Reins

Use the Reins CLI to operationalize harness engineering in any repository.

Execution Model (Critical)

• The CLI is the execution engine and scoring source of truth.

• This skill is the control plane for agent behavior (routing, command order, JSON parsing discipline).

• Humans steer goals and tradeoffs; agents execute the loop.

Do not re-implement CLI logic in skill instructions. Always run commands and parse JSON outputs.

Use When

Use this skill when the user asks to:

• Scaffold repository readiness artifacts (AGENTS.md , ARCHITECTURE.md , docs/ , risk-policy.json )

• Audit or score agent-readiness/maturity (0-24, maturity levels, weakest dimensions)

• Diagnose readiness gaps with doctor (pass/fail/warn health checks with prescriptive fixes)

• Evolve the repository to the next Reins maturity level

• Improve docs-drift/policy-as-code enforcement tied to Reins outputs

• Understand harness engineering methodology or maturity levels

Don't Use When

Do not use this skill for:

• Generic code implementation/debugging unrelated to Reins workflows

• General-purpose lint/test/security checks that do not request Reins scoring or scaffolding

• Product/domain feature design that does not involve harness-engineering structure

• Questions about installing random third-party skills (use skill discovery/installer flows instead)

Command Execution Policy

Use this order when running commands:

• In user repositories, check if installed skills are stale: npx skills check

If updates are available, refresh before running workflow commands: npx skills update

• If working inside the Reins repository itself: cd cli/reins && bun src/index.ts <command> ../..

• Otherwise (or if local source is unavailable): npx reins-cli@latest <command> <target-path>

All Reins commands output deterministic JSON. Always parse JSON output — never text-match against findings strings.

Quick Reference

CLI Commands

Scaffold harness engineering structure

reins init <path> [--name <name>] [--force] [--pack <auto|agent-factory>]

Score maturity across 6 dimensions (0-24)

reins audit <path>

Health check with prescriptive fixes

reins doctor <path>

Roadmap to next maturity level

reins evolve <path> [--apply]

Compare audits across repos or over time

reins compare <path1> <path2>

Show usage

reins help

Maturity Levels

Score Level Description

0-6 L0: Manual Traditional engineering, no agent infrastructure

7-12 L1: Inloop Agents help, but humans still write code

13-18 L2: Guided Outloop Humans steer, agents execute most code

19-21 L3: Full Outloop Agents handle full lifecycle with human oversight

22-24 L4: Zero Touch Agents maintain, clean, and evolve the system

Core Reins Principles

• Repository is the system of record -- Knowledge stays in versioned files.

• Humans steer, agents execute -- Prompt-first workflows over manual edits where possible.

• Mechanical enforcement over intent-only docs -- CI and policy-as-code back every rule.

• Progressive disclosure -- AGENTS.md is the map, deep docs hold details.

• Continuous cleanup -- Track debt, docs drift, and stale patterns as first-class work.

Workflow Routing

Trigger Workflow File

scaffold, init, setup, bootstrap Scaffold Workflows/Scaffold.md

audit, score, assess, readiness Audit Workflows/Audit.md

doctor, health check, diagnose, gaps Doctor Workflows/Doctor.md

evolve, improve, mature, level up Evolve Workflows/Evolve.md

Resource Index

Resource Purpose

SKILL.md

Skill routing, triggers, quick reference

HarnessMethodology.md

Full methodology reference (5 pillars, 10 production patterns)

Workflows/Scaffold.md

Scaffold workflow with step-by-step guide

Workflows/Audit.md

Audit workflow with dimension details and output format

Workflows/Doctor.md

Doctor workflow with health checks and fix guidance

Workflows/Evolve.md

Evolve workflow with level-up paths

Examples

• "Scaffold this repo for Reins"

• "Audit this project with Reins and summarize the weakest dimensions"

• "Run doctor on this repo and fix everything that fails"

• "Evolve this repo to the next Reins maturity level"

• "What's the harness engineering maturity of this project?"

Negative Examples

These should not trigger Reins:

• "Fix this React hydration bug"

• "Add OAuth login to the API"

• "Run normal project lint and unit tests"

Route to general coding workflows unless the user explicitly asks for Reins scaffolding, audit, doctor, or evolve operations.