git:20260825.9516eab to git:20260907.97cb78b

19 added, 17 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: frontier-harness-research

description: Research process for comparing frontier harnesses (Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw, autoresearch, Prime Agent) with the original/upstream implementation and performing GAP analysis before feature implementation. Triggered by "research" ("리서치"), "gap", "frontier", "harness", "case study" ("사례 조사"), "pattern exploration" ("패턴 탐색"), "comparative analysis" ("비교 분석") keywords.

---

# Frontier Harness Research — Comparative Research Process

> **Purpose**: Before implementing a feature, compare relevant frontier harnesses and the original/upstream implementation, then establish design decision rationale for GEODE application.

- > **When to apply**: Must be performed during Implementation Workflow Step 1 (Research → Plan).

+ > **When to apply**: The user requests a comparison, or an external contract or

+ > architectural choice needs evidence. Ordinary fixes using an established

+ > local pattern do not require a multi-system survey.

## Research Sources

|---|--------|------|-------------------|----------------------|

## Research Process

### Step 1: Topic Definition

Define the feature to implement in one line and extract related keywords.

```

Example:

Topic: "Model Failover automation"

Keywords: failover, fallback, retry, circuit breaker, model switching

```

### Step 2: Relevant-Source Pattern Exploration

- Explore patterns related to the topic in each system. **Read the skill file first if available**, otherwise extract from built-in knowledge.

+ Explore only systems relevant to the decision. Read applicable local skills for

+ source routing, then verify external claims against current primary docs or

+ pinned source. Recalled knowledge supplies search terms, not verification;

+ report unavailable evidence without inventing a capability.

#### 2a. Claude Code Pattern Exploration

| Exploration Area | Checkpoints |

|-----------------|-------------|

| Permission Model | allowlist/denylist, auto-approve, fallback after denial |

| Hook System | pre/post tool hooks, settings.json-based automation |

| Memory | CLAUDE.md, project memory, auto-memory |

| Skill System | skill discovery, trigger keywords, 4-tier priority |

| Context Management | sliding window, compression, token management |

| UI Patterns | status line, progress indicators, error display |

| Safety | HITL tiers, bash safety, dangerous tool gates |

#### 2b. Codex Pattern Exploration

| Exploration Area | Checkpoints |

|-----------------|-------------|

| Sandbox Execution | Isolated environment, filesystem restrictions, network restrictions |

| TDD Loop | test-first, red-green-refactor, automated verification |

| PR Workflow | Branch creation, change summary, review request |

| Multi-file Editing | Dependency tracking, consistency maintenance, refactoring scope |

| Task Decomposition | Complex task breakdown, sequential/parallel determination |

#### 2c. OpenClaw Pattern Exploration (see `openclaw-patterns` skill)

| Exploration Area | Checkpoints |

|-----------------|-------------|

| Gateway + Agent dual system | Control plane vs execution plane separation |

| Session Key hierarchy | `agent:{id}:{context}` format session isolation |

| Binding routing | Most-Specific Wins, static rules, hot reload |

| Lane Queue | Session/Global/Subagent Lane concurrency control |

| Sub-agent Spawn+Announce | Isolated execution, automatic result injection |

| 4-tier automation | Heartbeat, Cron, Internal Hooks, Gateway Hooks |

| Plugin architecture | Channel/Tool/Skill/Hook — 4 extension points |

| Policy Chain | 6-layer tool access control |

| Failover | Auth Rotation, Thinking Fallback, Context Overflow, Model Failover |

| Operational patterns | Coalescing, Atomic Store, Run Log, Hot Reload, Stuck Detection |

#### 2d. autoresearch Pattern Exploration (see `karpathy-patterns` skill)

| Exploration Area | Checkpoints |

|-----------------|-------------|

| P1 Constraint-based design | Define "what cannot be done" first |

| P2 Single-file constraint | Minimize modification surface area |

| P3 Fixed time budget | Limit by wall clock, not steps |

| P4 Ratchet mechanism | Keep only improvements, auto-revert on degradation |

| P5 Git as State Machine | Commit=experiment, reset=discard |

| P6 Context Budget | Redirect + selective extraction |

| P7 program.md | Agent behavior change = instruction document modification |

| P10 Simplicity Selection | Code deletion improvement > code addition improvement |

