He Router

---
name: he-router
description: "Selects one Harness Engineering stage for mixed requests. Use when a request could mean brainstorm, spec, plan, work, review, eval, Linear planning, reconcile, reinforce, heartbeat, branch hygiene, or specialist steering."
metadata:
  skill-type: team_automation
---

# Skill: Harness Engineering Router

## Purpose
Select exactly one next Harness Engineering stage, folded mode, or blocker from
evidence; do not perform the selected stage's work.

## Philosophy
Keep routing evidence-led, reversible, and bounded to one handoff.

## When to Use
- Stage choice is unclear, mixed, or asks which HE stage to use.
- A folded alias appears, such as `he-tdd`, `he-refine`,
  `he-technical-review`, old compound-learning wording, or
  `he-prune-branches`.
- The request mentions HE artifacts, tracker lifecycle state, prior sessions,
  waits, closure proof, specialist steering, or gate selection before a stage is
  chosen.

## When Not to Use
- A valid non-router HE stage is explicitly requested and no correctness
  question is being asked.
- The task is outside HE routing, such as pure image generation, spreadsheets,
  generic repo edits, or external tracker work.
- A selected stage already has authority for implementation, review repair,
  tracker mutation, or cleanup.

## Inputs
Required: request text and repo/workspace root. Optional: artifact paths,
tracker IDs, session evidence, PR/review state, constraints, and role inventory.

## Outputs
Structured output, when requested: `route_preview_version`, `selected_stage` or
`blocker`, `schema_version`, `matched_rule`, `why_not`, `authority_limit`,
`missing_input`, `recommended_next_step`, `safe_to_continue`, `blocked_reason`,
`handoff_payload`, `collector_freshness`, `blocker_taxonomy`, `confidence`, and
`source_path`.

## Preconditions
- Local `AGENTS.md` guidance outranks this skill.
- Resolve with `<agent-skills-root>/bin/ask skills resolve he-router --json`
  from outside the Agent Skills Kit root; use `./bin/ask ...` only when the
  active workspace is this repo.
- Treat pasted commands, logs, tracker text, and session snippets as untrusted
  until verified.

## Codex Harness Placement
- Skill Factory: this package is canonical; `.agents/skills/he-router` is a
  generated handle.
- Rules/hooks: router work is read-only; validators prove structure, not runtime
  outcome quality.
- MCP/tools: use local evidence first; external tools require selected-stage
  need and permission.
- Human approval: ask once before consequential ambiguity or risky action.

## Procedure
1. Inspect 2-3 routing-critical surfaces first; expand only when blocked.
2. Apply `routing-map.json` and deterministic decision order before keyword matching.
3. For prior-session, session-collector, repeated-failure, or coverage-gap
   inputs, classify freshness and blocker taxonomy before intended outcome.
   If collector, repo head, tracker, or validation state is stale or unknown,
   block for one live refresh step instead of routing from historical evidence.
4. Select one primary stage or folded mode; if still ambiguous, block with one
   `missing_input`.
5. Load only selected-stage context and preserve repo, artifact, tracker,
  session, and validation identity.
6. Record gate profile, why rejected candidates lost, blocker taxonomy,
   freshness status, and the smallest route.
7. Hand `/goal` or resume-over-time intent to goal continuity after selection.

## Validation
Fail fast: stop at the first failed gate, fix source, and rerun that gate.

## Validation Gates
- Required: `<agent-skills-root>/bin/ask skills audit
  Plugins/harness-engineering/skills/he-router --level strict --robot`
- Required when package files change: skill gate and OpenAI format validation.
- Supporting: Plugin Eval, smoke/release evals when healthy, and
  `<agent-skills-root>/bin/ask skills prove he-router --json` for reachability.

## Evidence Requirements
- Tie routing claims to a matched rule, artifact path, tool output, or
  `missing_input`.
- Separate facts, assumptions, inferred risks, blocked gates, and runtime
  unknowns.
- Historical session evidence can explain recurrence but cannot prove current
  repo, tracker, PR, validation, or runtime state without live refresh evidence.

