Debug Loop Breaker

When to use

• •Same error appears after 2 attempts.
• •You are repeating commands with only minor/no code changes.
• •You are unsure whether failure is code, environment, or tooling.

Protocol

1. •Freeze retries.
2. •Write one explicit hypothesis:
   • •"I believe X fails because Y."
3. •Define one falsifiable check for that hypothesis.
4. •Run only that check.
5. •If disproven, replace hypothesis; do not retry the same approach.

Loop budget

• •Max 3 attempts per hypothesis.
• •After 3 failed attempts, mandatory pivot:
  • •isolate smaller repro, or
  • •switch tooling strategy, or
  • •add instrumentation/assertions.

Required evidence per attempt

• •Command run.
• •Observable output delta.
• •Decision: continue / pivot / rollback.

Exit criteria

• •Root cause identified with evidence, or
• •Problem reframed into a smaller reproducible failing case with next action.