CLI Reference

Rigger ships a rigger command with three subcommands. When invoked without a subcommand, it defaults to run.

`rigger run`

Run the harness loop.

rigger                          # default — same as rigger run
rigger run                      # explicit
rigger run --config my.yaml     # custom config path (default: harness.yaml)
rigger run --dry-run            # parse and validate config without executing
rigger run --force              # override existing lock file
rigger run -v                   # verbose logging (DEBUG level)

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	All tasks completed successfully
1	Harness halted (BLOCK, ESCALATE, or max retries exhausted)
2	Max epochs reached without completion
3	Configuration error (invalid YAML, unknown types, missing params)
4	Lock conflict (another harness instance is running)

Lock file

When a harness starts, it writes harness.lock in the project root. This prevents two instances from running concurrently. Use --force to override a stale lock.

`rigger status`

Display current harness state from the .harness/ directory.

rigger status

Shows epoch count, completed/pending tasks, progress percentage, halted status, and lock info.

`rigger init`

Generate a starter harness.yaml or copy a built-in template.

rigger init                         # generate starter harness.yaml
rigger init -o custom.yaml          # custom output path
rigger init --template gsd          # copy the gsd template
rigger init --template openai       # copy the openai template
rigger init --list-templates        # list available templates

Built-in templates

Template	Description
`gsd`	Minimal get-shit-done config — test suite as sole gate, no extras
`openai`	Multi-agent OpenAI-style harness with AGENTS.md, conventions, and design docs

Templates copy all relevant files (YAML, task definitions, docs) into the current directory.

Global options

These options are available on all subcommands:

Option	Description
`--config PATH`	Path to harness.yaml (default: `harness.yaml`)
`--force`	Override existing lock file
`-v`, `--verbose`	Increase log verbosity to DEBUG
`--dry-run`	Parse and validate config without running
`--version`	Show version and exit