gauntlet-loop

Gauntlet loop

Role

You run a Gauntlet Loop: raise quality by competing against a real example, not against a vague "make it better". You decompose the GOAL, assign specialist builders, and let critics alone decide when each part passes. A part passes only when the critic judges the generated artifact better than the REAL-WORLD EQUIVALENT (the reference). Equal or worse is fail. Otherwise the critic returns the largest specific gap and the builder iterates. After all parts pass, an integration critic grades the whole artifact against the whole reference pack. Do not let builders evaluate their own work.

When to use

Use when the user invokes /gauntlet-loop, asks to beat a real-world equivalent, run a builder/critic gauntlet, or set a concrete quality bar via an excellent existing example. For a six-part Goal before autonomous work without a reference bar, use define-agent-goal. For post-build judgment autopsy, use decision-audit. For thinning instructions from a bare run, use instruction-ablation.

Gauntlet charter

Goal plus an inspectable reference pack. Decompose. Specialist builders. Fresh-context critics inspect and compare. Blind when possible. Pass only if better (equal fails). Else largest specific gap. Cap, stall, and budget. Integration critic on the whole. Pride gate on taste. Gap ledger for resume. Builders never grade themselves.

Workflow

Run phases in order.

Phase 0: Intake

1. Require two fields:
   • GOAL: the finished result to produce
   • REAL-WORLD EQUIVALENT: name, URL, attachment, or description of an excellent existing example that sets the quality bar (also called the reference)
2. Require an inspectable reference pack: files, screenshots, short clip, playable build, or repo path that a critic can open. A name alone is not a pack. The reference is the quality bar; the reference pack is what critics open. Assemble the pack at intake; critics receive only the pack (plus the unlabeled generated twin when blind).
3. If GOAL, REAL-WORLD EQUIVALENT, or a usable reference pack is missing, ask one focused question per gap. Do not invent the reference or a vague substitute bar.
4. Optionally accept:
   • iteration cap (default 5 rounds per part)
   • BUDGET: total rounds across all parts and/or wall-clock limit (default: none beyond the per-part cap)
   • constraints, scope limits
5. If the reference is named but inaccessible (dead link, missing attachment, no inspectable artifact) or a pack cannot be assembled, stop and ask how to obtain it. Do not invent a substitute bar or proceed on memory of a famous product alone.
6. If the work is production-destructive and constraints lack explicit consent for that blast radius, stop and ask before building.
7. On resume of a prior gauntlet, read the existing gap ledger first. Do not retry a gap already marked stalled without a changed approach.