Loop

Unknowns Loop — operating loop for working with strong models

Core principle: the bottleneck with strong models is not the model — it's the user's ability to keep the map (plan) matched to the territory (reality). That gap is the unknowns. Designing the explore → question → plan → implement → log deviations → verify loop matters more than one good prompt. Origin: the 11 "Know your unknowns" examples; the loop itself is a plugin extension — see skills/loop/references/talk-source.md.

Output: Artifact tool → .unknowns/<YYYY-MM-DD>-loop-<slug>.html → markdown. Each stage's artifact keeps its own skill's reaction control; the loop's own control is the per-stage checkpoint, which assembles into the .unknowns/loop.json tracker. Details: skills/loop/references/output-routing.md

Steps (10 — scale down by size)

1. Define value & done criteria

Fix with user before starting: purpose / value to user / done criteria / existing behavior that must never break / allowed cost & change scope. Without success criteria, implementation volume gets mistaken for progress.

2. Blind-spot investigation → /unknowns:blindspot (or /blindspot for copied installs)

Investigate only, no implementation. Find unknown unknowns, conflict points, regression risks; produce improved prompt. If the domain itself is unfamiliar (requests vague because terms unknown), run /unknowns:teach-me alongside.

3. Interview → /unknowns:interview

Architecture-changing questions first, max 4 per round.

4. Explore solutions & shape (as needed)

• What to do undecided → /unknowns:brainstorm (solution-space map)
• Can't describe what it should look like in words → /unknowns:prototypes (divergent mockups)
• Has example to emulate → /unknowns:reference (reference analysis)

5. Risky-assumption prototype (as needed)

Before full implementation, build minimal prototype verifying only the most uncertain technical assumption. State the assumption and success/failure criteria first.

6. Plan → /unknowns:plan

Tweakable plan sorted by probability of revision, not execution order. Decisions needing user input (schema, interfaces, UX contracts) go on top.

7. Implement + deviation log → apply /unknowns:notes rules

Log anything not in the plan; stop and ask on decisions touching architecture, user-visible behavior, data, or security. If the conversation was compacted, re-invoke /unknowns:notes (and this skill for the step list) before continuing implementation.

8. Independent verification → unknowns:independent-reviewer agent

Spawn it with the Agent tool (subagent_type: unknowns:independent-reviewer). Never a fork or /subtask — those inherit the implementer's context, which is the one thing this step exists to exclude. Hand the agent: done criteria (step 1), the approved plan (step 6), the IMPLEMENTATION_NOTES.md path, the diff range / touched files, and how to run the tests. Never hand it the implementer's own summary.

9. Comprehension check & handoff → /unknowns:quiz

Verify user can explain this work in a PR or handoff. If the work needs reviewer or stakeholder approval, also produce a /unknowns:buy-in doc.

10. Value review

Judge by real value, not code quality: whose problem shrank and which / how much faster / reasons it might go unused / metrics / removal condition. Building is easier, generating value is still hard. Close by capturing one scorecard row — ask the user whether this surfaced something they did not know and whether it changed a decision, then append the row to .unknowns/scorecard.md. Never answer those two for them, and write the row even when both answers are no. Details: skills/loop/references/scorecard.md

Scale-down criteria

• Small fix (1–2 files, clear spec): step-7 rules (notes) only — no loop needed.
• Medium work: 1 (one exchange) → 2 → 3 → 6 → 7 → 9.
• Large or unfamiliar work: all steps, with 4 and 5 only as needed.
• Step 1 runs in every tier. Unsure which tier → ask the user, then record the choice.

Loop status (survives compaction, /resume, new sessions)

Keep .unknowns/loop.json — {task, tier, stage, decisions[], artifacts[]} — and rewrite it at every stage boundary. Close each stage with one AskUserQuestion checkpoint (continue / skip ahead / stop) and record the answer there.

• Argument status: read the file; report tier, current stage, steps remaining.
• Argument resume: read the file; continue from the recorded stage.
• Any other argument text is the task description.
• No argument: resume .unknowns/loop.json if it exists, otherwise ask for the task first.

Operating principles (compressed)

1. Define purpose. 2. Find blind spots before implementing. 3. Make the model ask questions. 4. Give references and prototypes instead of words. 5. Sort plans by probability of revision. 6. Log unknowns and plan deviations. 7. Verify with tests and independent review. 8. Confirm user can explain the result. 9. Deliverables in reactable form. 10. Measure real value, not code volume.