Claude Code didn't get worse. The harness did. And that ends one of the most common AI complaints of 2026.

📰 Dev.to · Anil Kurmi

Learn how the harness, not Claude Code, was the cause of poor performance and how to apply this insight to your own AI projects

intermediate Published 16 May 2026

Action Steps

Analyze your AI system's harness to identify potential bottlenecks
Optimize the harness for better performance using techniques like caching and parallel processing
Test and evaluate the impact of harness optimization on your AI system's performance
Compare the results of harness optimization with other potential causes of poor performance
Apply the insights gained from harness optimization to other areas of your AI project

Who Needs to Know This

Developers and AI engineers can benefit from understanding the importance of the harness in AI performance, and how to optimize it for better results

Key Insight

💡 The harness, not the AI model itself, can be the cause of poor performance, and optimizing it can lead to significant improvements