# Harness Maintain

> Orchestrate the MAINTAIN phase — understand the codebase (if unfamiliar) then safely remove dead code, duplication, and tech debt. Use after shipping or on an accumulating codebase. Sequences /onboard and /refactor-clean, delegates to the harness-claude:refactor-cleaner agent, and halts before ambiguous deletions.

- Skill: `vasuag09/harness-maintain` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add vasuag09/harness-maintain`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/vasuag09/harness-maintain/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: vasuag09 (https://skillmd.com/u/vasuag09)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/vasuag09/harness-maintain

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# /harness-maintain — run the Maintain phase

Thin orchestrator over the Maintain skills. Behavior-preserving by default.

## Sequence

1. **`/harness-claude:onboard`** — **only if** the codebase is unfamiliar or you've been away from it.
   Build a lean codemap (structure, entry points, conventions, where things live) so
   cleanup is safe. If you already know the codebase, **skip** and say so.

2. **`/harness-claude:refactor-clean`** — **delegate to the `harness-claude:refactor-cleaner` agent**:
   - Find candidates with analyzers (knip/depcheck/ts-prune/ruff/vulture) or the graph.
   - **Confirm truly unused before deleting** (all references, dynamic usage).
   - Consolidate duplication (DRY); split files >800 lines by responsibility.
   - Small reversible steps; run tests/build after each.

3. **Ambiguity gate:** if a deletion or consolidation is non-obvious or could change
   behavior, **HALT** — report it and let the user decide. When a "cleanup" turns into a
   redesign, route to `/harness-claude:architect` instead.

## Rules
- Behavior-preserving only. No feature/API changes unless asked.
- Never delete something you didn't confirm unused.
- Keep diffs reviewable. Do not run git write operations.

## Output
What was removed/consolidated (with reference checks), what was deliberately left, and
confirmation tests/build still pass.