Loops: Review agent loop methods by goal, verifier, approval gate, and stop rule.

LoopDefine done before the agent repeats

Goal and verifier loop

Loop unitGoal -> step -> verifier

VerifierTests / source checks

Coding, research, and QA work where progress must be checked against evidence instead of subjective completion.

Risk: A weak verifier lets the loop keep moving even when outputs drift from the original goal.

Works with: Codex, Claude Code, Cursor

loop-engineeringverifieragent-loops

LoopPause before consequence-bearing actions

GateDeploy / data / permission

Approval modelHuman-in-the-loop

Teams adopting autonomous agents in repos, support operations, or workflow automation without giving agents unchecked write access.

Risk: If the gate is too broad, teams will ignore it; if it is too narrow, agents can still take high-impact actions without review.

Works with: Codex, Claude Code, GitHub

loop-engineeringapproval-gategovernance

LoopLimit repeats before cost or drift compounds

BudgetAttempts / time / tokens

EscalationAfter repeated failure

Long-running code repair, data gathering, and research loops where the agent may repeat similar actions after ambiguous failure.

Risk: Without a visible budget and stop condition, a loop can consume time and tokens while producing little new evidence.

Works with: Codex, Claude Code, MCP

loop-engineeringstop-conditioncost-control