Dan Vernon
Work
Open source2025

hx

Local-first coding harness sync across every machine.

  • Rust
  • Developer tooling
  • Agent infrastructure

Problem

Coding-agent instructions, skills, prompts and configuration quickly drift across laptops, remote servers and different harnesses. Copying files by hand makes it difficult to see which version is authoritative or what will change on the next machine.
Terminal showing the hx CLI scanning coding harness configuration and applying a synchronisation plan.
scanning harnesses…
hx previews and applies coding harness changes across machines.

System

hx is a Rust CLI that scans supported coding harnesses, builds an explicit synchronisation plan and applies selected changes across local and remote machines. Team Mode adds approved profiles, policy distribution and metadata-only audit without copying private file contents into a central service.

Decision

A deliberate plan and apply workflow over hidden sync

Background synchronisation would be convenient, but too opaque for files that govern agent behaviour. hx previews every change, uses hash preflights before writing and records enough state to roll back. Synchronisation stays local-first and observable.

Demonstrates

A developer product that combines a focused CLI, safe distributed change application and a credible path from open-source utility to team governance.