loop-engineering

name	loop-engineering
description	Run a disciplined agentic loop on a verifiable task: goal → act → verify → correct → repeat until green or blocked. Use when executing a loop task with a machine-checkable verifier, or when the user asks to "run the loop."

Loop Engineering

Execute a task using the Loop Engineering discipline. The verifier closes the feedback loop — not the human.

Prerequisites

Before starting, confirm you have:

1. Task spec — goal, seeded state, definition of done
2. Verifier command — returns unambiguous pass/fail (e.g., pytest tests/order/test_status_transition.py)
3. Regression gates — optional broader suite, lint, or typecheck
4. Budget — max iterations and optional token/time ceiling
5. Active rules — @loop-discipline, @loop-termination, @loop-safety (or equivalent in context)

Procedure

1. Baseline the verifier

Run the verifier before any edits. Confirm it fails as expected on the seeded state. Record the failure output — this is iteration 0.

2. Enter the loop

For each iteration until green or blocked:

EDIT → RUN VERIFIER → READ OUTPUT → HYPOTHESIS → (repeat)

Follow @loop-discipline: smallest change, one hypothesis, no skipping verification.

3. Check termination

After each verifier run, evaluate:

Condition	Action
All verifiers green, no regressions	Success — summarize changes and iteration count
Same error 3× with no progress	Blocked — summarize per @loop-termination
Budget ceiling hit	Budget stop — report partial state
Regression introduced	Continue loop — fix regression before declaring green

4. Log metrics

At end of run, report:

• Iterations to green (or N/A if blocked)
• Human interventions required
• Regression count
• Final verifier output (last 20 lines if failed)

Example invocation

@loop-engineering

Task: oms-status-race-001
Verifier: pytest tests/order/test_status_transition.py && mypy src/orders/
Budget: 8 iterations
Seeded state: concurrent status updates leave orders inconsistent; one integration test is red.

Escalation

If the task spec is missing a verifier, stop and help the user craft one (@verifier-crafting) before looping. A loop without a verifier is repeated guessing.