Loop engineering

You design the heartbeat

Lesson 0006 is the inner while: the model picks the next tool. Lesson 0007 is the box around one session. Loop engineering is who starts the next turn when you are not typing — and who is allowed to say “done.”

1. 1 · VerifyA check that leaves evidence in the transcript. Claims are not proof.
2. 2 · StopA condition, graded by a checker — not the maker, not a MAX count.
3. 3 · ScheduleThe next turn starts on a clock, a hook, or “not yet.” You are not Enter.

Verify · stop · schedule. The inner loop from 0006 does not change. You stopped being its metronome.

You sit outside the cycle. That is the design choice tonight — same as 0006’s “you draw the path,” one floor up.

Three loops, three jobs

Inner loop: the model writes slips until it answers (0006). Harness: your code around that session — stamp, retry, MAX, show the plan (0007). Loop engineering: after that session (or that turn) something else decides whether to kick again. Auto mode still only approves tools inside one turn. /goal starts the next turn without you. Same /goal page · “Compare ways to keep a session running”

/goal = after each turn. /loop = a time interval. A Stop hook = your script. Cursor has the same three shapes (hooks, /loop, Automations).

Load-bearing split. Anthropic’s long-running agents: the model declares victory too early unless a feature list and tests exist. Effective harnesses for long-running agents

# YOU ARE THE LOOP
you: "is the stone ready?"
you: "probe it"
you: "plate when it hits 240"

# A CONDITION, A CHECKER
/goal stone is 240°C AND walnut crumb is plated
       (proof: probe_stone exits 240; plate() ran)

after each turn:
  small model reads the transcript
  "not yet" → another turn, reason becomes the next hint
  "met"     → goal clears. You did not press Enter.

# A CLOCK (no session open)
06:00 cron → read NOTES.md → same goal if leftover

Kitchen only to make the heartbeat concrete. The load-bearing picture is the cycle.

Skill: name who kicked

Manual is you. Verify leaves a probe in the log. Stop is a checker verdict. Schedule is the clock — you are not in the room.

Harness stop vs goal stop

Parked: plugins (how a bundle arrives), git worktrees (parallel checkouts), the full “factory” Osmani lists. You already have skills, notes on disk, and helpers. Tonight is only the heartbeat. Token cost of an unattended loop can run wild — bound it. You still read what shipped; the loop does not retire the engineer.

Check