{
  "slug": "railway-code-explicit-harness-launches-default-to-fresh-vms-and-use-native-clien-a76c4733f3cb",
  "title": "railway code explicit harness launches default to fresh VMs and use native clients",
  "tools": [
    "railway"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "agent"
  ],
  "introduced_at": "2026-09-11T21:20:01.000Z",
  "announced_at": "2026-09-11T21:20:01.000Z",
  "effective_at": null,
  "date_basis": "source-publication",
  "status": "unknown",
  "how": {
    "incantation": "When launching with an explicit harness flag, `railway code` creates a fresh VM by default. Use `connect [agent]` to reconnect to an existing backend, `--agent <name-or-id>` to select an agent for setup, or `railway ca ssh <agent>` for a shell; resume a remote Codex thread with `/resume` or select it in the CA sidebar.",
    "examples": [
      "railway code --opencode2 --name my-box",
      "railway code --codex connect <agent>",
      "railway ca ssh <agent>"
    ],
    "gotchas": [
      "Version: v5.53.0",
      "--codex, --opencode, --opencode2, --claude, --grok, --railway (required): Select the harness; each explicit harness flag starts a fresh VM by default. Choose the flag for the desired harness.",
      "connect [agent]: Reconnect to an existing backend; the agent name or ID can be supplied to target it.",
      "--agent <name-or-id>: Select an existing agent for explicit server setup.",
      "--new: Accepted but optional when launching with an explicit harness flag.",
      "remote: A harness launch in remote mode; fresh VM default applies.",
      "desktop-only: Codex Desktop-only setup mode; fresh VM default applies.",
      "--: Passes subsequent arguments to the harness; fresh VM default applies to harness arguments after it.",
      "<agent> (required): Agent name or ID for `railway ca ssh`; opens a login shell.",
      "/resume: Codex command to reopen a remote thread.",
      "Prerequisite: Authenticate with a Railway account using `railway login` before using the CLI.",
      "Fresh VM defaults apply to explicit harness flags, including `remote`, Codex `desktop-only`, and harness arguments after `--`.",
      "Bare launches and shared CA/Desktop provisioning retain their existing targeting behavior.",
      "If the matching local terminal client is missing, Railway offers to install it; declining, Esc, or Ctrl+C at the prompt leaves the server running and prints connection details.",
      "An occupied port or a different running project directory requires another agent."
    ]
  },
  "why_it_matters": "Launch a cloud coding agent with a selected harness and work with its remote conversations.",
  "sources": [
    "https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/releases/tag/v5.53.0",
    "https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/pull/1193",
    "https://github.com/railwayapp/cli/blob/v5.53.0/README.md"
  ],
  "rank": 0.9106,
  "judge": {
    "publish": true,
    "judge_model": "codex-cli/gpt-6-luna+typesafe/jev-1.13.0",
    "prompt_version": "extract-v7+enrich-v2+judge-v2x3+jev-publish-v1"
  },
  "review_state": "approved",
  "provenance": {
    "run_id": "wave1-20261014",
    "verdict_id": "wave1-20261014:wave1-20261014-982142bda82e6794-0:gate",
    "evidence_hash": "555406c842530376b30f321a0edbbb6a90f338bcfde0579126b1a0ec671b51de"
  },
  "review": {
    "draft_hash": "5d2102e1cfcffa4abf0d58a1eddf7fb7aa3b6ef650e2027aece7bb41ba2b2dfc",
    "reviewer": "publication-gate",
    "reviewed_at": "2026-10-07T00:00:00.000Z",
    "decision": "wave1-20261014:gate",
    "reason": "2 of 3 judge runs approved with p_yes >= 0.9 (mean 0.91 >= 0.9; 2 needed) and Jev gave 0.72 (>= 0.6 needed)."
  }
}