Tests whether the candidate reaches for loops only when needed. Strong answers name the single-pass alternative first.
A fixed transform with known steps wants a script, not an agent. An agent fits when the path branches on what each tool call returns.
Use a script | Use an agent | Why |
|---|---|---|
Rename signals across files | Triage failures across logs, runs and fixes | One has fixed steps; the other branches. |
Format a report | Gather evidence from several tools | No tool decision versus many. |
Replay a known flow | Explore an unknown failure | Replay needs no judgment; search does. |
Tests step budgets and stopping rules. Strong answers give numbers and a chain-success estimate.
Set a step budget, a per-step cost cap, and a stop test checked after every step. Longer blind chains fail fast, as the arithmetic below shows.
EXAMPLE parameters: each step succeeds with chance 0.9, steps independent
5-step chain: 0.9^5 = 0.9 x 0.9 x 0.9 x 0.9 x 0.9 = 0.59049
10-step chain: 0.9^10 = 0.59049 x 0.59049 = 0.3486784401
shorter chains with a check after each step beat long blind chainsdef fake_step(state):
# FAKE scripted stand-in for one agent step, not real behavior
if state["checks_done"] < 2:
state["checks_done"] += 1
return "continue"
return "done"
def run_agent(step_budget):
state = {"checks_done": 0}
steps = 0
while steps < step_budget:
steps += 1
if fake_step(state) == "done":
return ("done", steps)
return ("escalate", steps)
bad = []
status, used = run_agent(5)
if status != "done" or used != 3:
bad.append("should finish in 3 steps")
status2, used2 = run_agent(2)
if status2 != "escalate" or used2 != 2:
bad.append("tight budget should escalate after 2 steps")
if bad:
print("FAIL: " + "; ".join(bad))
raise SystemExit(1)
print("PASS: budget 5 finishes in 3 steps, budget 2 escalates")The loop above is a fake stand-in, not a real agent. It proves the budget rule: enough budget finishes, a tight budget escalates instead of looping.
Tests separation of planning from acting. Strong answers let the agent propose and the human dispose.
The agent may read and draft freely within its budget. Writing, deleting, sending, or merging waits for explicit human approval with the diff shown.
0.59049: 0.9 to the fifth power. Ten steps fall to 0.3486784401, so check early and often.
Stop and escalate to the human with what it found. The budget buys evidence, not motion.