Quickstart
Go from an empty canvas to a running, self-orchestrating workflow in under five minutes. This guide assumes you've already installed the desktop app.
Harness Flow is an execution engine, not a task manager. If a concept feels unfamiliar, jump to Core concepts first.
1. Install & connect
Download the desktop app for your platform and open it. On first launch, connect your GitHub account so harnesses can act on your repositories with scoped, revocable access.
- Pick a repo. Choose the repository you want to automate. You can connect more at any time.
- Grant scoped access. Each connection is per-repo and revocable from Settings → Harnesses.
2. The three primitives
Every automation in Harness Flow composes from exactly three building blocks. Master these and the rest of the product follows.
| Primitive | What it is | Defined by |
|---|---|---|
workflow | A recursive graph of nodes: branches, loops, and nests. | The canvas |
harness | The engine holding real access: GitHub, filesystem, and repo context. | A config + token |
specialist | A reusable system prompt plus skills like security auditing. | A YAML manifest |
3. Build your first workflow
Start from a template or drag nodes onto the canvas. The example wires a pull-request trigger into a refactor node, a review node, and a paused human approval gate.
- Add nodes. Drop a refactor node and point it at the
claude-codeharness. - Add a review node. Attach the
security_auditspecialist. - Add an approval gate. Place a gate node after review so nothing merges without sign-off.
The canvas updates live as a workflow runs. Nodes light up blue while running and amber when they need you.
4. Attach a harness
A node does nothing until it's pointed at a harness. The claude-code harness runs with your repo's filesystem, branch, and Git history.
5. Add a human-in-the-loop gate
Pause any node for review. The workflow waits in your pending-actions tray until you approve, edit, or reject the plan.
6. Inject specialists & skills
A specialist is a reusable system prompt plus a set of skills. Define one once at global scope and share it across every repo, or pin it to a single project.
GitHub triggers
Kick a workflow off an opened PR, a pushed branch, or a label. Harnesses act with scoped, revocable repo access.
Scope & sharing
Resources live where they belong. Define a specialist at global scope to reuse it everywhere, or pin it to project scope to keep it local to one repository.