Initialize Existing Project
When connecting an existing project, the primary principle is safety: do not overwrite project-maintained files.
Recommended Commands
fe-harness init --dry-run
fe-harness plan init --json
fe-harness init
fe-harness hosts install
fe-harness inspect --map
fe-harness doctor
fe-harness audit
fe-harness validate
fe-harness optimize --dry-runinit automatically runs idempotency verification after writing. hosts install uses managed blocks with stable IDs to install multi-host thin entrypoints (codex/opencode/claude/cursor/trae) without overwriting existing content.
Pre-check Status
Initialization plan categorizes files into:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
create | Target file doesn't exist, can create |
unchanged | File exists with identical content |
managed_unchanged | Scaffold-managed file unmodified |
project_owned_modified | Project-maintained, cannot directly overwrite |
conflict | Real conflict, must be handled manually |
If there's any conflict, init won't write any files.
Why Be Conservative
Existing project's directory structure, scripts, styles, and agent rules may already carry real business experience. Harness's responsibility is to supplement engineering protocols, not replace project ownership.
Conservative connection allows teams to adopt gradually:
- First supplement
.fe-harness/project.yaml. - Then supplement input directories and project docs.
- Then enable Doctor and verify.
- Finally enable Design Token, OpenAPI, or UI System per task.
First Thing After Connection
After connecting an existing project, run existing visual discovery:
fe-harness design tokens discover --json
fe-harness design tokens inspect --jsonDiscovery command read-only scans Vue/CSS/SCSS/Less under src/, outputs CSS Variables, high-frequency colors, fonts, spacing, radii, shadows, sizes, layers, animations, and breakpoint candidates. After confirmation, update the unique Token truth.
Token definitions must follow fixed source priority: high-fidelity UI, RP, user temporary visual requirements, project existing tokens, DESIGN principles, Harness defaults, Agent inference. See Design Token.