Intel / post

WTF Is a Loop? Part 2: The 15 Loops People Are Actually Running

Source: x.com
Author: Matt Van HornTop Viber
Date: Indexed Jul 2, 2026

Context

Before delegating repeated work to an , decide what evidence should end the repetition. Matt Van Horn's loop catalog includes a completion-contract pattern: specify the required result and the evidence for each requirement before work starts. It also describes bounded cycles that save progress and stop after a limited number of attempts.

These patterns address different failure modes. A completion contract challenges an unsupported claim that the work is finished; an attempt limit ends an unsuccessful run even when the desired result remains unmet. The useful distinction is between evidence of success and a boundary on continued effort. Both need to be specified when designing the repeated task.

Key takeaways · AI-distilled

What makes a goal safe to walk away from is a separate fast model checking after every turn whether the finish condition is actually true. The loop stops on a verified condition, not on the agent's own say-so.
The bounded pattern that fixes runaway loops: plan, generate, verify, fix, repeat — with everything written to files and a hard cap of five iterations. You read only the final version, and the cap is what makes leaving it unattended safe.
The verifier is the part everyone skips. Pair a builder that writes code with a separate checker that runs tests, types and lint and reports exactly what broke, because a single-pass agent ships its own bugs.
A naming trap that breaks people's setups: there is no /routine command in either tool. Scheduled work that runs while your laptop is closed is /schedule in Claude Code and Automations in the Codex app.

Terms in this piece · Glossary

AI agent — An AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal in a loop — taking actions, reading the results, and deciding what to do next.

Key quotes

“Goal is keep working until the outcome is achieved. Loop is keep repeating a task while I am here. Routine is keep working while I am gone.”
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“there is no `/routine` command in either tool”

“The verifier is the part everyone skips. Without it you are just trusting the agent.”

Read the source x.com