ALEF-PAT-040

observable signature

{
  "log_regex": "(?:max[_-]?iterations|iteration[_-]?cap)\\s*(?:hit|reached|cap-fire)",
  "alt_regex": [
    "commits-on-branch=0,\\s*modified-files=0,\\s*untracked-files=0",
    "agent.*will\\s+retry\\s+on\\s+a\\s+future\\s+tick"
  ],
  "behavior": "Bot leaves a comment like 'hit iteration cap, will retry'. Next tick: same failure. Repeat N times. Crucially, the agent has read+wrote during the failed run (e.g. Read=12 Bash=8 in autumngarage/sentinel#118 transcript) but emits zero artifacts because the cap fires before commit phase."
}

fix archetypes

• commit_on_cap_firecost: small

  When iteration cap fires, the agent commits whatever partial work exists with a clear 'partial-progress-cap-fired' marker so the next run can resume rather than restart.

• cost_budget_replaces_iteration_capcost: medium

  Replace max_iterations: 20 with a token/cost budget. Caps based on token spend are less arbitrary than caps based on tool-call count.

• model_escalation_on_capcost: medium

  First cap -> retry with the same model. Second cap on same task -> escalate to a larger model. Third cap -> human handoff. Never silently retry-forever with identical configuration.

• explicit_skip_on_repeat_failurecost: tiny

  After 3 cap-fires on the same task, the agent labels the issue agent-skip-please-human and stops picking it up. Visible, finite, recoverable.