Instructions
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Read
AGENTS.mdfirst — understand the two-audience structure, document map, companion materials, invariants, and known footguns before touching any file. -
Identify the right file for the task using the Document Map and Companion Materials tables in
AGENTS.md— do not add content to the wrong file. -
Search all nine numbered chapters for existing coverage of the topic. If it already exists, link to it — do not duplicate it.
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Write for the correct audience:
- 01–02: plain language, no implementation detail, accessible to non-technical readers
- 03–09: precise technical language, assume engineering context
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Follow the style rules:
- Direct prose — no filler phrases, no meta-commentary ("this section explains…")
- Short sentences; cut anything that doesn't add meaning
- Mermaid diagrams, not ASCII art
- No buzzwords or jargon in 01–02
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Prompts belong only in the skill reference files — see
INVARIANTS.mdfor the rule and the chapter-to-skill pairings.- Editing a prompt → edit the skill reference file. Review the paired chapter's narrative description (what the prompt covers, what it produces) in the same change to confirm it still matches.
- Treat prompts as executable: an agent following the prompt should produce correct output without additional clarification.
- Never copy a prompt back into a chapter "for convenience" — that re-introduces drift.
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Before completing, verify:
- No content duplicated elsewhere in the series
- All cross-links are accurate and point to the right file and section
- The two-audience structure is preserved
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After substantive changes, record them in the appropriate changelog and bump the matching version. The guide and each skill version separately.
For guide changes (chapters 01–09,
guide/README.md,guide/READING.md,guide/FAQ.md):- Update
guide/CHANGELOG.md - Bump the
Currentline inguide/README.md
For skill changes (any file under
.agents/skills/<skill>/), two files always move together — missing either leaves them out of sync:- Update
.agents/skills/<skill>/CHANGELOG.md - Bump
metadata.versionin.agents/skills/<skill>/SKILL.mdfront matter
The skill's
README.mdlinks toCHANGELOG.mdfor the current version and does not need updating.If the change touches
harness-setuporharness-inspect, also bumpversioninharness-plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.jsonandharness-plugin/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json..agents/skills/harness-setup/and.agents/skills/harness-inspect/are symlinks intoharness-plugin/skills/, the plugin's canonical source — Claude Code's marketplace detects available updates by comparing thisversionfield (falling back to comparing git commit SHAs only when no version field exists), so a content change without a version bump is invisible to already-installed plugins.Versioning (applies to both):
- Patch (
x.y.Z): typo fixes, link fixes, README/doc-only updates that don't change behavior or content. Batch into the next minor unless explicitly requested. - Minor (
x.Y(.0)): new sections, new prompts, new sources, new resources, new behavior. Default for most substantive edits. - Major (
X.0(.0)): structural change — added or removed chapter/phase, breaking output format, audience or scope change.
Format:
- New entry at the top of the changelog under
Added/Changed/Removed/Fixedas appropriate - Each item names the affected file(s) and links to the relevant chapter or resource
- The version line in the README (or skill README) and the latest changelog entry must agree — bump one, bump the other
If a change spans both (e.g., editing a prompt in a skill reference file that requires updating how chapter 09 describes it), record the prompt change in the skill changelog and the description update in the guide changelog, with a cross-reference between them.
When editing files inside skill directories (
.agents/skills/harness-setup/,harness-inspect/), two rules apply:- Guide references: use absolute HTTPS URLs (e.g.,
https://github.com/adobe/ai-repo-harness-guide/blob/main/guide/CHANGELOG.md), not relative paths. Relative paths break when skills are symlinked into~/.claude/skills/. - Inter-skill references: don't link at all — relative or absolute. Users may have only one skill installed locally and the symlinked directory structure is unknown. Mention other skills by name only (e.g., "use the
harness-inspectskill instead"). The internaldocumentationandguide-reviewskills are not symlinked — relative paths are fine (e.g.,[CHANGELOG.md](../../../guide/CHANGELOG.md)).
- Update