page:docs-harness-features-backlog
Harness Features Backlog: Gap Analysis (Restructured) reference
This gap analysis identifies feature gaps in the Babysitter orchestration platform from the babysitter-native perspective. All gaps are framed around what the orchestration platform needs -- not what any specific host harness (like Claude Code) provides.
Harness Features Backlog: Gap Analysis (Restructured)
Executive Summary
This gap analysis identifies feature gaps in the **Babysitter orchestration platform** from the babysitter-native perspective. All gaps are framed around what the orchestration platform needs -- not what any specific host harness (like Claude Code) provides.
This restructured version replaces the original numbered category files with a one-file-per-gap directory structure under gaps/.
Restructuring Summary
| Action | Count | Description |
|---|---|---|
| **Kept** | 40 | Original gaps retained with babysitter framing |
| **Reframed** | 37 | Good concepts reframed for babysitter orchestration model (incl. tools-capabilities) |
| **New** | 50 | Babysitter-native gaps not in original analysis |
| **Removed** | 52 | CC-centric gaps (host harness concerns, not orchestrator) |
| **Merged** | 18 | Duplicates consolidated (incl. GAP-TOOLS-013 into GAP-AGENT-001, GAP-TOOLS-015 into GAP-AGENT-005) |
Key Statistics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| **Total Gaps** | 147 |
| **Critical** | 10 |
| **High** | 67 |
| **Medium** | 62 |
| **Low** | 8 |
| **Missing** | 95 |
| **Partial** | 52 |
Effort Distribution
| Effort | Count |
|---|---|
| S (Small) | 15 |
| M (Medium) | 68 |
| L (Large) | 56 |
| XL (Extra Large) | 8 |
Category Index
| Category | Dir | Gaps | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prompt Engineering | prompt-engineering/ | 12 | Prompt strata, caching, personality, inspection, coding philosophy, tool preferences, safety, output efficiency, git safety |
| Performance | performance/ | 7 | Caching, compaction, streaming, continuity |
| Parallelization | parallelization/ | 7 | Concurrent effects, async execution, strategies |
| Observability | observability/ | 8 | Health, timeline, audit, analytics |
| Security | security/ | 7 | Governance, trust, permissions, privacy |
| Ecosystem | ecosystem/ | 5 | CC plugin compatibility, marketplace protocol, trust/blocklist, auto-update, validation |
| Agent Delegation | agent-delegation/ | 7 | Sub-harness, communication, state sharing |
| State Continuity | state-continuity/ | 5 | Memory, session state, health model |
| Remote Integration | remote-integration/ | 7 | Daemon, remote, scheduling, contracts |
| JSON Interaction | json-interaction/ | 5 | **NEW**: Programmatic API, effect protocol, streaming |
| Subagent Observability | subagent-observability/ | 5 | **NEW**: Streaming capture, progress, cost tracking |
| Harness Adaptation | harness-adaptation/ | 5 | **NEW**: Capability routing, model selection, fallback |
| Session Management | session-management/ | 5 | **NEW**: Multi-run sessions, templates, budgets |
| MCP Channels | mcp-channels/ | 4 | **NEW**: Channel messaging, permissions relay, MCP server management |
| User Experience | user-experience/ | 19 | Orchestrator UX: rich rendering (Ink/React foundation + 6 sub-gaps), interaction patterns, status, breakpoints |
| Tools & Capabilities | tools-capabilities/ | 23 | Orchestrator-delegated capabilities: tool parity (grep/bash/fetch enhancements), MCP, worktrees, planning, scheduling, skills |
| Process Composition | process-composition/ | 4 | **NEW**: Chaining, nesting, versioning, schemas |
| Effect Routing | effect-routing/ | 3 | **NEW**: Smart routing, priority, caching |
| Breakpoint Workflows | breakpoint-workflows/ | 3 | **NEW**: Approval chains, delegation, analytics |
| Run Lifecycle | run-lifecycle/ | 3 | **NEW**: Comparison, archival, forking |
| Observer Integration | observer-integration/ | 2 | **NEW**: Webhooks, external dashboard API |
| Profile Orchestration | profile-orchestration/ | 1 | **NEW**: Auto-configure from user profile |
Critical Gaps (10)
1. **GAP-PROMPT-001** -- Prompt Strata Model 2. **GAP-SEC-001** -- Governance Policy Layer 3. **GAP-PERF-001** -- Prompt Caching (Ephemeral) 4. **GAP-PERF-002** -- Session Compaction 5. **GAP-JSON-001** -- JSON API for Run Creation 6. **GAP-JSON-002** -- JSON Effect Dispatch Protocol 7. **GAP-SUBOBS-001** -- Streaming Output Capture 8. **GAP-HADAPT-001** -- Capability-Based Task Routing 9. **GAP-SESSION-001** -- Session-to-Run One-to-Many 10. **GAP-ECO-001** -- CC Plugin Compatibility Layer
What Was Removed (and Why)
The following categories of gaps were removed because they are host harness concerns, not orchestration platform concerns:
- ~~**Rich TUI/Ink/React rendering**~~ -- **RESTORED** as GAP-UX-001: babysitter's own observer dashboard, process visualization, and CLI output need rich rendering (not a host harness feature)
- **Voice mode / speech input** -- host harness feature
- **Vim mode / custom keybindings** -- host harness feature
- **Companion/buddy mode** -- host harness delight feature
- **Theme/output styling** -- host harness feature
- **Session teleport** -- CC-specific implementation
- **CC-specific tool implementations** (PowerShell, REPL, Notebook, Todo, Brief, Monitor)
- **CC-specific team/agent tools** (TeamCreate, TeamDelete, SendMessage as tool)
- **Desktop/mobile handoff, Chrome extension, IDE bridge** -- host harness features
- **Parity items** -- tools at or near parity (file R/W, edit, glob, notebook); partial-parity tools now have explicit enhancement gaps (GAP-TOOLS-035 through 038)
Related Documents
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| Roadmap | **START HERE** -- 7 milestones with dependency ordering and critical path |
| Priority Matrix | All gaps ranked by impact-to-effort ratio |
| Implementation Recommendations | Phased implementation plan |
| Prompt Phrasing Analysis | CC prompt text to adopt |
| Prompt Phrasing Implementation | Copy-paste-ready prompt sections |
| Tools Coverage Map | CC (42 tools) vs babysitter (16 tools) |
| Harness Strengths | Where babysitter excels |
| Glossary & References | Terms and file paths |
How to Use This Backlog
1. Start with the Roadmap for milestone-based execution order 2. Check the Priority Matrix for impact-to-effort ranking 3. Browse category directories under gaps/ for detailed analysis 4. Each gap file is self-contained with description, current/target state, dependencies, and recommendations