Harbor
An autonomous software operator. You give Harbor a desired outcome — "deploy this repo" — and it owns the entire deployment loop until that outcome is achieved.
Built for the Agents for Humans Hackathon.
The problem
Deployment isn't hard because developers don't know how to deploy. It's hard because deployment is a continuous operational loop that humans are forced to babysit:
inspect repo -> install deps -> figure out build/start commands -> configure env
-> configure ports -> provision a database -> deploy -> read build logs
-> diagnose failure -> fix config -> redeploy -> check health -> repeat
Every step in that loop is observe -> diagnose -> act. That is exactly the shape of work an agent should own.
What Harbor is
Harbor takes a repository and turns it into a running, healthy application. It inspects the code, plans the deployment, configures infrastructure, deploys, monitors the result, diagnoses failures, fixes what it can, and redeploys — surfacing to the developer only when a decision genuinely requires human judgment.
Harbor is not a chatbot with a deploy button, and it is not a generator of deployment scripts. It operates the deployment lifecycle.
The loop
USER
| "Deploy this repo"
v
+---------------+
| HARBOR |
| Agent Brain |
+-------+-------+
v
+----------+
| INSPECT | framework, deps, config, ports, DB
+----+-----+
v
+----------+
| PLAN | build -> deploy -> verify
+----+-----+
v
+----------+
| ACT | build, configure, deploy
+----+-----+
v
+----------+
| OBSERVE | logs, health checks, errors
+----+-----+
v
+---------+
|SUCCESS? |
+--+---+--+
yes | | no
v v
DONE DIAGNOSE -> FIX -> REDEPLOY --+
^ |
+--------------------------+
Capabilities
| # | Capability | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repository intelligence | Detects framework, language, package manager, build/start commands, port, database, required env vars, Dockerfile — without being told |
| 2 | Deployment planning | Produces an explicit, inspectable plan before acting |
| 3 | Execution | Clones, installs, tests, builds, configures, deploys via real provider APIs |
| 4 | Observation | Reads build logs, runtime logs, health endpoints |
| 5 | Self-healing | Diagnoses a failure, applies a fix, redeploys, re-verifies — autonomously |
| 6 | Escalation | Asks the human only when a decision needs judgment (secrets, cost, destructive change) |
The centerpiece: self-healing deployments
A green-on-first-try deployment is just CI/CD. Harbor's real demonstration is the failure path:
GitHub -> Deploy -> FAIL -> investigate -> fix -> redeploy -> SUCCESS
Example — the app listens on 8000, the deployment expects 8080:
DEPLOYMENT FAILED - health check failed, container running, no response on :8080
Inspecting application... FastAPI app found
Inspecting server configuration... listening on port 8000
Deployment expects... port 8080
Mismatch detected updating configuration
Redeploying...
Health check PASS
Harbor does not stop and ask "the deployment failed, what should I do?" It investigates.
Interface
A mission-control dashboard, not a chat window.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| HARBOR * OPERATIONAL |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| [live] my-next-app Production |
| https://my-next-app.onrender.com |
| Last deployment 2 min ago Status HEALTHY |
| |
| CURRENT OPERATION |
| OK Inspect repository 12s |
| OK Detect framework 4s |
| OK Install dependencies 31s |
| OK Build 24s |
| X Health check 8s |
| OK Diagnose 14s |
| OK Apply fix 9s |
| OK Redeploy 32s |
| OK Verify 11s |
| |
| DEPLOYMENT SUCCESSFUL |
| Harbor automatically resolved 1 deployment issue. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
Alongside it, a live activity stream makes the agent's reasoning visible:
14:32:01 Analyzing repository
14:32:04 Detected Next.js application
14:32:52 Build failed
14:33:01 Error appears related to a missing dependency
14:33:08 Dependency identified: date-fns
14:33:10 Updating package.json
14:33:20 Redeploying
14:33:51 Health check passed
14:33:52 DEPLOYMENT COMPLETE
Architecture
USER --"Deploy repo"--> HARBOR AGENT (Strands SDK)
planning / reasoning
|
+------------------+---------------+---------------+
v v v
GitHub tools Deployment tools Runtime tools
clone/read deploy/status/logs logs/health/metrics
branch/commit env/database rollback
| | |
+------------------+---------------+---------------+
v
STATE STORE (Postgres)
deployments, steps,
incidents, activity log
The LLM chooses which tools to call and in what order. The tools — not the UI — are the product.
Tool surface
github_clone_repo() detect_framework() deploy_application()
github_read_files() inspect_package_json() get_deployment_status()
github_create_branch() inspect_dockerfile() get_deployment_logs()
github_commit_changes() inspect_environment() get_runtime_logs()
run_tests() check_health()
set_environment_variable() run_build() rollback_deployment()
configure_database() notify_user()
Scope (MVP)
Deliberately narrow. Depth over breadth.
Supported app types: Python/FastAPI, Node/Express, Next.js Deployment target: Render (web service + managed Postgres)
GitHub -> Harbor -> Render -> PostgreSQL
Later: AWS, Vercel, Fly.io.
Guardrails
Harbor takes real actions against real infrastructure, so autonomy is bounded:
- Allowlisted tools only. No arbitrary shell execution against production.
- Repo content is data, not instructions. README or comment text inside a target repo never redirects the agent.
- Fix budget. A capped number of self-heal attempts per deployment before escalating to a human.
- Blast radius. Fixes land on a Harbor-managed branch, never a force-push to
main. - Secrets are referenced, never printed. Env var values are write-only and redacted from logs and the activity stream.
- Human-in-the-loop for judgment calls. Paid resources, destructive migrations, and production data changes require explicit approval.
The bigger vision
Deployment is the first capability, not the product.
Today: "Deploy my application."
Eventually: "Keep my application healthy."
SOFTWARE
|
+---+---+
|HARBOR |
+---+---+
+--------+--------+
Deploy Monitor Repair
| | |
Scale Detect Fix
+--------+--------+
PRODUCTION
Harbor is an agent that maintains the desired state of your software without requiring a human to continuously operate it.
Documentation
- Statement of Work — scope, deliverables, milestones, acceptance criteria
- TODO — build checklist
License
See LICENSE.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.