Iterative Runner

Iterative Runner

Runs Claude in a persistent loop that keeps retrying until tests pass or the task is complete.

When to Use

• Running TDD loops that iterate until all tests pass
• Overnight builds that need to keep trying until successful
• Any task requiring repeated attempts until completion criteria are met
• Automated retry for flaky or complex implementations

Core Concept

while :; do cat PROMPT.md | claude ; done

Keep iterating until task is complete.

Workflow

Step 1: Define Completion Criteria

Specify clear success conditions:

• All tests passing
• No linter errors
• Specific output marker (e.g., <promise>DONE</promise>)

Step 2: Set Safety Limits

Always use --max-iterations to prevent infinite loops.

Step 3: Run the Loop

# Basic loop
iterative-runner "Build feature X" --completion-promise "DONE" --max-iterations 30

# TDD loop
iterative-runner "Implement feature using TDD.