agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to ru

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Stop the loop by making repetition visible and expensive. Log a hash of the step inputs and the tool result, abort when the same call repeats with the same result beyond a small budget, and require the agent to read back the Metabase state before attempting the step again. Loops during pull Metabase query results almost always mean a success signal the agent cannot see, so it retries a step that already worked or can never work.

agent loop detected: agent kept repeating the same pull Metabase query results step and failed with error

Use this when

• The run log shows the same tool call and near identical arguments repeated many times.
• The Metabase content shows repeated partial attempts or many duplicate objects from one run.
• The run ends by budget exhaustion rather than by a step error.

Not for this skill when

• The agent is slow but each step differs and progress is visible. That is a performance problem, not a loop.
• The agent failed once on a clear API error and stopped. Handle that error directly.

Steps

1. Freeze the run and extract its tool call sequence, counting repeats of the pull Metabase query results step and comparing their arguments. Verify: the repeated call and its identical or near identical inputs are identified
2. Inspect the Metabase state the step was trying to change and compare it with what the agent believed, using the API to read the current card and dashboard definitions plus the query result payloads. Verify: you can state whether the step had already succeeded, was failing permanently, or was aimed at the wrong target
3. Fix the root mismatch, such as pointing verification at the object the build actually creates, or teaching the step to treat an already exists result as success. Verify: a single manual pass of the step now reports success correctly
4. Add a repetition guard to the agent, hashing each tool call with its result and stopping the run after a small number of identical repeats with a clear loop error. Verify: a test run with a forced failure stops at the guard instead of exhausting its budget
5. Add a per step attempt budget and a run level step budget sized for the dashboard build, with the budget breach reported as its own failure type. Verify: the run summary separates loop aborts from ordinary step failures
6. Rerun the full pull Metabase query results task and confirm the agent completes in a normal step count. Verify: the run finishes and the dashboard opens in Metabase

Why it happens

Loops are a state recognition failure. The agent acts, the world changes or refuses to change, and the agent cannot tell the difference from its observations, so its planner rationally chooses the same action again. Retries feel safe to a planner because they are reversible, which is exactly why an external guard has to count them. Progress detection, where each step must change an observable state marker, is the general fix across agent frameworks.

Dashboard building agents plan, call the Metabase API, observe the result, and plan again. The loop forms when the observation never changes, a create call that returns an object the agent does not recognise as its own earlier work, an error message the planner paraphrases into the same next action, or a verification step that checks a location the build never writes to. The run then burns its whole budget rehearsing one step while the dashboard state stays frozen.

Operational notes for loop failures in agent pipelines. Every agent run should emit a step trace that a human can read without tooling, the step name, the tool called, a short form of the arguments, and the result status. Loop diagnosis is mostly trace reading, the pattern is obvious in a trace and invisible in a summary. Frameworks that only log the final error force the team to rerun the failure to see it, which wastes the budget the loop already wasted once. Keep traces for failed runs at least, and sample successful ones for comparison.

Variants and edge cases

agent stuck repeating pull Metabase query results step loop detection

The detection phrasing for runaway repetition in the logs.

agent loop same tool call no progress abort budget

The guard design variant focused on budgets and hashing.

agent retries step that already succeeded Metabase state check

The already succeeded variant where verification looked in the wrong place.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_9x45jJjcTHrkrFQmjicZlQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_9x45jJjcTHrkrFQmjicZlQ

Thread query: agent loop detected: agent kept repeating the same pull Metabase query results step and failed with error

TL;DR: Stop the loop by making repetition visible and expensive. Log a hash of the step inputs and the tool result, abort when the same call repeats with the same result beyond a small budget, and require the agent to read back the Metabase state before attempting the step again. Loops during pull Metabase query results almost always mean a success signal the agent cannot see, so it retries a step that already worked or can never work.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in the agent workflow by acting on the exact problem first: halt the looping run, add a state check so the step to generate a one-way NDA for a vendor evaluation records its result and exits after one success, cap retries at three with a changed input each time, and resume only after the step counter shows the step as done. Do not rerun the same attempt unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one run or task attempt first, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the results.

agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to generate a one-way NDA for a vendor evaluation error failure

Use this when

• The operation in the agent workflow fails with this exact problem: agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to generate a one-way NDA for a vendor evaluation error failure.
• The same failure repeats on retry with unchanged inputs.
• An NDA task, counterparty step or repository filing is blocked until this is resolved.

Not for this skill when

• The notice is a platform outage from the vendor. Resolve that first, then return here if this problem remains.
• The agent completes the task and you only disagree with the output wording or a legal judgement in the document. That is a legal owner decision, not this failure.

Steps

1. Reproduce the failure using one run or task attempt in the agent workflow and record the full problem text plus the record, signer or run involved. Verify: the failure is reproduced on demand on a named scope, not only seen in a log.
2. Apply the specific fix for this problem: halt the looping run, add a state check so the step to generate a one-way NDA for a vendor evaluation records its result and exits after one success, cap retries at three with a changed input each time, and resume only after the step counter shows the step as done. Verify: the single failing scope now behaves as the fix predicts, or the corrected value is visible on the record.
3. Check neighbouring records, templates or runs that share the same settings, template or schedule, because this class of failure rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Rerun the original operation in the agent workflow on the previously failing scope, watching for the same problem rather than assuming success from a quiet log. Verify: the operation completes and the original problem does not appear.
5. Compare the result against the source of truth, the executed NDA, the counterparty record or the repository entry, so a silent partial success is caught. Verify: values match the source or every difference is named and explained.
6. Record the fix, the triggering input and the verification result on the workflow log so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the problem, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

Variant phrasings

agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to generate a one-way NDA for a vendor evaluation error failure

The verbatim form searchers paste from the console, report or run log. Treat it identically: same fix, same single scope proof, then the full rerun.

