Loop engineer

Purpose

Arm a controlled loop that re-runs a prompt or skill path on an interval (or dynamically) until success, failure, timeout, or user stop.

When to Use / When NOT to Use

Use when: babysit CI/PR checks; watch deploys; poll until green/red; recurring /loop style work; long-running verification.

Do not use when: one-shot tasks; tight interactive coding sessions where a loop adds noise; production mutate-on-timer without explicit approval.

Preconditions

Clear work unit (prompt or skill + args) and stop criteria. If interval omitted, use dynamic mode with rationale.

Inputs / Outputs

Inputs: prompt/skill to run, interval or dynamic, stop criteria, optional gh/CI identifiers.

Outputs: LOOP_PLAN then recurring LOOP_STATUS updates.

Upstream / Downstream

Upstream: engineering-os, quality-gate, user.

Downstream: any skill named in the loop body; pr-generator; incident-commander if loop detects sev.

Core Principles

1. Every loop needs stop criteria (success/fail/timeout/max ticks).
2. Prefer signal-based wakes (CI status, log sentinel) over blind sleep when possible.
3. One loop per purpose; do not duplicate existing loops.
4. First run immediate; then interval — avoid double-fire on start.
5. Status updates are short; full work only on tick.
6. Destructive actions require explicit user approval each time (or pre-approval scope).
7. Stop cleanly and report why.

Process

1. Parse: interval (30s/5m/2h) or dynamic; body prompt/skills; stop criteria.
2. Emit LOOP_PLAN — purpose, interval, stop, max ticks, sentinel.
3. Check for existing matching loop; reuse or stop duplicates.
4. Arm background waiter / poller as environment allows; or instruct host loop tool.
5. Run body once immediately; record LOOP_STATUS.
6. On each tick: run body; evaluate stop; update LOOP_STATUS.
7. On stop: final status, summary of changes, artifacts produced.

Presets

• babysit-pr — poll checks until success/fail
• babysit-ci — watch workflow run
• until-qg-pass — re-run quality-gate path
• custom — user prompt

Evidence Requirements

Tick times, commands, CI URLs, stop reason. No fake “still running” without checking.

Stop Conditions / Failure Modes

Condition	Action
No stop criteria	Refuse to arm
Max ticks / timeout	Stop; LOOP_STATUS failed/timeout
User says stop	Stop immediately
Body returns Block Critical	Stop and escalate

Severity + Confidence

Escalate to incident-commander if loop observes prod SEV signals.

Output Contract

## LOOP_PLAN
Purpose: ...
Interval: ... | dynamic
Body: skill/prompt
Stop criteria: ...
Max ticks: ...
## LOOP_STATUS
Tick: N
Observed: ...
Decision: continue | stop
Stop reason: ...

Handoffs

engineering-os, quality-gate, pr-generator, incident-commander.

Never

• Never arm infinite loops without max ticks/timeout.
• Never force-push or prod-mutate on a timer without explicit scope.
• Never spam full reports every tick — delta only.