THE ANATOMY OF A PRODUCTION HARNESS (COMPONENT MAP)

CHAPTER SUMMARY A production harness is built from components, each with one clear job. The instruction manager assembles the standing rules, the context builder assembles what the model sees each step, the model adapter translates between the harness and providers, and the tool registry catalogs the tools and dispatches requests. The permission resolver decides what is allowed using written rules rather than trusting the model, the budget tracker watches time, money, and tokens, and the logger and reporter record and summarize what happened. Together they form a while-loop with a tool registry and a permission layer, and a first version should include a simple form of each job rather than skipping any. KEY TERMS REVIEW Component: a distinct piece of software with one clear job. Production: a system that real users depend on. System prompt: standing instructions placed at the start of the model's reading material. Provider: a company or service that offers access to a model. Dispatch: sending a request to the right handler. Budget: a limit on how much of a resource a run may use. Logger: the component that records what happens during a run. Reporter: the component that turns a run's record into a short summary for a person.