Overview
Harden (Agentic Integrity Foundation, or AIF) is a local security layer that sits in front of AI coding agents and inspects every tool call before it runs. As agents gain the ability to read files, run commands, install dependencies, and push to production, a single bad judgment or poisoned input can do real damage — deleting directories, hardcoding tokens, or running untrusted scripts. Harden’s proprietary cybersecurity-focused models run on your laptop and evaluate each call against your request and session context, then allow, steer-safe, block, or record it. It works with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Kiro, Antigravity CLI, and OpenClaw, and the core pre-execution secret-flow blocking is free forever with no account. In our evaluation the value is real for any agent that touches real credentials or infrastructure: one install command, local enforcement, and a free floor that never expires. The honest caveat is that its effectiveness depends on how deep the enforcement goes — a block is a guardrail, a prompt is just a reminder.
Key Features
- Pre-execution tool-call inspection — every supported agent action is analyzed before it executes, not after the damage is done.
- Secret-flow blocking — detects when an agent is about to hardcode a token, write to .env, or expose credentials, and stops it on-machine.
- Local-first, private — proprietary models run on your laptop; repository code and tool output never leave the machine.
- Allow / steer-safe / block / record — granular decisions with safe retry and a local audit view with no retention cap.
- Broad agent compatibility — validated against Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Kiro, Antigravity CLI, and OpenClaw, rechecked each release.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | For |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 forever | Individual developers; core secret-flow blocking, no account, no card |
| Enterprise | Custom | Compliance reporting, air-gap / zero-telemetry, MDM install, SLAs |
Comparison
vs. Claude Code: Claude Code is the agent Harden protects — it can run commands and edit files autonomously, which is exactly the risk surface AIF guards. You do not choose one over the other; you run Harden alongside Claude Code to add a local checkpoint over its tool calls.
vs. Cursor: Cursor’s agent mode also executes edits and terminal commands, and Harden lists it among validated agents. The difference is that Cursor is the workspace and Harden is the enforcement layer watching its actions. Add Harden when Cursor’s agent touches real infra or secrets.
vs. OpenCode: OpenCode is the open-source coding-agent harness; Harden explicitly supports it and treats agent autonomy as the reason a security perimeter is needed. Use OpenCode for the agent freedom, use Harden to keep that freedom from becoming a breach.