CLI Reference

August 12, 2026 · View on GitHub

Complete reference for all harness-ai-kit commands. Run harness-ai-kit <command> --help for inline help.

Setup & Configuration

`harness-ai-kit init`

Initialize this machine with default settings.

harness-ai-kit init                    # first-time setup
harness-ai-kit init --skip-sync        # skip repo sync if checkout exists

Creates ~/.harness-ai-kit/config.yaml and clones the skill repository.

`harness-ai-kit doctor`

Health check for your harness-ai-kit environment.

harness-ai-kit doctor                  # full check
harness-ai-kit doctor runtimes         # check runtime adapters only
harness-ai-kit doctor skills           # check installed skills
harness-ai-kit doctor --json           # machine-readable output

`harness-ai-kit config`

Inspect or update CLI configuration.

harness-ai-kit config show             # current config
harness-ai-kit config set key value    # update a value

Config path: ~/.harness-ai-kit/config.yaml

Project Setup

`harness-ai-kit init-project`

Create harness-ai-kit.yml (project manifest) in the current directory.

harness-ai-kit init-project

This declares your project's intent — which runtime, scope, and assets to use.

`harness-ai-kit manifest`

Inspect or migrate the project manifest.

harness-ai-kit manifest show           # show current harness-ai-kit.yml
harness-ai-kit manifest migrate        # upgrade schema version

Installing Skills

`harness-ai-kit add`

Add a skill to your project and sync.

# From GitHub (most common)
harness-ai-kit add skill https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/tree/main/path/to/skill

# Shorthand with --subpath
harness-ai-kit add skill OWNER/REPO --subpath path/to/skill

# From the curated library
harness-ai-kit add skill diag-mysql-deadlock

# Specify runtime and scope
harness-ai-kit add skill my-skill --runtime claude-code --scope global

# Add without installing (just update harness-ai-kit.yml)
harness-ai-kit add skill my-skill --no-install

`harness-ai-kit sync`

Reconcile your project to match harness-ai-kit.yml.

harness-ai-kit sync                    # install declared assets
harness-ai-kit sync --offline          # use cache only

`harness-ai-kit remove`

Remove a skill from the project.

harness-ai-kit remove skill my-skill   # remove from manifest + uninstall

`harness-ai-kit uninstall`

Remove an installed skill without touching harness-ai-kit.yml.

harness-ai-kit uninstall my-skill

Discovery & Inspection

`harness-ai-kit list`

List available skills.

harness-ai-kit list                    # all skills
harness-ai-kit list skills             # skills only
harness-ai-kit list --json             # JSON output

`harness-ai-kit show`

Show metadata for one skill.

harness-ai-kit show diag-mysql-deadlock

`harness-ai-kit cat`

Print the main document (SKILL.md) for a skill.

harness-ai-kit cat diag-mysql-deadlock

`harness-ai-kit search`

Search skills by keyword.

harness-ai-kit search mysql

Dependency Management

`harness-ai-kit lock`

Resolve dependencies and write harness-ai-kit.lock.

harness-ai-kit lock                    # resolve + write lockfile
harness-ai-kit lock --offline          # resolve from cache only

`harness-ai-kit resolve`

Preview dependency resolution without installing.

harness-ai-kit resolve skill my-skill

`harness-ai-kit graph`

Show the dependency tree for a skill.

harness-ai-kit graph skill my-skill

`harness-ai-kit why`

Explain why a dependency appears in the graph.

harness-ai-kit why my-dependency

Maintenance

`harness-ai-kit outdated`

Show which installed assets have newer versions.

harness-ai-kit outdated

`harness-ai-kit diff`

Compare manifest, lock, and runtime state.

harness-ai-kit diff

`harness-ai-kit upgrade`

Upgrade installed assets.

harness-ai-kit upgrade                 # upgrade all
harness-ai-kit upgrade skills          # skills only

`harness-ai-kit prune`

Remove orphaned installs not declared in harness-ai-kit.yml.

harness-ai-kit prune

`harness-ai-kit cache`

Manage the local package cache.

harness-ai-kit cache list              # show cached artifacts
harness-ai-kit cache clean             # clear cache

Global Options

Flag	Description
`--version` / `-V`	Show CLI version
`--config-path PATH`	Override config file location
`--runtime RUNTIME`	Target runtime: `codex`, `claude-code`, `cursor`, `kiro`, `qoder`
`--scope SCOPE`	Install scope: `project`, `global`
`--offline`	Use local cache only
`--json`	Machine-readable JSON output