HarnessTap Desktop

HarnessTap Desktop is a Tauri app that talks to a bundled ht-agent sidecar. It uses the same local library as the CLI — ~/.harnesstap (override with HARNESSTAP_HOME) — so profiles, plugins, environments, and apply state stay in one place.

You do not need a global ht install to run Desktop. The sidecar is compiled into the app and started locally on launch.

Install

Download the latest installer for your machine from /download. That page detects the browser host and points at the latest GitHub Release of harnesstap/harnesstap — not a pinned version.

See Getting started for OS-specific install steps, first launch, and the account drawer.

Workspaces

Header destinations in the app:

• Library — plugin packages and items in one list. Inspect definitions, create resources, import from a project or skill package, and Apply a package from its detail view (named-plugin apply, not Project Install).
• Environments — reusable env vars, secrets, model configs, and permissions. Set one as the global environment.
• Global — machine-wide profiles (home harness files). The init-seeded profile is named global default and is Global-only. Rail Switch applies the selected profile to this view.
• Project — repo-scoped profiles. Desktop can seed a Project-only project default when you add a project. The Project header includes a directory picker, Install (same loop as ht install), and apply-history. After apply, switch, or Project Install, parked executables can leave a yellow pending-approvals strip — apply is not fully green in that case. See Project workspace.
• Sources — discovery sidebar grouped into Local, Marketplaces, and Cloud (connected orgs and registered catalogs). An All sources checkbox selects or clears every source.
• Settings — Harnesses (main and alias harnesses, optional project override), Project (in-app raw apm.yml editor plus a project directory picker; Save validates and refuses on errors), and Advanced (resolve-order / pin last-applied resource winners).
• Account — optional HarnessTap Cloud sign-in and org switch. Local work does not require Cloud.

Marketplaces and publish catalogs are registered from Sources (add/edit marketplace, connect or register a catalog). Plugins already pinned stay installed if you unregister a marketplace.

How it relates to the CLI

Desktop and the CLI share:

• The SQLite library at ~/.harnesstap/harnesstap.db
• Optional settings in ~/.harnesstap/config.jsonc
• Profiles, plugins, environments, apply, and marketplace pins

Use whichever surface fits the task. Compose and apply in Desktop; automate the same library from the terminal with ht apply, ht profile, and ht plugin.

Next steps

• Getting started — install, first launch, Cloud sign-in
• Project workspace — Project Install, pending approvals, apm.yml editor
• CLI getting started — terminal install and first apply
• Cloud getting started — account, org, first published plugin