extended-react

name	extended-react
description	Six-phase ReAct loop (pre-check, thinking, self-critique, action, tool, post). Activates per-workflow via the thinking_level knob in config/workflows.yaml. Replaces standard ReAct for workflows where independent verification of the reasoning improves outcomes.
when_to_use	["workflow has thinking_level >= med in config/workflows.yaml",{"workflow handles a feature in feature_list.json with `category":"agent | infrastructure | hook`"},"prior iterations on this feature failed; opt up the thinking_level for the retry"]
brd_ref	§3.6

Extended ReAct loop

Standard ReAct: reason → act → observe. Extended ReAct (BRD §3.6) inserts two phases:

1. pre-check + compaction       drain message queue, compact if >70% budget
2. thinking (optional)          chain-of-thought trace at configured depth
3. self-critique (optional)     independent pass on the thinking output, Opus-grade
4. action                       LLM call with full tool schema
5. tool execution               registry dispatch through five safety layers
6. post-processing              decide iterate vs return

When the phases activate

thinking_level	Phase 2 thinking	Phase 3 self-critique
off	skipped	skipped
min	shallow trace	skipped
low	shallow trace	skipped
med	full CoT	skipped
high	full CoT	full Opus-grade critique

Configured per-workflow in config/workflows.yaml. The default is low.

Why this matters

• Phase 2 (thinking) externalizes the reasoning so it's auditable in telemetry.
• Phase 3 (self-critique) catches a category of error where the action pass commits early without consulting the BRD or the existing code — Opus-grade critique on the thinking output identifies the gap before tool calls fire.
• Phase 1 (pre-check) drains any queued message from the user (Pi pattern, BRD §11 alignment) and compacts if budget is tight — preventing context exhaustion mid-action.

Anti-patterns

• Setting thinking_level: high on every workflow. Self-critique is expensive (Opus). Reserve for spec-auditor, planner, critic — workflows where independence is the load-bearing primitive.
• Skipping phase 1 to "save tokens". A 70%+ context window with stale tool outputs hurts more than it helps.
• Treating phase 3 verdict as final on the feature. Self-critique is for the reasoning. Feature acceptance is the Critic's job (BRD §5.1) and the E2E gate's job (BRD §3.8).

Source

Read-and-reimplement of the OPENDEV §2.2.6 pattern (Python reference at opendev-to/opendev-py/opendev/runtime/react_loop.py, MIT). Our Durable Functions topology required a different control flow. See BRD §10.2 §3.6.