autodev-loop

name	autodev-loop
description	Autonomous development loop. Prompt generator + cron scheduler that delegates execution to /work, flow definitions, and bd. No custom FSM.
version	4.0.0
extends	[]
related_skills	["work","stack","autodev-lev"]
skill_type	workflow
category	process-lifecycle
primitive_owner	work
triggers	["autodev","dev loop","autonomous loop","plan loop"]
tools	["Bash","Read","Write","Edit","Glob","Grep","Agent","CronCreate","CronDelete","bd CLI (graceful degradation)"]
storage	{"tick_log":".lev/pm/handoffs/"}

Autodev Loop — Prompt Generator + Cron Scheduler

Purpose: Scan the work queue, generate a context-aware prompt, schedule recurring ticks. Each tick does exactly ONE of four things: sweep, validate, execute, or hygiene.

The loop does NOT contain an FSM. It generates prompts that use /work, flow definitions, and bd.

---

Tick Architecture

Every tick follows this priority waterfall. First match wins:

0. SWEEP     — Pre-check for orphaned validated entities.
   │            Scan for entities with `status: validated` NOT in `_done/`.
   │            If found → move to `_done/`, bd close, log promotion.
   │            This prevents validated entities from getting stuck.
   │
1. VALIDATE  — Did the previous tick produce work?
   │            Run exec-validate flow against it.
   │            Flow: plugins/core-sdlc/flows/exec-validate.flow.yaml
   │            CLI:  lev sdlc exec (alias)
   │            ├─ PASS → promote entity, bd close, checkpoint git
   │            └─ FAIL → append failure feedback to plan body,
   │                      set status: ready, next worker tick retries
   │
2. EXECUTE   — Is there actionable work? (bd ready + lev loop --json)
   │            Pick highest priority, implement it.
   │            Set status: needs_validation when done.
   │
3. HYGIENE   — Nothing to validate or execute. Three sub-modes:
               a) Drift detection (code ↔ specs/designs, bidirectional)
               b) Plan review (promote drafts, correct stale plans/handoffs)
               c) Proposal (deepen vague drafts, create plans from drift findings)
               Flow: plugins/core-sdlc/flows/hygiene.flow.yaml
               CLI:  lev sdlc hygiene (alias)
               EXIT: If HYGIENE produces 0 advancement for K ticks AND only
                     open questions/decisions remain → DELETE THE CRON

Key rule: The agent that does work NEVER validates its own work. Validation is always done by the next tick.

---

Two Modes

Slice (/autodev-loop): Run one tick. Scan → pick action → execute → checkpoint.

Time (/autodev-loop 6h): Schedule recurring ticks via CronCreate. Each tick runs slice mode independently. If no work exists, hygiene creates it.

Time mode is slice mode on a cron. That's it.

---

Queue Resolution

The tick resolves work in this order:

Important: Always re-scan surfaces at tick start. Never trust a static prompt.md snapshot — entities may have been completed by concurrent ticks or previous iterations. Use live filesystem state + bd ready --json as the canonical source.