loop

name

loop

description

Schedule a prompt to fire on a fixed cadence (recurring loop). Use when the user asks to "run X every N minutes/hours/days", "loop X", "babysit Y", "be proactive about Y every N", or invokes `/loop` directly. Parses `[interval] <prompt>`, picks a clean cron expression, registers the job via the `cron` tool, and executes the prompt once immediately so the user sees activity without waiting for the first cron tick.

/loop — schedule a recurring prompt

This skill turns a free-form [interval] <prompt> line into a cron tool call and runs the prompt once right away.

1. Parse the input

The user's text is whatever appears after /loop . Apply the three rules below in order and stop at the first match.

1. Leading interval token. If the first whitespace-separated token matches the regex ^\d+[smhd]$ (case-insensitive), that token is the interval. Examples: 5m, 2h, 1d, 30s. The rest of the input is the prompt.

2. Trailing every <N><unit> clause. Otherwise, look for a clause at the end of the input of the form every <N><unit> or every <N> <unit-word> where <unit> is s|m|h|d and <unit-word> is second(s)|minute(s)|hour(s)|day(s). Strip the clause; what's left is the prompt; the captured <N><unit> is the interval. Examples: every 20m, every 5 minutes, every 2 hours.

3. Default. No interval found → interval is 10m, the whole input is the prompt.

If the input is empty, or is only an interval with no prompt body, reply with a one-line usage hint (/loop [interval] <prompt>) and stop. Do not schedule anything.

2. Special: empty prompt with autonomous opt-in

When the user types /loop <interval> (interval only) and the project has explicitly opted into autonomous-loop mode (a session-level flag the runtime sets), the prompt body is the sentinel <<autonomous-loop>>. The scheduler expands this sentinel at fire time into a self-directed tick instruction. If autonomous mode is not enabled, treat empty as the usage-hint case above.

3. Map interval → 5-field cron expression

Pattern	Cron expression
Ns	treat as ceil(N/60)m; minimum is 1m
Nm where N is 1–59 and divides cleanly (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30)	*/N * * * *
Nm where N ≥ 60 and N/60 divides 24 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12)	0 */(N/60) * * *
Nh where N is 1–23 and divides 24	0 */N * * *
Nd where N divides 31 sensibly (1, 2)	0 0 */N * *

Rounding rule. If N does not divide its wrap-around cleanly (e.g. 7m, 90m, 5h, 7d), pick the nearest interval that does and tell the user explicitly what you rounded to and why. Acceptable nearby values:

• minutes < 60: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30
• hours: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12
• days: 1, 2

Examples of rounding messages:

• 7m → "rounding 7m to 6m so the fires stay evenly spaced; */7 skews at the hour wrap"
• 90m → "rounding 90m to 2h; cron's hour field can't express 1.5h"

4. Call the cron tool

With the parsed cron expression and prompt, invoke the cron tool's schedule verb. Use whichever call form the tool's own prompt describes — pass cron and prompt as required, leave durable: false (the default; only set true when the user explicitly asked the job to persist across sessions), leave it recurring (the default; one-shot is wrong for /loop — one-shots come from natural-language scheduling).

The cron tool returns a job id. Mention it briefly so the user can cancel with /loops cancel <id>.

5. Execute the prompt once immediately

After the cron call succeeds, do not wait for the first scheduled tick. Run the prompt body once right now:

• If the prompt starts with / (e.g. /loop 5m /standup → prompt is /standup), invoke it as a slash command — load the corresponding skill or command via the skill tool.
• Otherwise, act on the prompt directly in this turn.

This is the "don't make the user wait" rule. The cron job carries the recurring behavior; the immediate run is for responsiveness.

6. Examples

User input	Interval	Cron	Prompt
/loop 5m /babysit-prs	5m (leading)	*/5 * * * *	/babysit-prs
/loop check the deploy every 20m	20m (trailing)	*/20 * * * *	check the deploy
/loop /standup every 2 hours	2h	0 */2 * * *	/standup
/loop tidy inbox	10m (default)	*/10 * * * *	tidy inbox
/loop 30s ping	30s → 1m	*/1 * * * *	ping
/loop 7m ping	7m → 6m (rounded, explain)	*/6 * * * *	ping
/loop	(usage hint)	—	—
/loop 5m	autonomous-only	(if enabled)	<<autonomous-loop>>

7. Do not

• Do not invent intervals the user didn't ask for. If unsure, default to 10m and say so.
• Do not pass --one-shot. This skill is for recurring loops.
• Do not list active jobs in your reply. Use /loops for that.
• Do not re-derive the cron expression in your reply unless the user asked. A one-line confirmation ("scheduled <prompt> every <interval>; job id <id>") is enough.