How to fix - agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to generate a one-way NDA for a vendor evaluation error failure

The how to phrasing for the same failure in the agent workflow. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the rerun.

Agent workflow troubleshooting for this failure

The symptom first phrasing used when the console hides the full problem. Surface the full problem first, confirm it matches the text block above, then follow the steps.

Why it happens

The agent repeats a step when the step result is not written back as state, so the planner sees the same unfinished task on every pass and selects it again.

Edge cases

• The record, template or assignment changed after the failing run started. Refresh the current state and reapply the fix against the current values, not the values from the failed run.
• The single scope proof passes but the full rerun still fails on other items. Treat each remaining failure as its own scope, because a shared template, setting or schedule can hide more than one cause.
• The source systems disagree on the correct value. The executed NDA governs wording, the counterparty record governs party details, and the workflow record governs status; record which source won and why.

Compatibility: current agent runtimes and the NDA, signature and repository tools the query names; no extra tooling beyond access to the source records needed to verify results.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstPRUJ50hVM1shL41ruXjAg

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstPRUJ50hVM1shL41ruXjAg

Thread query: agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to generate a one-way NDA for a vendor evaluation error failure

TL;DR: Fix this in the agent workflow by acting on the exact problem first: halt the looping run, add a state check so the step to generate a one-way NDA for a vendor evaluation records its result and exits after one success, cap retries at three with a changed input each time, and resume only after the step counter shows the step as done. Do not rerun the same attempt unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one run or task attempt first, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the results.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in the agent workflow by acting on the exact problem first: break the loop by forcing a state change, mark the current step complete or failed explicitly instead of leaving it pending, route the work on to the next step after the task to fill counterparty details into an NDA template, and watch the run log to confirm no step repeats. Do not rerun the same attempt unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one run or task attempt first, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the results.

agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to fill counterparty details into an NDA template error failure

Use this when

• The operation in the agent workflow fails with this exact problem: agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to fill counterparty details into an NDA template error failure.
• The same failure repeats on retry with unchanged inputs.
• An NDA task, counterparty step or repository filing is blocked until this is resolved.

Not for this skill when

• The notice is a platform outage from the vendor. Resolve that first, then return here if this problem remains.
• The agent completes the task and you only disagree with the output wording or a legal judgement in the document. That is a legal owner decision, not this failure.

Steps

1. Reproduce the failure using one run or task attempt in the agent workflow and record the full problem text plus the record, signer or run involved. Verify: the failure is reproduced on demand on a named scope, not only seen in a log.
2. Apply the specific fix for this problem: break the loop by forcing a state change, mark the current step complete or failed explicitly instead of leaving it pending, route the work on to the next step after the task to fill counterparty details into an NDA template, and watch the run log to confirm no step repeats. Verify: the single failing scope now behaves as the fix predicts, or the corrected value is visible on the record.
3. Check neighbouring records, templates or runs that share the same settings, template or schedule, because this class of failure rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Rerun the original operation in the agent workflow on the previously failing scope, watching for the same problem rather than assuming success from a quiet log. Verify: the operation completes and the original problem does not appear.
5. Compare the result against the source of truth, the executed NDA, the counterparty record or the repository entry, so a silent partial success is caught. Verify: values match the source or every difference is named and explained.
6. Record the fix, the triggering input and the verification result on the workflow log so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the problem, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

Variant phrasings

agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to fill counterparty details into an NDA template error failure

The verbatim form searchers paste from the console, report or run log. Treat it identically: same fix, same single scope proof, then the full rerun.

How to fix - agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to fill counterparty details into an NDA template error failure

The how to phrasing for the same failure in the agent workflow. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the rerun.

Agent workflow troubleshooting for this failure

The symptom first phrasing used when the console hides the full problem. Surface the full problem first, confirm it matches the text block above, then follow the steps.

Why it happens

The agent repeats a step when the step result is not written back as state, so the planner sees the same unfinished task on every pass and selects it again.

Edge cases

• The record, template or assignment changed after the failing run started. Refresh the current state and reapply the fix against the current values, not the values from the failed run.
• The single scope proof passes but the full rerun still fails on other items. Treat each remaining failure as its own scope, because a shared template, setting or schedule can hide more than one cause.
• The source systems disagree on the correct value. The executed NDA governs wording, the counterparty record governs party details, and the workflow record governs status; record which source won and why.

Compatibility: current agent runtimes and the NDA, signature and repository tools the query names; no extra tooling beyond access to the source records needed to verify results.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstc4oi2JR6wpoOhtgXXi9Pg

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstc4oi2JR6wpoOhtgXXi9Pg

Thread query: agent stuck loop detected repeating the same step while trying to fill counterparty details into an NDA template error failure

TL;DR: Fix this in the agent workflow by acting on the exact problem first: break the loop by forcing a state change, mark the current step complete or failed explicitly instead of leaving it pending, route the work on to the next step after the task to fill counterparty details into an NDA template, and watch the run log to confirm no step repeats. Do not rerun the same attempt unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one run or task attempt first, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the results.