Dotnet Agent Harness Offline

Offline Mode

Enable offline operation with local skill and MCP caching.

Activation

# Set offline mode
export DOTNET_HARNESS_OFFLINE=true

# Or use flag
rulesync generate --offline
```text
## Cache Structure

```text
.dotnet-agent-harness/
├── cache/
│   ├── skills/          # Cached skill content
│   ├── mcp-responses/   # Cached MCP responses
│   └── registry/        # Cached registry data
└── index.json           # Search index

Workflow

1. Online Sync (when connected):

   dotnet-agent-harness:sync-cache
   

2. Offline Operation:

   • Uses cached skills exclusively
   • MCP servers return cached responses
   • Search uses local index

Configuration

{
  "offline": {
    "enabled": false,
    "cachePath": ".dotnet-agent-harness/cache",
    "maxCacheAge": "7d",
    "fallbackEnabled": true
  }
}

Commands

• dotnet-agent-harness:sync-cache - Sync cache from remote
• dotnet-agent-harness:clear-cache - Clear local cache
• dotnet-agent-harness:cache-status - Show cache statistics

MCP Fallback

When offline:

• Serena: Uses cached symbol data
• Context7: Returns cached library docs
• Microsoft Learn: Serves from local cache

Best Practices

1. Sync before travel/air-gapped work
2. Keep cache under 500MB
3. Clear stale cache weekly
4. Use selective caching for large projects

Troubleshooting

Cache Miss: Run dotnet-agent-harness:sync-cache Stale Data: Clear and re-sync Large Cache: Exclude heavy MCP servers

Code Navigation (Serena MCP)

Primary approach: Use Serena symbol operations for efficient code navigation:

1. Find definitions: serena_find_symbol instead of text search
2. Understand structure: serena_get_symbols_overview for file organization
3. Track references: serena_find_referencing_symbols for impact analysis
4. Precise edits: serena_replace_symbol_body for clean modifications

When to use Serena vs traditional tools:

• Use Serena: Navigation, refactoring, dependency analysis, precise edits
• Use Read/Grep: Reading full files, pattern matching, simple text operations
• Fallback: If Serena unavailable, traditional tools work fine

Example workflow:

# Instead of:
Read: src/Services/OrderService.cs
Grep: "public void ProcessOrder"

# Use:
serena_find_symbol: "OrderService/ProcessOrder"
serena_get_symbols_overview: "src/Services/OrderService.cs"