diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 419eca9..4f491da 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -298,6 +298,8 @@ if (BUILD_TESTS)
     add_executable(kte_tests
             tests/TestRunner.cc
             tests/Test.h
+            tests/TestHarness.h
+            tests/test_daily_driver_harness.cc
             tests/test_buffer_io.cc
             tests/test_piece_table.cc
             tests/test_search.cc
diff --git a/tests/TestHarness.h b/tests/TestHarness.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f73fdf3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/TestHarness.h
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+// TestHarness.h - small helper layer for driving kte headlessly in tests
+#pragma once
+
+#include <cstddef>
+#include <string>
+#include <string_view>
+
+#include "Buffer.h"
+#include "Command.h"
+#include "Editor.h"
+
+namespace ktet {
+inline void
+InstallDefaultCommandsOnce()
+{
+	static bool installed = false;
+	if (!installed) {
+		InstallDefaultCommands();
+		installed = true;
+	}
+}
+
+
+class TestHarness {
+public:
+	TestHarness()
+	{
+		InstallDefaultCommandsOnce();
+		editor_.SetDimensions(24, 80);
+
+		Buffer b;
+		b.SetVirtualName("+TEST+");
+		editor_.AddBuffer(std::move(b));
+	}
+
+
+	Editor &
+	EditorRef()
+	{
+		return editor_;
+	}
+
+
+	Buffer &
+	Buf()
+	{
+		return *editor_.CurrentBuffer();
+	}
+
+
+	[[nodiscard]] const Buffer &
+	Buf() const
+	{
+		return *editor_.CurrentBuffer();
+	}
+
+
+	bool
+	Exec(CommandId id, const std::string &arg = std::string(), int ucount = 0)
+	{
+		if (ucount > 0) {
+			editor_.SetUniversalArg(1, ucount);
+		} else {
+			editor_.UArgClear();
+		}
+		return Execute(editor_, id, arg);
+	}
+
+
+	bool
+	InsertText(std::string_view text)
+	{
+		if (text.find('\n') != std::string_view::npos || text.find('\r') != std::string_view::npos)
+			return false;
+		return Exec(CommandId::InsertText, std::string(text));
+	}
+
+
+	void
+	TypeText(std::string_view text)
+	{
+		for (char ch: text) {
+			if (ch == '\n') {
+				Exec(CommandId::Newline);
+			} else if (ch == '\r') {
+				// ignore
+			} else {
+				Exec(CommandId::InsertText, std::string(1, ch));
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+
+	[[nodiscard]] std::string
+	Text() const
+	{
+		const auto &rows = Buf().Rows();
+		std::string out;
+		for (std::size_t i = 0; i < rows.size(); ++i) {
+			out += static_cast<std::string>(rows[i]);
+			if (i + 1 < rows.size())
+				out.push_back('\n');
+		}
+		return out;
+	}
+
+
+	[[nodiscard]] std::string
+	Line(std::size_t y) const
+	{
+		return Buf().GetLineString(y);
+	}
+
+
+	bool
+	SaveAs(const std::string &path, std::string &err)
+	{
+		return Buf().SaveAs(path, err);
+	}
+
+
+	bool
+	Undo(int ucount = 0)
+	{
+		return Exec(CommandId::Undo, std::string(), ucount);
+	}
+
+
+	bool
+	Redo(int ucount = 0)
+	{
+		return Exec(CommandId::Redo, std::string(), ucount);
+	}
+
+private:
+	Editor editor_;
+};
+} // namespace ktet
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/test_daily_driver_harness.cc b/tests/test_daily_driver_harness.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38db85c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_daily_driver_harness.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#include "Test.h"
+
+#include "tests/TestHarness.h"
+
+
+TEST (DailyDriverHarness_Smoke_CanCreateBufferAndInsertText)
+{
+	ktet::TestHarness h;
+
+	ASSERT_TRUE(h.InsertText("hello"));
+	ASSERT_EQ(h.Line(0), std::string("hello"));
+}
\ No newline at end of file