Introduction

hi is the local installer and updater for Harness Intelligence. Start here when you need to install the Harness CLI and run the first repository setup.

Harness Intelligence ships first through @punks/cli. The package installs hi, with hint as an alias.

Run hi from a repository when you want that repository to receive the Harness AI operating context: skills, prompt guidance, scaffold metadata, update rules, and the handoff prompts a follow-up agent should use. The deeper model lives in Harness Foundations; this page is only the operator entrypoint.

Agents should activate $hi-cli before acting on hi output or generated .devpunks artifacts. That skill is the operating contract for reading scaffold handoffs, reconciling generated files, and reporting unresolved Harness friction through hi report.

What It Does

During setup, hi:

• seeds docs onboarding, requirements/backlog/spec skills, and the initial wiki tree through hi init
• scans the target repository
• detects languages, frameworks, surfaces, and relevant packs
• installs agent skills and prompt guidance
• writes .devpunks/scaffold-manifest.json
• emits follow-up prompts for the next agent

The generated files tell the next agent what guidance applies, which skills are available, which generated files are managed, and how future Harness updates should be checked.

First Path

1. Follow Installation to install @punks/cli@latest, verify hi --help, and install the global hi-cli operator skill.
2. Run Basic Usage from the target repository.
3. Stop when .devpunks/scaffold-manifest.json exists and the generated handoff prompt is present.
4. Review generated prompt surfaces and reconcile the wiki root with the real repo layout before committing them.

For methodology, go to Harness Foundations. For command mechanics, go to the CLI Domain.