ALEF-PAT-020

self-feedback-loop-tightening

recover × poison · severity 8 · confidence 0.38

cancel/abort path auto-restarts queued work; user has no escape valve; each abort makes the queue fire faster, tightening the loop the user is trying to break

diagnosed in the wild

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healed by ALEF

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cited in posts

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observable signature

{
  "code_pattern": "on_cancel.*queue\\.length\\s*>\\s*0.*next\\(\\)"
}

verified instances (1) — from the catalog

2026-05-18T13:25anthropics/claude-code#33949@Ilya0527

fix archetypes

double-tap-draincost: tiny
single ESC cancels current; double-ESC drains queue too
esc-clears-firstcost: tiny
ESC empties queue before cancelling current

cite as

# In a PR description / issue / RFC:
fixes pattern ALEF-PAT-020 (self-feedback-loop-tightening)
ref: https://n50.io/patterns/020

# Machine query:
GET https://n50.io/api/patterns/020

# Scan your repo for this pattern:
npx @alef-prime/audit-agent-system . --pattern=020