Use when writing Agent Relay or Ricky workflows that must loop review, fix, and validation with fresh agent context until independent signoff agents, typically Claude and Codex, both agree the work is comprehensively complete. Covers fresh-context iterations, repairable gates, dual reviewer verdict contracts, iteration-count reporting, PR signoff comments, and blocked-state handling.
Use when writing Agent Relay or Ricky workflows that must loop review, fix, and validation with fresh agent context until independent signoff agents, typically Claude and Codex, both agree the work is comprehensively complete. Covers fresh-context iterations, repairable gates, dual reviewer verdict contracts, iteration-count reporting, PR signoff comments, and blocked-state handling.
Purpose
Use this pattern for high-stakes implementation workflows where a normal "implement, test, review once" flow is not enough. The workflow must keep repairing and re-reviewing until independent signoff agents agree the spec is fully wired end to end.
Pair this with writing-agent-relay-workflows for SDK syntax and relay-80-100-workflow for deterministic validation gates.
Required Shape
Run deterministic preflight before agents start.
Confirm repository root, required specs, declared write scope, credentials needed for PR comments, and whether commit/push/PR creation is in scope.
For cross-repo or package-release work, write a scope matrix before implementation: repositories, branches, PRs, packages, providers/features touched, published versions, consuming package manifests, lockfiles, and expected downstream bumps.
Probe the CLIs used by later agent steps. For Codex, codex login status is not enough; run a tiny codex exec --ephemeral --json --sandbox read-only -m <supported-model> prompt and fail early with a clear re-login instruction if it cannot return the expected token.
Write preflight evidence to .workflow-artifacts/<workflow>/iteration-N/preflight.md.
Implement with scoped owners.
Use Codex workers for code changes unless the codebase has a reason to prefer another CLI.
Split backend, frontend, desktop, tests, docs, or infrastructure into explicit non-overlapping ownership areas.
Each worker writes a durable summary artifact with changed files and commands run.
Reconcile before validation.
Add a deterministic implementation-reconcile gate that checks required files, expected API/UI/runtime surfaces, migrations, generated artifacts, and untracked files with git status --short -- <paths>.
For multi-provider changes, reconcile against the scope matrix: every touched provider/package must be classified as implemented, dependency-only, intentionally-deferred, or not-applicable, with proof. Do not let "we only bumped the package I remembered" pass this gate.
For package-release flows, reconcile producer and consumer state: npm view <pkg> version, package manifests, lockfile resolved tarballs/integrities, and npm ls <pkg> from every consuming workspace.
For CI failures, map each failing job to its exact local command or documented non-local equivalent. Distinguish similarly named gates (for example handler coverage vs acceptance route coverage) and replay the one that actually failed.
Use failOnError: false, then route the captured output to a repair owner.
Run repairable validation.
Use capture -> fix -> rerun for typecheck, targeted tests, integration or E2E tests, and regression checks.
Include exact failing CI commands when available before broader "nearby" checks. A nearby green gate is supporting evidence, not proof that the reported CI failure is fixed.
Red validation output is input for a repair agent, not an immediate workflow failure.
Write BLOCKED_NO_COMMIT.md only for true external blockers.
Run fresh-context signoff reviews.
Start a new workflow run, new agent names, or otherwise new agent contexts for each loop iteration.
Run Claude and Codex signoff reviews independently over the same post-validation repo state.
Reviewers must read specs, diff, validation logs, artifacts, and actual files.
Break only on dual signoff.
The loop may exit only when both reviewers write the exact satisfied verdict and final deterministic acceptance is green.
If either reviewer finds issues or is blocked, run a Codex fix pass and start a new fresh-context review iteration.
Make the Codex fix pass a non-interactive one-shot worker (preset: 'worker') with a file_exists verification for its durable report. Do not rely on interactive PTY idle detection or /exit for loop progress.
Report final signoff.
Write a final SIGNOFF.md that includes iteration count, validation evidence, Claude rationale, Codex rationale, remaining risks, and artifact paths.
Include the final scope matrix with every repository/package/provider row signed off, deferred with owner/date, or marked not applicable. For release flows, include published and consumed versions.
Post the same report to the PR. Resolve the PR from an explicit env var first, then from gh pr view.
Verdict Contract
Use a strict text contract so deterministic gates can parse the result:
VERDICT: COMPREHENSIVELY_SATISFIED | FINDINGS | BLOCKED
why_passed: required when VERDICT is COMPREHENSIVELY_SATISFIED
end_to_end_wiring_verified: required when VERDICT is COMPREHENSIVELY_SATISFIED
deterministic_evidence: required when VERDICT is COMPREHENSIVELY_SATISFIED
scope_matrix_verified: required when VERDICT is COMPREHENSIVELY_SATISFIED for cross-repo/provider/package work
remaining_risks: required when VERDICT is COMPREHENSIVELY_SATISFIED
finding_id: stable-id when VERDICT is FINDINGS
severity: blocker | high | medium | low
file: path
issue: concrete gap
fix_required: exact change needed
test_required: deterministic proof needed
evidence: commands, files, or spec clause
Scope Matrix
Create a machine-readable and human-readable matrix before the first fix pass for work that spans repositories, packages, providers, or CI gates. Keep it updated every iteration.
repo | branch | PR | package/provider/surface | expected change | producer version | consumer version | files expected | gates required | status | evidence | owner
Fresh Context Implementation
Prefer an outer loop that starts a new Agent Relay workflow run per iteration:
for (let iteration = 1; ; iteration += 1) {
awaitrunIteration(iteration, runStamp); // new workflow name, channel, and agent namesclearStartFromAfterResumedIteration();
if (hasDualSignoff(iteration)) {
writeAndPostSignoffReport(iteration);
break;
}
}