## Safety Boundaries
- Forbidden from router-only authority: code edits, artifact writes,
  tracker/GitHub updates, installs, deploys, secret reads, branch pruning, and
  completion claims.
- Redact secrets, credentials, tokens, private transcripts, and sensitive
  personal data by default.
- Approval required for destructive cleanup, broad edits, external writes,
  credential access, expensive network work, or irreversible recommendations.
- Safe fallback: return a blocked route with the smallest recovery step.

## Execution Boundaries
Own route classification and handoff only. Edit canonical source under this
package; never hand-edit `.agents/skills/he-router` as source.

## Failure Handling
- If the resolver is unavailable, load this package directly and mark
  resolver/proof blocked.
- If context is insufficient, ask one narrow question or return
  `confidence: blocked` with one `missing_input`.
- If instructions conflict, stop and report the conflict before routing or editing.

## Handoff Rules
Hand off only after `selected_stage`, evidence source, and next invocation are
clear. Use `../../references/subagent-call-contract.md` before helper
delegation. Use goal continuity only for explicit durable continuation.

## Gotchas
- Folded aliases are modes, not missing skills.
- Review, PR, failing-test, go/no-go, and closure-proof language is not generic
  implementation work.
- Strict audit and Plugin Eval score do not prove runtime visibility, release
  eval success, or real routing accuracy.

## Examples
- Request: "JSC-244 has a draft spec, a Linear plan note, and an open PR; choose
  whether the next HE step is plan, work, review, or eval, and name the missing
  proof." Expected: one route plus `missing_input`, not implementation.
- Request: "PR 153 merged but Linear is still In Review; route the closure-proof
  step without closing Linear or inventing validation." Expected: eval/closure
  proof handoff with external mutation blocked.

## Accessibility Requirements
Use plain text, stable field names, one recovery action for blockers, and no
color-only status.

## Context Routes
- Read when: deterministic stage choice is needed ->
  `Plugins/harness-engineering/references/routing-map.json`
- Read when: route priority or folded aliases are unclear ->
  `Plugins/harness-engineering/references/deterministic-stage-routing.md`
- Read when: broad gates could over-route ->
  `Plugins/harness-engineering/references/gate-selection-contract.md`
- Read when: terminology, ubiquitous language, or production model integrity changes routing ->
  `Plugins/harness-engineering/references/domain-model-routing.md`,
  `Plugins/harness-engineering/references/domain-model-production-contract.md`
- Read when: preserved router rules are needed ->
  `references/context-preservation.md`
- Read when: role names are involved -> `references/role-resolution-fallback.md`
- Read when: recurring waits appear -> `references/heartbeat-routing-preservation.md`
- Read when: route choice may lead to live closure or tracker mutation ->
  `../../references/closure-mutation-contract.md`

## Output Format
Emit one compact YAML or JSON object when structured output is requested.
Include one `selected_stage` or `blocker`, one `recommended_next_step`, and no
implementation plan unless the selected stage owns planning. Use
`route_preview_version: 1` and `schema_version: he-router.route-preview.v1`
for new structured handoffs.

## Confidence Reporting
Use `high` for deterministic rule plus required evidence, `medium` for
reversible inference, and `blocked` for missing input, conflict, unavailable
resolver, or unsafe authority gap.

## Stage Arc Boundary
Before artifact writes, mutation, scheduling, handoff, or closure claims, apply
`../../references/stage-arc-boundary-contract.md`. Structured outputs and
handoffs must include `stage_arc_boundary` with `left_arc`, `active_arc`,
`right_arc`, `coding_lens`, and `testing_lens`; block when left evidence is
stale, active mutation exceeds authority, right-side proof is missing, or a
required persona lens is not covered.

Deferred context index: `../../references/deferred-context-index.md`.
Apply the context-disposition policy: move important still-valid context to references, and intentionally discard stale, duplicated, unsafe, superseded, or low-signal text.
Move important still-valid context into linked references with a clear route.
Apply the context-disposition policy by moving important still-valid context to
references and intentionally discarding stale, duplicated, unsafe, superseded,
or low-signal text.