Define the loop contract

Write down exactly what one turn of the loop does before coding it.

First time here? Paste the Context Pack first so the AI understands your project - open it from the header above.

Prompt Capsule

Design the core loop for a single-agent system and write it as a contract before implementation. Specify: (1) INPUT: system prompt + message history + tool registry. (2) TURN: send to model; the model returns either final text or one or more tool calls. (3) EXECUTE: run each tool call in order, capture result or error. (4) FOLD: append tool results as tool-role messages, preserving call order and IDs. (5) TERMINATE: stop on explicit finish, max N turns, or K consecutive tool failures. Produce this as a short design doc with a state diagram and the exact message shapes you will use.

Paste into EmergentFull Build: complete implementation prompt with explicit requirements

Quick is short. Full Build is recommended for most steps. Strict forces real logic when the AI keeps faking output.

Actual change check

Expected after this step

A one-page loop contract with message shapes and termination rules.

Should NOT happen

An existing feature broke
A button only logs to console
Data disappears after refresh
Errors fail silently with no visible state

This is what should exist before you continue. If reality does not match, do not move on.

Your notes for this step

Track what changed, failed, or needs follow-up. Notes export with the flow.

Pass the Verify Gate to complete this step

Verify before continuing

Do not move on until every check is true. The complete button stays locked until then.

Turn sequence is explicitTermination has 3 concrete conditionsMessage shapes are documented

Do not continue if…

! Building an orchestration framework before a single loop works
! Dropping or reordering tool results so the model loses causality
! No termination condition - the agent loops forever on a stuck task
! Swallowing tool errors instead of showing them to the model

If the AI messes this up

Use this when:

- it only made visual forms or placeholder UI
- buttons do nothing or only log to console
- data is not persisted - state disappears on refresh
- something that worked before is now broken

Use this when the AI fakes progress or breaks the feature. It forces a real fix.

The design jumped straight to classes and frameworks. Rewrite it as the sequence of messages exchanged in one turn - if you cannot write the transcript by hand, the design is not ready.