patterns/MATRIX.md

Pattern Matrix

A side-by-side comparison of every loop in the pattern library. Use it to pick a pattern, compare trade-offs, or check that your own loop names the same parts.

How To Read This Matrix

• Best for is the symptom or job the loop solves. If you know the symptom, start from Choose Your Loop.
• Trigger / cadence is what starts a run: a schedule, an event, or a manual bootstrap.
• Intake is where the loop finds work each run.
• Durable state is what survives between runs, outside the model.
• Verification gate is the deterministic check that decides done, not the model's opinion.
• Budget is the hard stop on retries or runtime.
• Escalation is the moment a human takes over.
• Runtime fit suggests where the loop tends to run well; see the runtime selection guide for the full comparison. It is a starting point, not a constraint.

Every pattern links to its full write-up and a schema-valid contract in examples/.

Matrix

Pattern	Best for	Trigger / cadence	Intake source	Durable state	Verification gate	Budget	Escalation	Runtime fit
PR babysitter	A PR stalls on comments, CI, or conflicts	Schedule + PR events	PR metadata, reviews, checks	PR progress comment, last SHA	Required checks pass, comments resolved	3 retries / 60 min	Architectural or force-push decisions	Claude Code routines, Codex automations, gh-aw
CI repair loop	CI keeps failing on a mechanical cause	Event: required check fails	Failing check, logs, artifacts	Failing command, attempted fixes	Original failing command passes	3 retries / 60 min	Test-infra or out-of-scope failures	Codex automations, gh-aw, shell/cron
Docs drift collector	Docs may be stale versus code	Schedule: weekly	Changed files, docs, examples, CLI help	Verified drift items, false positives	Examples run, links pass	2 retries / 60 min	Product behavior or generated-docs calls	Claude Code routines, gh-aw
Deploy verifier	A rollout needs watching	Event: deploy starts; poll 5-15 min	Dashboards, logs, traces, flags	Rollout phase, anomalies, decisions	Synthetic checks and thresholds hold	2 retries / rollout window	Threshold breach or missing telemetry	Shell/cron, custom durable runtime
Feedback clusterer	Feedback is noisy and unsorted	Schedule: daily or weekly	Issues, tickets, threads, reviews	Processed IDs, cluster definitions	Clusters cite sources, frequency vs severity	1 retry / 90 min	Security, legal, or prioritization conflicts	Claude Code routines, Codex automations
Dependency triage loop	Dependency updates pile up	Schedule: weekly + bot PRs	Update PRs, advisories, lockfile diff	Processed updates, deferral reasons	Tests, typecheck, build, audit pass	2 retries / 60 min	Major versions, advisories, migrations	gh-aw, Codex automations, shell/cron
Evaluation regression loop	Agent evals regressed	Schedule: nightly + score drop	Eval runs, traces, recent commits	Run IDs, hypotheses, rerun scores	Targeted tasks return to baseline	3 retries / 120 min	Scorer bugs or overfitting risk	Custom durable runtime, shell/cron
Security review loop	Sensitive changes need review	Event: sensitive diff; weekly pass	Diffs, threat model, scan output	Reviewed SHA, findings, false positives	Findings cite concrete evidence	2 retries / 90 min	Credentials, crypto, exploitability doubt	Claude Code routines, gh-aw
Cost-control loop	Agent spend is rising	Schedule + spend threshold	Usage telemetry, traces, billing	Baseline spend, proposed changes	Quality gates hold on a comparable sample	2 retries / 60 min	Quality tradeoffs or routing changes	Custom durable runtime, shell/cron
Bug hunting loop	Recurring bug discovery	Schedule: weekly on active modules	Logs, flaky tests, traces, diffs	Checked areas, reproductions	Reproducible steps or failing test	3 retries / 90 min	Production-only or security-sensitive bugs	Claude Code routines, shell/cron
Enterprise approval loop	A change needs sign-off	Schedule + gate/approver events	Change request, gates, approvers	Approval ledger, gate status	Every gate has a recorded human decision	3 retries / SLA window	Failed gate or unresponsive approver	Custom durable runtime, gh-aw
Incident response loop	An incident just paged	Event: alert; refresh 2-5 min	Alert, dashboards, traces, changes	Incident timeline, hypotheses	Severity backed by impact evidence	2 retries / incident life	Outage, data loss, or mitigation needed	Custom durable runtime, shell/cron
Data-quality loop	A dataset keeps drifting	Event: refresh; or nightly	New version, schema, prior baseline	Profile metrics, accepted exceptions	Hard rules pass before promotion	2 retries / 90 min	Schema change or regulated fields	Custom durable runtime, shell/cron
Release-note loop	Release notes are a chore	Event: release branch or tag	Merged PRs, issues, commits	Processed IDs, draft changelog	Every entry links to a source	2 retries / 60 min	Security advisories or wording calls	gh-aw, Codex automations
Model-routing loop	Model choice is ad hoc	Schedule + model/price change	Per-task telemetry, eval results	Task-class metrics, routing log	Replays hold quality within tolerance	2 retries / 120 min	Privacy tier or quality-cost tradeoffs	Custom durable runtime

Notes

• Runtime fit is advisory. Most patterns run on more than one runtime; the runtime selection guide compares persistence, file access, isolation, and permissions so you can choose deliberately.
• Budgets are defaults from each pattern's contract. Tune them to your blast radius before running unattended.
• Read-mostly patterns (deploy verifier, incident response, feedback clusterer, model routing) keep humans on any state-changing action by design.