create pipeline: no import path for an existing Git-backed pipeline file

Summary

There is no way to register an existing Git-backed pipeline file with the CLI. create pipeline --connector/--repo/--file-path maps to the create endpoint, which authors the YAML file in the repo, so it fails whenever the file is already committed — which is the normal Git-experience workflow (commit .harness/pipeline.yaml, then point Harness at it).

Harness has a separate import API for exactly this, and the Harness MCP server exposes it (execute action import, "Fetches the pipeline YAML from the specified repo/branch/path and creates a Harness pipeline record for it"). The CLI has no equivalent — grep -n "import" pkg/spec/pipeline.spec.yaml returns nothing on main.

Related: #211 — together these mean a Git-backed pipeline cannot be set up through the CLI alone.

Version

harness version 3.6.2 (2026-09-01T01:13:47Z)

Also verified against pkg/spec/pipeline.spec.yaml on main (v3.7.1) — unchanged.

Reproduction

With .harness/pipeline.yaml already committed on branch harness-ci-setup:

$ harness create pipeline MyPipeline \
    --connector account.GitHub_Connector \
    --repo my-repo \
    --branch harness-ci-setup \
    --file-path .harness/pipeline.yaml \
    --project MyProject
required flag(s) "file" not set

Adding -f (see note below), the real failure appears:

$ harness create pipeline MyPipeline -f .harness/pipeline.yaml \
    --connector account.GitHub_Connector \
    --repo my-repo \
    --branch harness-ci-setup \
    --file-path .harness/pipeline.yaml \
    --project MyProject
API error 400: Please check if there's already a file [.harness/pipeline.yaml] in
Github repository [my-repo] for the given filepath and branch [harness-ci-setup].
- Check whether the branch [harness-ci-setup] has some protection rules that may
  prohibit creation of new file.

Expected: the pipeline is registered against the existing file.
Actual: 400, because the endpoint tries to create a file that already exists.

Root cause

pkg/spec/pipeline.spec.yaml (L483–511) points create pipeline at the create endpoint:

    endpoint:
      method: POST
      path: /pipeline/api/pipelines/v2
      query_params:
        storeType: 'flags.repo != "" ? "REMOTE" : ""'
        connectorRef: flags.connector
        repoName: flags.repo
        branch: flags.branch
        filePath: flags["file-path"]

That path creates the remote file. The import endpoint is never wired up, and no pipeline:import qualifier exists in the spec.

Suggested fix

Add an import command mapping to the pipeline import API, e.g.:

harness create pipeline:import <id> --connector <ref> --repo <repo> \
  --branch <branch> --file-path <path> [--force]

It takes no -f (the YAML is fetched from Git), and would want --name/--description for the created record, plus a force flag for re-import over an existing pipeline.

Secondary note: -f is required even in Git-backed mode

The help text reads as an either/or:

Create a pipeline: inline from YAML (-f file.yaml) or Git-backed (--connector, --repo, --file-path)

but file_body: required in the spec means -f is mandatory in both modes, and the first command above fails with required flag(s) "file" not set. In Git-backed mode the file content is also redundant with --file-path. Either make -f conditional, or reword the help to say it's always required.

Workaround

Use the Harness MCP server's import action, or the UI's "Import From Git".

Start with the create pipeline mapping in pkg/spec/pipeline.spec.yaml around lines 483–511 and compare it with existing command qualifiers and import API patterns. Add an import entry point for an existing Git-backed file, handle the Git-backed flags without requiring -f, and verify that the command registers the existing path rather than attempting to create it.