page:docs-harness-features-backlog-gaps-prompt-engineering-gap-prompt-003
GAP-PROMPT-003: Runtime Personality Overlays reference
Adapt prompt personality and style per orchestration mode (interactive, headless, resume, worker, plan-only) so that harness behavior matches the operational context.
GAP-PROMPT-003: Runtime Personality Overlays
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Category | prompt-engineering |
| Priority | Medium |
| Effort | M |
| Status | Partial |
Description
Adapt prompt personality and style per orchestration mode (interactive, headless, resume, worker, plan-only) so that harness behavior matches the operational context.
Current State
Interactive/non-interactive/resume prompts exist but are bespoke. The wrapper aliases (harness:plan, harness:yolo, harness:forever) imply different modes but prompt adaptation is minimal.
Target State
Formal personality overlays per mode. A plan overlay emphasizes exploration and analysis. A yolo overlay emphasizes speed and action. A resume overlay emphasizes context restoration. A worker overlay emphasizes task focus and output quality.
Dependencies
- GAP-PROMPT-001 -- strata model for overlay placement
Key Files
| Component | Path |
|---|---|
| Prompts module | packages/sdk/src/prompts/ |
| Instructions CLI | packages/sdk/src/cli/ |
| CC prompt phrasing analysis | `11-prompt-phrasing-analysis.md` -- Section 10 (Proactive Mode) and Section 8 (Compaction Protocol) document personality-varying prompt patterns |
Recommendation
Phase 3 implementation. Define personality overlay templates per mode and inject them into the runtime stratum during prompt composition.