DeepSeek Harness SDK is a plugin-based agent harness on vendored Cordis: **everything is a plugin**. Read [docs/architecture.md](docs/architecture.md) before changing `packages/`; follow [docs/AGENTS.md](docs/AGENTS.md) for documentation.
**Remove this section at the first tagged release.** With no external consumers, prefer the correct foundation over compatibility shims: rename or repackage freely and update every reference together. Backends reject old on-disk formats. SQLite uses monotonic `SCHEMA_VERSION`; `dsh-session` keeps `SESSION_FORMAT_VERSION` at `0` with no compatibility promise.
Run narrow checks during implementation and this CI-equivalent sequence before marking a PR ready. Fresh worktrees need `pnpm run build` before publint and NodeNext inspect `lib/`:
Real-API tests read `DEEPSEEK_API_KEY` and optional `DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL` from the environment or gitignored root `.env`. cordis.yml uses `!!js` (never `!js`) for env vars. Never commit credentials. CI e2e self-skips without a key; [docs/testing.md](docs/testing.md) owns the with-key policy.
- Every npm package is `@deepseek-ai/dsh-<name>`; vendored packages keep upstream names and are `private: true`. `cordis` is a peerDependency (+ dev) of every harness package.
- ESM everywhere (`"type": "module"`). Cross-package imports use package names, never relative paths; in-package relative imports use explicit `.ts` extensions. Dev/test/demo run unbuilt via tsx + the root tsconfig `paths` map; builds are for outside consumers only.
- **Waterfall listeners MUST call `next()`** to delegate; returning without it is the veto ([semantics](docs/cordis-primer.md#cordis-waterfall-semantics)).
- **Model-visible ⟺ logged**: anything that reaches a model request must be reconstructable from the session log; a new model-visible input requires a session event.
- **Explicit > implicit at package seams**: defaulting is an explicit `resolve(request): Spec` step in the owning implementation, never a hidden `?? default` inside `run()` (the `dsh-bash` request/spec split is the template).
- **Tests describe behavior, not correctness.** Change obsolete behavior with its tests; explain why in the PR.
- **Validate RFC premises against current code** and amend proposals before moving them to `implemented/`.
- **Testing policy** — [docs/testing.md](docs/testing.md). Transcript changes need snapshots or a PR note. Fixtures must replay on macOS/Linux; fix fixtures, not normalizers.
- **A tool's ACP render intent is part of its design**, decided up front (`generic`/`terminal`/`diff`, `locations`); presentation methods are pure functions of `args` ([cookbook](docs/cookbook/adding-a-tool.md)).
- **Plan unit, e2e, and snapshot coverage** for new seams, lifecycle shapes, and transcript surfaces.
- **Merge PRs with merge commits**, never squash/rebase or rewrite pushed branches. Put a review fix on its introducing PR, then merge down the stack ([guide](docs/cookbook/responding-to-pr-review-on-a-stack.md)).
Everything compiles under `strict: true` with `noImplicitAny`; every remaining `any` explains why a narrower type is infeasible. Every module and export has concise JSDoc for its non-obvious contract; function-like exports include `@param`/`@returns`, as enforced by `verify-export-jsdoc`. Heritage-declared members, plugin-protocol slots, and constructors keep their docs at the declaring seam, protocol, or class.
Comments and docs record contracts, not the author's reasoning process. Do not narrate control flow, walk through tests, list rejected local alternatives, preserve review history, or restate code; delete an obvious comment and link to the one durable rationale home when more context is needed. Encode enforceable invariants in checks, using narrow justified escape hatches rather than disabling a rule globally.
Docs are part of every change: code changes update their README and JSDoc in the SAME change; a bilingual-pair edit updates the counterpart and re-records ([i18n contract](docs/i18n/README.md)). The writing rules — document the current state never the history, one physical line per paragraph, one home per fact — and the word-budget gate live in [docs/AGENTS.md](docs/AGENTS.md).
`CLAUDE.md` symlinks `AGENTS.md` at root, `packages/`, and `examples/`; edit the real file. Keep rules self-contained, link high-level docs, and condense before changing the `verify-doc-budgets` ceiling.
`vendor/` packages are pinned source copies (manifest with upstream SHAs in [vendor/README.md](vendor/README.md)). Update via the sync procedure there; re-apply or retire the logged local modifications; rerun `pnpm run test && pnpm run build`.