create-loop

# Create loop The user describes the job in a sentence. Fill in everything else from the defaults. Anything the user says overrides a default. Ask only when the job itself is unclear. For flags, Cloud loops, and scripts: - **Local threads:** read the `automations` skill. - **Cloud threads:** run `room-cli loop --help`. Then read the `room-cli` skill. Cloud steps differ: see "In a Cloud thread" below. ## Defaults - **Schedule:** every 4 hours in the user's timezone: `--cron "0 */4 * * *" --timezone <IANA zone>`. - **Agent:** the same harness, model, and effort as this thread. Locally, read them with `room-cli thread show --self --json`. Cloud loops use them by default. - **Where:** a Local loop in the project's main checkout (first line of `git worktree list`). No new worktrees. Use a Cloud loop when it must run with the user's computer off, and always from a Cloud thread. - **One thread per run:** every run is its own top-level thread. Never point a loop at one manager thread that re-prompts and spawns sub-agents: the runs pile up nested under it. Local loops and Cloud `--cron` loops already start a fresh thread per run, so don't add `--same-thread`. A script that starts threads itself spawns them top-level: no `--parent-self` locally, `--top-level` in a Cloud thread, never `--shared-sandbox`. - **Access:** read only. No edits, commits, or pushes until the user approves a fix. - **Secrets:** a Cloud loop gets only the API keys its job needs: `--secrets KEY,.env` or `--secrets none`. - **Safety:** include the safety sentence below verbatim in every Local or Cloud loop prompt, including prompts embedded in scripts. - **Finish:** all fine → 1-2 lines, then the thread archives itself. Something matters → a short verdict, thread left open for the user's Review tab. - **No repeats:** skip issues already reported in open threads with the same title. ## Steps 1. **Read the area first.** Find the real files, docs, and skills the job touches. The loop's agent starts cold, so put concrete paths in its prompt. 2. **Write a short prompt** from the template below. Simple and short beats thorough: a few lines, at most about 15, in calm, plain words. No long checklists, nothing adversarial. One job per loop. If the loop may push, delete, or flag a serious security issue, have it ask a subagent on another model to check first, in a few lines, like: "Branch X removes Y. Check it won't break anything. Only flag serious issues, not nitpicks. End with SHIP or HOLD: reason." 3. **Create it.** Write the prompt to `/tmp/<name>-prompt.txt`, then: ```bash room-cli loop create --project "$ROOM_PROJECT_ID" --name "<Name> (every 4 hours)" \ --cron "0 */4 * * *" --timezone <zone> \ --provider <id> --model '<model>' --reasoning <level> \ --environment "<main checkout>" --prompt "$(cat /tmp/<name>-prompt.txt)" --json ``` 4. **Test it once.** In a Cloud thread, see "In a Cloud thread" below. Locally: `room-cli loop run ID --project "$ROOM_PROJECT_ID"`, then `room-cli loop runs ID --project "$ROOM_PROJECT_ID" --limit 1 --json` gives its thread. Confirm it started and renamed itself. 5. **Tell the user** the loop's name, schedule, and test thread, plus anything surprising from step 1. ## In a Cloud thread - Drop `--project` and `--environment`. Cloud uses this thread's project. - `room-cli loop run ID` only makes the loop due. - Within a minute or two, find the loop's ID in `room-cli loop list`. - Check that `runs` and `last_run_at` went up. Check that `last_error` is empty. - Cloud can't see the run's thread or output. - Ask the user to confirm its title and verdict in the app. ## Prompt template ```text <Name>. Read only: do not edit, commit, or push anything. Never test destructive edge cases on live services; mock the API and reject missing or empty IDs before delete requests. 1. Rename this thread: `room-cli thread update --self --title "<Name> · $(date '+%b-%d %H:%M')"`. 2. Read: <concrete files and docs>. 3. Check: <what to look for, in plain words>. 4. Skip issues already reported in open threads titled "<Name>". Finish: - Nothing major: write 1-2 lines on what you checked, then run `room-cli thread archive --self --json`. - Something worth fixing (<what counts as major for this job>): don't archive. Explain the single most important issue in 2-3 short, plain sentences, then one sentence on the safe fix. Then wait. ``` ## Keep paid calls cheap For jobs that pay per item (scrapes, search, paid APIs): - **Fetch only what's new.** Save the last run time in a file and fetch only items after it. - **Keep a pool.** Save good candidates for later runs instead of re-fetching the whole window. - **Skip hours nobody reads,** e.g. `0 8-22/3 * * *`. ## Gotchas - Pass `--project` on every Local loop command. - Threads a loop starts cannot create loops. - Quote models with brackets: `'claude-opus-5-5[1m]'`.