loopops-protocol

LoopOps Protocol

Use this skill when reusable agent behavior should become more than a better prompt.

The goal is to choose the smallest durable artifact that improves future runs:

prompt -> skill -> checklist -> script -> workflow -> loop

Do not promote work upward unless the extra machinery buys reliability, reuse, or cheaper future execution.

Artifact Ladder

Classify the candidate method first:

• Prompt: one-off instruction for this run.
• Skill: compact reusable context, procedure, or tool adapter loaded on demand.
• Checklist: ordered human/agent validation sequence.
• Script: deterministic repeatable action with parameters.
• Workflow: ordered tool/process execution with gates and evidence.
• Loop: workflow plus evaluator, memory write, retry policy, and stop rule.

Prefer the lowest artifact that handles the task reliably.

Loop Suitability Gate

Promote a workflow into a loop only when all are true:

• The goal has an observable completion condition.
• Progress can be evaluated without trusting the worker agent blindly.
• A retry is likely to improve the result.
• Cost can be bounded by iteration, time, token, or tool budget.
• Failure has a clear stop, rollback, or human-escalation path.

If any condition is missing, keep it as a supervised workflow or checklist.

Open vs Closed Loop

Use an open loop when:

• the solution space is unknown,
• discovery or exploration matters,
• multiple valid approaches may exist,
• the output is research, architecture, strategy, or design direction.

Use a closed loop when:

• acceptance criteria are known,
• tests, checks, or review criteria exist,
• regression risk matters,
• the task can be decomposed into verifiable steps.

Open loops need tighter budget limits. Closed loops need stronger evaluators.

Supervisor Contract

Every loop must define:

Goal:
Completion condition:
Loop type: open | closed
Worker action:
Evaluator:
Evidence:
Memory write:
Retry policy:
Budget:
Stop rule:
Rollback or escalation: