Codex Task Execution Loop

Purpose

• •Execute implementation tasks safely in a single agent.
• •Preserve the proven 4-step quality cycle without subagents.

4-Step Cycle (Mandatory Per Task)

1. •Implement one task unit.
2. •Run escalation check.
3. •Run quality gate.
4. •Decide commit readiness and report.

Step Details

1) Implement one task unit

• •Follow coding-principles.
• •Add or update tests using testing-principles.
• •Keep change scope small enough for one review/commit unit.

2) Escalation check

Escalate to user if any condition is true:

• •Requirements are unclear or changed.
• •Task is blocked by missing environment or permissions.
• •Fix would require architecture change not in design docs.

3) Quality gate

Run and fix until stable:

• •Formatting/lint/static checks
• •Build/compile
• •Unit tests
• •Integration tests when affected

Use ai-development-guide for anti-pattern checks and fail-fast error handling discipline.

4) Commit readiness and report

• •If all gates pass, mark task as ready.
• •If not, return explicit blockers and next action options.

Hard Rules

• •Never batch multiple unrelated tasks in one cycle.
• •Never skip quality gate after implementation changes.
• •Never hide errors via silent fallback.
• •Never claim completion without verification evidence.

Integration and E2E Handling

• •Use integration-e2e-testing when adding or changing cross-component behavior.
• •Keep integration tests close to implementation.
• •Run E2E on milestone boundaries or before final handoff.