name.

Security boundary

The skill contains instructions only. It has no MCP server, hook, telemetry, credential handling, or background process. Harness itself may execute tools and may ask for a DeepSeek API key; those permissions belong to the user's Harness profile and workspace policy. Review generated files before placing them in a user-global skill directory, and never commit API keys, .env files, session logs, or Harness profile state.

中文入口

安装、升级、卸载、调用、兼容边界和常见问题见完整的 简体中文 README。英文 README 与 canonical skill 仍是技术规范来源。