#### 2e. Prime Agent Pattern Exploration

| Exploration Area | Checkpoints |

|-----------------|-------------|

| Recursive Language Model | Persistent REPL, programmatic context access, subagent calls |

| Continual Harness | Prompt, subagent, skill, and memory CRUD from trajectory evidence |

| Long-horizon operation | Goal, heartbeat, autonomous continuation, explicit budgets and gates |

| Evaluation discipline | Same-model harness comparison, native-harness baseline, token and score accounting |

| Failure analysis | Reward hacking, verifier boundary, harness/model co-adaptation |

#### 2f. Original / Upstream Implementation Exploration

| Exploration Area | Checkpoints |

|-----------------|-------------|

| Native authority | Pinned repository/version, official docs, canonical entry point |

| Benchmark invariants | Prompt, task data, assets, workspace, tools, scorer/verifier, stop conditions |

| Reference evidence | Official result, run configuration, seeds/repeats, metric denominator |

| Adapter parity | Same agent/model/config on original and adapted paths; deviations documented |

| Provenance | Original source and adapter code remain distinguishable and auditable |

### Step 3: GAP Analysis

Compare exploration results against GEODE's current state to identify GAPs.

```

Output format:

|---|---------|--------|-------------|-----|----------|

```

### Step 4: Design Decisions

Select items to implement from GAP analysis results and document design decision rationale.

**Decision Criteria:**

| Criterion | Application |

|-----------|-------------|

- | Same pattern in 3+ systems | → Must adopt |

- | Similar pattern in 2 systems | → Extract core, adapt for GEODE context |

- | Exists in only 1 system | → Verify necessity before deciding |

+ | Pattern appears in several systems | Compare the failure it solves and whether GEODE has that failure; prevalence alone does not require adoption |

+ | Pattern appears in one system | Evaluate the same consumer, failure, and verification evidence; source count alone does not reject it |

| Over-engineering risk | → Apply Karpathy P10, implement minimally |

| Conflicts with existing GEODE patterns | → Existing pattern takes priority, gradual transition |

| Benchmark integration or platform adapter | → Preserve original semantics and require parity evidence before equivalence claims |

### Step 5: Plan Document Writing

- Write a plan document in `docs/plans/`. Research result summary must be included.

+ Record the decision in the existing task plan or PR. Use a `docs/plans/` document

+ when durable research detail warrants one; do not create a second plan merely

+ to satisfy this skill.

```markdown

# Plan: [Feature Name]

## Frontier Research Summary

|--------|----------------|----------|-----------|

| Claude Code | ... | Adopt/Adapt/Reject | ... |

| Codex | ... | Adopt/Adapt/Reject | ... |

| OpenClaw | ... | Adopt/Adapt/Reject | ... |

| autoresearch | ... | Adopt/Adapt/Reject | ... |

| Prime Agent | ... | Adopt/Adapt/Reject | ... |

| Original / upstream | ... | Preserve/Adapt/N/A | ... |

## Design Decisions

...

## Implementation Phases

...

```

## Research Checklist

- Verify the following before feature implementation:

+ For the selected research scope, verify:

- [ ] Topic keywords defined

- - [ ] Claude Code pattern exploration complete

- - [ ] Codex pattern exploration complete

- - [ ] OpenClaw pattern exploration complete (see `openclaw-patterns` skill)

- - [ ] autoresearch pattern exploration complete (see `karpathy-patterns` skill)

- - [ ] Prime Agent pattern exploration complete or marked N/A

+ - [ ] Relevant systems selected and primary evidence cited; irrelevant systems omitted

- [ ] Original/upstream source pinned and native invariants checked

- [ ] Adapter parity requirement recorded for benchmark integration or platform adapter

- [ ] GAP analysis table written

- [ ] Design decision rationale documented

- - [ ] Research summary included in docs/plans/ plan document

+ - [ ] Decision and limitations recorded in the existing task artifact

## Notes

- - **Research is performed before implementation.** Even if patterns are discovered during implementation, do not go back — improve in the next iteration.

+ - **Ground the affected decision before implementation.** If later evidence changes it, revise the plan and verify the affected behavior before proceeding.

- **Not every frontier system is relevant.** Mark irrelevant systems "N/A"; the original/upstream source is mandatory whenever one exists.

- **Always read skill files first if they exist.** The `openclaw-patterns` and `karpathy-patterns` skills already contain distilled patterns, preventing redundant exploration.

- - **Prevent over-research**: Research time must not exceed implementation time. Apply Karpathy P3 (fixed time budget).

+ - **Prevent over-research**: Stop once the decision is supported or the missing evidence is identified. Respect the task's time and cost budget.