Glossary · term
Harness Engineering
The discipline of building a "harness" around the model: prompts and configuration (e.g. AGENTS.md), tools (MCP servers, CLIs, subagents), infrastructure, and control mechanisms. According to the formula "Agent = Model + Harness," it is the quality of the harness that determines an agent's usefulness. Popularized in 2026 by Addy Osmani.
Products2026Wave 2 · 2024Maturity: 3/5
Maturity rationale
Osmani + Lopopolo + CMU survey 2026
References
Author: OpenAI
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