loop

name: loop description: Create a loop that runs a prompt now and follows up either on a fixed schedule or through self-paced wakeups. Usage - /loop check the build, /loop 5m check the build, /loop check the PR every 30m. /loop list to show jobs, /loop clear to cancel all. argument-hint: '[interval] [prompt] | list | clear' allowedTools: - cron_create - cron_list - cron_delete - loop_wakeup

/loop — run a prompt repeatedly

Subcommands

If the input (after stripping the /loop prefix) is exactly one of these keywords, run the subcommand instead of scheduling:

• list — call CronList and display the results. Done.
• clear — call CronList, then call CronDelete for every job returned. Confirm how many were cancelled. Done.

Parsing

Parse the input after removing the /loop prefix:

1. Empty input: show usage /loop [interval] [prompt] and stop. Do not call CronCreate or LoopWakeup in this slice.
2. Leading interval token: if the first whitespace-delimited token matches ^\d+[smhd]$ (e.g. 5m, 2h), this is the fixed-interval recurring path. The rest is the prompt.
3. Trailing "every" clause: otherwise, if the input ends with every <N><unit> or every <N> <unit-word> (e.g. every 20m, every 5 minutes, every 2 hours), this is the fixed-interval recurring path. Extract that interval and strip it from the prompt. Only match when what follows "every" is a time expression — check every PR has no interval.
4. Prompt-only input: otherwise, the entire input is the prompt and this is the prompt-only self-paced path.

If the resulting prompt is empty, show usage /loop [interval] [prompt] and stop.

Examples:

• 5m /babysit-prs → fixed interval 5m, prompt /babysit-prs (leading interval token)
• check the deploy every 20m → fixed interval 20m, prompt check the deploy (trailing "every" clause)
• run tests every 5 minutes → fixed interval 5m, prompt run tests (trailing "every" clause)
• check every PR → prompt-only self-paced path, prompt check every PR ("every" is not followed by a time expression)
• check the deploy → prompt-only self-paced path, prompt check the deploy
• 5m → empty prompt → show usage

Prompt-only self-paced path

Use this path only when the user supplied a prompt and no interval.

1. Do not call CronCreate for this path.
2. If this tick opens with a <task-notification> block (a monitor or background event re-invoked you, not a bare /loop wakeup prompt), handle that event before re-running the prompt.
   • If the notification says the watched condition was met, cancel any pending fallback LoopWakeup with CronDelete if you still have its ID, then finish the loop.
   • If a monitor auto-stopped on idle or max-events, restart it once if the watch is still useful, re-arm the fallback, report the restart count to the user, and include that count in the LoopWakeup prompt or reason (for example, monitor restarted 1/1 time) so it survives context compaction. If it auto-stops again on the next tick, end the loop and report the repeated auto-stop to the user.
   • If the signal is ambiguous, re-arm a shorter follow-up and investigate on the next tick. If the signal remains ambiguous for three consecutive ticks, end the loop and report that the watch could not reach a clear conclusion.
3. Run the parsed prompt immediately now.
   • If it is a slash command, invoke it via the Skill tool.
   • Otherwise, act on it directly.
4. Before ending the turn, decide whether another check is useful.
   • Call LoopWakeup only if continued follow-up is useful.
   • Do not call LoopWakeup if the task is complete.
   • Do not call LoopWakeup if the task is blocked on user input or external state that cannot be checked later.
   • Do not call LoopWakeup just to keep polling when no useful next check exists.
   • If you started a background agent or a Monitor, it wakes you via a terminal <task-notification> on exit, failure, cancellation, or monitor auto-stop — so set LoopWakeup as a long fallback rather than a short poll. Do not omit it just because something is watching: the work may hang, or a Monitor may auto-stop on idle or max-events (and one owned by another agent routes its notification only to that agent). Omit LoopWakeup only on the terminal conditions above (complete, blocked, or repeated monitor auto-stop).
5. When scheduling a continuation, call LoopWakeup with:
   • delaySeconds: the next useful delay in seconds. The runtime clamps to 60–3600 (1–60 min); follow the tool's own guidance on picking a value — it accounts for the prompt-cache window and for the fallback-heartbeat case when a background task will wake you.
   • prompt: /loop ${original prompt} plus any state the next tick must preserve, such as monitor restarted 1/1 time.
   • reason: a short reason for the chosen delay. Include the monitor restart count here when re-arming after an auto-stop.
6. Briefly tell the user what was done now. If a wakeup was scheduled, include when the next check is expected. If no wakeup was scheduled because a notification ended the loop, mention whether the stale fallback was cancelled; if the wakeup ID was lost, ignore or answer the stale wakeup briefly when it fires.

Fixed-interval recurring path

Use this path only for inputs with a leading interval token or a trailing "every" clause.

Interval to cron

Supported suffixes: s (seconds, rounded up to nearest minute, min 1), m (minutes), h (hours), d (days). Convert:

If the interval does not cleanly divide its unit (for example 7m gives uneven gaps at :56 to :00, or 90m is 1.5 hours which cron cannot express), pick the nearest clean interval and tell the user what you rounded to before scheduling.

Action

1. Call CronCreate with:
   • cron: the expression from the table above
   • prompt: the parsed prompt from above, verbatim (slash commands are passed through unchanged)
   • recurring: true
   • durable: true if the user's language implies persistence ("keep doing this", "set this up permanently", "every day even after restart"). Otherwise omit (defaults to session-only).
2. Briefly confirm: what is scheduled, the cron expression, the human-readable cadence, that recurring tasks auto-expire after 7 days, and that they can cancel sooner with CronDelete (include the job ID).
3. Then immediately execute the parsed prompt now. Do not wait for the first cron fire.
   • If it is a slash command, invoke it via the Skill tool.
   • Otherwise, act on it directly.

loop.md task-file mode

Use this when the user wants the loop to work a task list kept in a file (they say "work through my loop.md", "loop over the tasks in .qwen/loop.md", or point at such a file). Tasks live in .qwen/loop.md (project) or ~/.qwen/loop.md (home; project wins). Instead of a natural-language prompt, set the loop's prompt to a sentinel so each fire re-reads the file:

• Self-paced (no interval) → LoopWakeup prompt: <<loop.md-dynamic>>
• Fixed interval → CronCreate prompt: <<loop.md>> (with recurring: true, and durable: true if persistence is implied)

At each fire you receive either the full task list (first delivery, after the file changes, or after a compaction) or a short reminder to keep working the list established earlier. Work the tasks; in self-paced mode re-arm LoopWakeup with <<loop.md-dynamic>> only when continued follow-up is useful (same "don't re-arm if complete/blocked" rules as the prompt-only path). If .qwen/loop.md is absent at fire time, treat the tick as a no-op. Confirm to the user in plain language ("looping over your .qwen/loop.md task list…"), not the raw sentinel.

Input