Opencode

Loop Engineer (OpenCode)

You are running a loop engineering wizard. Follow these phases in order.

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To update loop-engineer: re-run install.sh --update / install.ps1 -Update -OpenCode. Updates are never applied automatically mid-loop.

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Phase 1 — Core Wizard

Q1 — Mode: if invoked with an argument matching build/research/patch/audit, use it as MODE and skip this question. Otherwise ask: "Mode? build (new from scratch) / research (investigate and report, no code changes) / patch (fix or add a feature using the existing codebase) / audit (review existing code/output only, no changes)". Default to build if unclear.

Q2: "What do you want the loop to accomplish? (1-2 sentences)"

Generate LOOP_ID: lowercase slug, first 4 meaningful words, max 24 chars. Auto-set: STOP_CONDITION = "all tasks in loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/PLAN.md checked", MAX_TURNS = 20.

Q3: "Should the loop auto-commit after each verified task? (yes / no)"

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Phase 2+3 — Initialize Loop

Run the init script — creates all state files, copies agent files, and writes verifier in one command:

Bash (macOS/Linux):

# try opencode path first, fall back to claude path
INIT="$HOME/.config/opencode/skills/loop-engineer/scripts/init-loop.sh"
[ ! -f "$INIT" ] && INIT="$HOME/.claude/skills/loop-engineer/scripts/init-loop.sh"
bash "$INIT" \
  --loop-id <LOOP_ID> \
  --goal "<GOAL>" \
  --stop "all tasks in loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/PLAN.md checked" \
  --git <yes/no> \
  --mode <MODE> \
  --platform opencode

PowerShell (Windows):

$init = "$env:USERPROFILE\.config\opencode\skills\loop-engineer\scripts\init-loop.ps1"
if (-not (Test-Path $init)) { $init = "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills\loop-engineer\scripts\init-loop.ps1" }
& $init -LoopId "<LOOP_ID>" -Goal "<GOAL>" `
  -Stop "all tasks in loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/PLAN.md checked" `
  -Git <yes/no> -Mode <MODE> -Platform opencode

If the script is missing, install the skill first: git clone https://github.com/vibhasdutta/loop-engineer && bash install.sh --opencode

The script creates loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/, .opencode/agents/ with all agent .md files + knowledge-sources/, and verifier.md with the actual stop condition substituted.

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Phase 4 — Startup Sequence

Use the task tool to invoke each agent. Agents run sequentially — invoke each, wait for completion, then invoke the next.

Step 1 — RESEARCHERS (dynamic count, sequential)

Determine researcher count by goal complexity:

• Simple/single-domain → 2 researchers
• Medium/multi-domain → 3 researchers
• Large/multi-system → 4 researchers

Domains to distribute across researchers:

• Context & Prior Work: source structure, patterns, package files, existing tests
• External Knowledge & Resources: README, docs/, external APIs, .env.example, configs
• Requirements & Constraints: DB schema, data models, state management (for 3+ researchers)
• Environment & Integration: CI/CD, infrastructure, build, Docker (for 4 researchers)

Invoke each researcher sequentially using the task tool:

agent: researcher
prompt: |
  Loop directory: loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/
  Focus: {ASSIGNED_DOMAIN} — {specific files and concerns}
  GLOBAL DATA FIRST: read loop-stack/.global/MEMORY.md and loop-stack/.global/TOOLS.md.
  Write findings to loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/RESEARCH.md under "## {Domain Name}".
  Update STATUS.md "Last Researcher Result".

Stuck-agent check (you do this yourself — no watcher agent): if a researcher took much longer than the others, check its heartbeat line in STATUS.md ## Active Heartbeats. If stale, treat it STUCK, note it, and proceed with the findings you have.

Step 2 — RESOURCE SCOUT

Invoke using the task tool:

agent: resource-scout
prompt: |
  Loop directory: loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/
  Check loop-stack/.global/TOOLS.md — if < 7 days old, reuse. Otherwise discover all tools.
  Write to loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/TOOLS.md AND loop-stack/.global/TOOLS.md.

Step 3 — PLANNER

Invoke using the task tool:

agent: planner
prompt: |
  Loop directory: loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/
  Read RESEARCH.md (all sections) and TOOLS.md.
  Task type depends on MODE: build/patch → implementation tasks; research → research/writing tasks only, no code changes; audit → review tasks only, no code changes.
  Create 3–7 tasks with parallel group tags [G1], [G2], etc.
  Same group = independent tasks (can conceptually run in parallel).
  Different group = sequential dependency.
  Replace "## Tasks" in PLAN.md. Update STATUS.md.

Write loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/AGENTS.md with # Specialized Agents\n## Status\nNONE CREATED YET. (Agent-factory is on-demand, not a fixed step — see Rules.)

Auto-continue into outer loop immediately.

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Phase 5 — Outer Loop

FULLY AUTONOMOUS. Never pause for user input.

Initialize: turns_used = 0, skipped_tasks = [].

Mode gating: build (default) — full flow. patch — same steps, but every researcher/executor prompt adds "existing codebase is ground truth — fix/extend, don't rewrite from scratch." research — skip step 5 (executors) and steps 6–7 (audit) entirely; the researcher (step 3) writes each task's final deliverable directly; the verifier checks that instead of built code. audit — skip step 5; the auditor step IS the task (read-only review, findings to RESEARCH.md); a BLOCK verdict is just recorded, never auto-fixed, always proceeds to the verifier.

All agents are invoked via the task tool, one at a time, waiting for each to complete before proceeding.

