Run Without A Vault

How to run the harness without a vault (single-repo local state)

Note

Status: pending Plan: .harness/PLAN.md tasks 2 (vault-less write path + repo-local marker) + 3 (--local-state entry point). Goal: Opt a single repo into vault-less state so every phase write lands in <repo>/.harness/ — no Obsidian / GDrive / mounted vault required. Prereqs: Filled by human. (agentm version that ships --local-state, python3 on PATH, a .git dir.)

Single-repo mode lets you drive the full phase workflow on a machine with no memory vault. You opt in explicitly — the installer writes a repo-local .project-mode=local marker at <repo>/.harness/.project-mode, and from then on harness_memory.py reads and writes state under <repo>/.harness/ instead of routing through a vault. For the model behind it, see Single-repo state mode.

Steps

Steps are pending — filled from the implementation diff at /work (plan tasks 2–3). The shape will be:

1. Opt the repo into local mode at install time — install.sh --local-state <target> (or the equivalent /setup prompt). Filled by human.
2. Confirm the repo-local marker landed at <repo>/.harness/.project-mode reading local. Filled by human.
3. Run a phase write (e.g. /plan) and confirm state lands repo-local under <repo>/.harness/ with no ValueError. Filled by human.

Related

• Single-repo state mode — why this mode exists and the vault-vs-local resolution model.
• Installer CLI reference — the --local-state flag.
• Project config reference — how register() degrades when no vault is present.
• Repo layout reference — where the .project-mode marker sits on disk.