How do I install the Loop Patterns skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add mike-diff/loop-patterns-2 in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Loop Patterns safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Loop Patterns?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Loop Patterns free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Loop Patterns?

mike-diff (@mike-diff) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Loop Patterns by mike-diff — Agent Skill

Name: Loop Patterns
Author: mike-diff

Loop Patterns

Recommended /loop patterns for the agents shipped in this repo (explorer, implementer, reviewer, qa, skill-author). Activates when the user asks about /loop, polling, watch-mode, periodic tasks, or autonomous iteration.

mike-diff 107236a 3.3 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

/loop patterns per agent

The /loop command runs a prompt or slash command on a recurring interval, or self-paces via ScheduleWakeup when no interval is given. These patterns match the responsibilities of the five agents in .claude/agents/.

explorer — periodic codebase crawl

Best when the codebase shifts rapidly (active development, frequent merges).

/loop 15m Explore changes since the last crawl and append new findings to .context/explorer-notes.md

Cadence: 10–30 minutes. Good for: pre-implementation recon during long discussions.

implementer — self-paced watch-build

When implementing a long feature across many edits. Omit the interval so ScheduleWakeup picks delays based on build duration.

/loop Continue building the current feature spec; after each iteration, run the project's build and paste any new errors into the next prompt.

Cadence: self-paced. Good for: large spec phases, CI-heavy projects.

reviewer — post-edit incremental review

/loop 20m Review all files modified since the last review pass and flag any that violate `.claude/rules/coding-standards.md`.

Cadence: 15–30 minutes. Good for: keeping a running review in parallel with implementer.

qa — watch-test loop

/loop 5m Run the project's test command; if any fail, message the implementer with the full failure output.

Cadence: 5–15 minutes. Good for: active red-green TDD sessions.

skill-author — TDD drip

Uncommon; used during long skill authoring when the baseline test suite is slow.

/loop Re-run the skill baseline test after each edit to .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md.

Cadence: self-paced. Good for: multi-file skill authoring.

spec phases — goal-gated cross-phase walk

Solo (no agent team), one session, auto-advance each phase only after its Goal Condition is met:

/loop Set /goal to the next not-yet-done phase's Goal Condition from @.context/specs/spec-[name].md; when /goal reports "Goal achieved", commit, then advance. Stop when the last phase's goal is achieved.

/loop re-runs the prompt in the same session; /goal is the per-phase completion judge that /loop lacks. They're independent — /goal can't invoke /loop, so the loop prompt re-sets the goal each iteration. Prefer /agent-team:dev @<spec> (sweep) for hands-off team runs; use this for solo single-session control.

Cadence: self-paced. Good for: solo spec implementation without an agent team.

Bare /loop and loop.md

A bare /loop (no prompt) runs a maintenance prompt at a self-paced interval: Claude Code uses .claude/loop.md if the project ships one (falling back to ~/.claude/loop.md, then the built-in prompt of continue-unfinished-work / tend-the-PR / cleanup). Ship a .claude/loop.md in the project to tune the pass to its own validation scripts. Supplying any prompt on the command line bypasses the file.

Not recommended

Running /loop on one-shot tasks — starts a recurring process that outlives the task
Cadences under 60 seconds — the runtime clamps delaySeconds to [60, 3600]
Loops that accumulate unbounded context — pair with summarize-and-reset instructions

---name: loop-patterns-2description: Recommended /loop patterns for the agents shipped in this repo (explorer, implementer, reviewer, qa, skill-author). Activates when the user asks about /loop, polling, watch-mode, periodic tasks, or autonomous iteration.---# /loop patterns per agentThe `/loop` command runs a prompt or slash command on a recurring interval, or self-paces via ScheduleWakeup when no interval is given. These patterns match the responsibilities of the five agents in `.claude/agents/`.## explorer — periodic codebase crawlBest when the codebase shifts rapidly (active development, frequent merges). /loop 15m Explore changes since the last crawl and append new findings to .context/explorer-notes.mdCadence: 10–30 minutes. Good for: pre-implementation recon during long discussions.## implementer — self-paced watch-buildWhen implementing a long feature across many edits. Omit the interval so ScheduleWakeup picks delays based on build duration. /loop Continue building the current feature spec; after each iteration, run the project's build and paste any new errors into the next prompt.Cadence: self-paced. Good for: large spec phases, CI-heavy projects.## reviewer — post-edit incremental review /loop 20m Review all files modified since the last review pass and flag any that violate `.claude/rules/coding-standards.md`.Cadence: 15–30 minutes. Good for: keeping a running review in parallel with implementer.## qa — watch-test loop /loop 5m Run the project's test command; if any fail, message the implementer with the full failure output.Cadence: 5–15 minutes. Good for: active red-green TDD sessions.## skill-author — TDD dripUncommon; used during long skill authoring when the baseline test suite is slow. /loop Re-run the skill baseline test after each edit to .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md.Cadence: self-paced. Good for: multi-file skill authoring.## spec phases — goal-gated cross-phase walkSolo (no agent team), one session, auto-advance each phase only after its Goal Condition is met: /loop Set /goal to the next not-yet-done phase's Goal Condition from @.context/specs/spec-[name].md; when /goal reports "Goal achieved", commit, then advance. Stop when the last phase's goal is achieved.`/loop` re-runs the prompt in the same session; `/goal` is the per-phase completion judge that `/loop` lacks. They're independent — `/goal` can't invoke `/loop`, so the loop prompt re-sets the goal each iteration. Prefer `/agent-team:dev @<spec>` (sweep) for hands-off team runs; use this for solo single-session control.Cadence: self-paced. Good for: solo spec implementation without an agent team.## Bare /loop and loop.mdA bare `/loop` (no prompt) runs a maintenance prompt at a self-paced interval:Claude Code uses `.claude/loop.md` if the project ships one (falling back to`~/.claude/loop.md`, then the built-in prompt of continue-unfinished-work /tend-the-PR / cleanup). Ship a `.claude/loop.md` in the project to tune thepass to its own validation scripts. Supplying any prompt on the command linebypasses the file.## Not recommended- Running `/loop` on one-shot tasks — starts a recurring process that outlives the task- Cadences under 60 seconds — the runtime clamps `delaySeconds` to [60, 3600]- Loops that accumulate unbounded context — pair with summarize-and-reset instructions

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