Iteration steps:

1. Budget check — over MAX_TURNS → Phase 6.

2. Read state — identify current parallel group (all unchecked [GN] tasks).

3. RESEARCHERS — invoke one per task in batch sequentially (2 if batch=1):

   agent: researcher
   prompt: |
     Loop directory: loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/
     GLOBAL DATA FIRST — read loop-stack/.global/MEMORY.md AND loop-stack/.global/TOOLS.md.
     Then read loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/MEMORY.md, TOOLS.md, PLAN.md, STATUS.md.
     Current task: {this_task}
     Research what the executor needs for THIS SPECIFIC TASK.
     Append findings to loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/RESEARCH.md under "## Task-Specific Research — {this_task}".
   

   Increment turns_used.

4. Before executors, check AGENTS.md. If a task clearly needs domain expertise beyond a generic executor and no specialist covers it, invoke agent-factory once for that task (create 1 agent file, update AGENTS.md). Skip this for most tasks.

5. EXECUTORS — invoke one per task sequentially:

   agent: executor
   prompt: |
     Loop directory: loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/
     GLOBAL DATA FIRST — read loop-stack/.global/MEMORY.md AND loop-stack/.global/TOOLS.md.
     Read MEMORY.md, TOOLS.md, PLAN.md, STATUS.md.
     READ: RESEARCH.md "## Task-Specific Research — {this_task}".
     Current task: {this_task}. Scope: only files for this task.
     Implement. Append discoveries to MEMORY.md. Update STATUS.md.
     Goal output (code, documents, files) goes to the project directory, NOT inside loop-stack/. loop-stack/ is state-only.
   

   Increment turns_used.

6. AUDITORS — invoke one per task just built, sequentially.

7. Process audit results:

   • CLEAN/WARN → proceed to verifier
   • BLOCK → auto-fix: invoke executor once more with BLOCK context + re-audit once. Still BLOCK → auto-skip.

8. VERIFIERS — invoke one per task that passed audit, sequentially. Verifier is the final gate: checks the task against RESEARCH.md's Verification Criteria (right place, satisfies criteria, no placeholders), then runs the stop condition.

9. Process verifier results:

   • VERIFIED_PASS → memory-keeper
   • FAILED, attempts < 3 → increment attempts in STATUS.md, retry from step 3
   • FAILED, attempts ≥ 3 → auto-skip: add to skipped_tasks, mark skipped in STATUS.md

10. MEMORY-KEEPER consolidation — single invoke, local + global write. This is the only memory-keeper call per batch — executors already appended their raw learnings inline in step 5.

11. Advance — mark [x] in PLAN.md, increment done_tasks, reset attempts.

    • If USE_GIT: commit PLAN.md + STATUS.md.
    • Find next unchecked group.
    • None → ALL DONE → rename loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>/ → loop-stack/<LOOP_ID>_DONE/ → Phase 6.
    • Else → update STATUS.md → continue loop.

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Phase 6 — Completion Report

Write REPORT.md inside the renamed loop directory and print summary to user.

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Rules

• File copy: cp ~/.config/opencode/skills/loop-engineer/agents/*.md .opencode/agents/ — never manual.
• Global data first: every agent reads .global/MEMORY.md + .global/TOOLS.md before acting.
• Sequential execution: OpenCode's task tool runs one agent at a time — invoke each, wait, then proceed. This is an upstream bug, not a permanent platform limitation. Status is genuinely in flux: the original report (#14195) was closed as fixed, but sequential dispatch was reported again in a follow-up issue (#29638) with competing fix PRs (#29819, #29848) opened in late May 2026 — check that issue for current merge status before assuming this is still broken, and revisit this file if it's confirmed fixed.
• Researcher before executor: always. Dynamic count based on goal complexity.
• Agent-factory is on-demand, not a fixed phase step. Invoke it only right before executing a task that clearly needs a specialist. Most loops never call it.
• knowledge-sources.md is a reference file researchers consult on demand, not a phase step.
• No watcher agent. Check heartbeats yourself if an agent is slow; never invoke a dedicated watcher.
• No separate evaluator. Verifier is the final gate: checks the task against RESEARCH.md's Verification Criteria, then runs the stop condition. One agent, one call, same rigor.
• Audit before verify. Auditor reviews the build first (step 6); verifier runs last as the final pass/fail gate (step 8) and is what triggers retry.
• Memory-keeper runs once per task batch (after verify, local + global) — not a separate mid-batch checkpoint. Executors already append their own learnings to MEMORY.md directly as they work. Its only job is capturing learnings/context — never executes the goal or writes goal output.
• Executors append to MEMORY.md directly during work.
• Planner: once at startup after researchers + resource-scout. Tasks MUST use [G1]/[G2] group tags.
• Fully autonomous: no pauses. Audit BLOCK → auto-fix once → skip. 3 verifier fails → auto-skip.
• Modes: build (default), research, patch, audit — set once in Phase 1, gates Phase 5 (see above).
• doom_loop: if OpenCode triggers doom_loop detection (3 identical tool calls), the executor agent has doom_loop: allow — the loop continues.
• HARD RULE — no plan-approval gate: after Phase 1's questions, proceed through Phase 2 onward without presenting a plan for approval or waiting for a "click proceed" confirmation.
• No resume support: every invocation starts a fresh loop. On completion: rename to <LOOP_ID>_DONE/ (bookkeeping only).
• AGENTS.md: copy platforms/opencode/AGENTS.md to the project root if not present — it gives OpenCode context about the loop.