Overview › 7Orchestration › d.Shaping the loop

Shaping the loop

Choose the shape of the agent loop. 3 optimizations.

1. i.

   Continuous autonomous task loop

   Run the coding agent from a shell or harness loop that starts a fresh headless session every iteration with the same short prompt; each session reads the plan, progress notes and git history, does one item, runs its tests, commits and exits, until an iteration cap, a budget or a stop rule ends the run.

   Mixed qualityMixed performanceHigher cost

   Tier 4 · restructuring · changes control flow · planning agents · 6 sources, 3 measured

2. ii.

   Inversion of control

   Give the agent the goal, the tools and the acceptance checks and let it choose the sequence of steps, instead of coding a fixed workflow; the goal, permissions, budget and evaluation stay outside the agent.

   Mixed qualityHigher costSlower

   Tier 4 · restructuring · changes control flow · any agent · 6 sources, 4 measured

3. iii.

   ReAct loop

   Run the agent as a loop: the model reasons, calls a tool, reads the result and picks the next step, until it answers or hits a cap.

   Better qualityHigher costSlower

   Tier 4 · restructuring · changes control flow · any agent · 11 sources, 9 measured