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feat(loop-init): scaffold loop-intake skill to clarify ambiguous goals before acting#237

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feat(loop-init): scaffold loop-intake skill to clarify ambiguous goals before acting#237
KhaiTrang1995 wants to merge 1 commit into
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KhaiTrang1995:feat/loop-intake-skill

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@KhaiTrang1995

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Summary

The design checklist asks for a "single clear goal" and the primitives warn
against guessing, but nothing helps a loop when the work item it receives is too
vague to verify "done". Issue-driven loops in particular act on human-authored
input that often lacks a testable definition of done, exact scope, or the
concrete values a fix depends on -- so the loop guesses and burns fix attempts
the circuit breaker then has to catch. This adds the missing front-door.

What

A cross-cutting loop-intake skill, in the same family as loop-guard /
loop-constraints / loop-budget:

  • templates/SKILL.md.loop-intake -- runs at the front of a run when the item
    is underspecified. Ask one question at a time, push for exact values, and on a
    still-vague answer write an open question + needs-human escalation instead of
    guessing. Report-only by default; feeds loop-verifier via a "Done when" line;
    respects loop-constraints scope.
  • loop-init scaffolds it for issue-triage (PATTERNS_NEEDING_INTAKE),
    mirroring how the circuit breaker is scaffolded only for fix-capable patterns.
    Report-only patterns without ambiguous input skip it.

Why this shape

  • Not a new pattern -- a new pattern would need a full starter directory across
    four tools and is off-domain (intake is not a scheduled loop). A skill template
    is the right unit; bundle-assets picks it up automatically at build.
  • Attached to a single pattern (issue-triage, where vague human input is the
    norm) to keep special-casing minimal and the behavior easy to test.

Tested

npm test green (14/14). Two new tests: loop-intake is scaffolded for
issue-triage and is absent for report-only daily-triage. loop-init README and the
loop-design checklist updated; version 1.3.3 -> 1.4.0.

…s before acting

The design checklist asks for a "single clear goal" and primitives warn against
guessing, but nothing helps a loop when the work item it receives is too vague to
verify "done". Issue-driven loops in particular act on human-authored input that
often lacks a testable definition of done, exact scope, or the concrete values a
fix depends on -- so the loop guesses and burns fix attempts the circuit breaker
then has to catch.

This adds a cross-cutting loop-intake skill (same family as loop-guard /
loop-constraints / loop-budget):

- templates/SKILL.md.loop-intake: runs at the front of a run when the item is
  underspecified. Ask one question at a time, push for exact values, and on a
  still-vague answer write an open question + needs-human escalation instead of
  guessing. Report-only by default; feeds loop-verifier via a "Done when" line.
- loop-init scaffolds it for issue-triage (PATTERNS_NEEDING_INTAKE), mirroring how
  the circuit breaker is scaffolded only for fix-capable patterns. Report-only
  patterns without ambiguous input skip it.

Wired into README and the loop-design checklist. Two tests cover presence for
issue-triage and absence for daily-triage. Version 1.3.3 -> 1.4.0.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
@github-actions

github-actions Bot commented Jul 9, 2026

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Thanks @KhaiTrang1995 for contributing a docs improvement — visible, reviewable PRs like this grow the reference for everyone.

What happens next

  • Maintainer aims for same-day review on story, adopter, and scoped docs/example PRs (CONTRIBUTING.md).
  • good first issue PRs: comment on the linked issue so we can assign and close on merge.

More ways to help

— loop-engineering maintainers

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