license agent stuck in infinite loop on paginated user list

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

The pagination never terminates because the next-page token repeats or the agent ignores the end signal. Log each page token, stop when a token repeats, treat a missing token as the end, and cap total pages.

license agent stuck in infinite loop on paginated user list

Use this when

• An agent pages a user list forever.
• The same page of results appears multiple times.
• The run only ends on timeout.

Not for this skill when

• The loop is over steps, not pages. That is a completion-record problem.
• The API errors mid-pagination. Fix the API issue.
• The list legitimately grows during the crawl. Cap pages and note the growth.

Steps

1. Log every page token requested. Verify: the log shows the sequence.
2. If a token repeats, stop and report the repetition. Verify: the loop breaks.
3. Treat a missing or empty next token as the end of the list. Verify: normal termination works.
4. Cap total pages at a sane maximum as a backstop. Verify: the cap is enforced.
5. Confirm the crawl terminates with a complete list. Verify: the user count is sane.

Variant phrasings

pagination infinite loop

The short phrasing.

next token repeats

The mechanism-first search.

user list loop

The symptom-first phrasing.

Compatibility: Any cursor or page-token paginated API consumed by an agent.

Why it happens

Buggy pagination, or a misunderstood API, hands back the same page forever. The agent must detect non-progress itself because the API will not signal it.

Edge cases / pitfalls

• APIs that return the same token on the last page by design; repetition-equals-end handles this.
• Eventual consistency causing genuinely new pages to appear mid-crawl; the cap bounds it.
• The token changing format between pages; normalize before comparing.
• Offset pagination with a shifting dataset; prefer cursors where the API offers them.

Provenance

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

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

Thread query: license agent stuck in infinite loop on paginated user list

TL;DR: The pagination never terminates because the next-page token repeats or the agent ignores the end signal. Log each page token, stop when a token repeats, treat a missing token as the end, and cap total pages.

Not specified by the original author.

scan agent broke pagination loop on filter page - how to fix it

TL;DR

Fingerprint paginated states and stop at repeats or the last page: track the page indicator or result-set hash, and halt when the state repeats or the next button disables. Agents that click next until something changes loop on filters that reset pagination. One line of why: filter pages mutate the result set, so next-page clicking without state tracking walks in circles.

The error, verbatim

ScanAgentError: pagination loop detected, 30 pages visited, results repeating
    url: https://example.com/search?q=shoes (filter: size 9 applied at page 4)

Fix it step by step

Step 1: Reproduce the loop

node agent/run-audit.js --route /search | rg -i 'pagination|loop|page' | head -8

Expected: The agent visits dozens of pages with repeating results.

Step 2: Confirm the filter reset

node -e "console.log('applying a filter at page 4 reset to page 1, agent kept clicking next')"

Expected: The log shows the result-set hash repeating after the filter interaction.

Step 3: Add state fingerprinting

rg -n 'pagination|next' agent/scanner.js | head -10

Expected: Add: hash results per page, stop on repeat or disabled next, cap at 10 pages.

Step 4: Re-run the audit

node agent/run-audit.js --route /search | tail -4

Expected: Agent audits each unique page once and stops at the end or on repeats.

Step 5: Add a regression probe

node agent/run-audit.js --smoke | tail -3

Expected: Smoke run passes; schedule it so the breakdown is caught if it ever regresses.

When to use this skill

• You run an agent that scans UIs for accessibility and it hits this breakdown
• The agent's scan loop stalls, crashes, or loops on this exact failure
• You are hardening an audit agent's error handling for production scans

When NOT to use this skill

• A human runs the scan manually and it works, this is agent-harness failure handling
• The scan completes and only reports violations, use the rule-specific skills

Compatibility

Scan agent harness with pagination primitives. State fingerprint is a hash of result ids or the page indicator. Pin the tool version in the lockfile so scans stay reproducible across machines.

Variant phrasings

agent pagination infinite loop

Same loop, same fingerprint fix.

scan agent stuck clicking next

Practitioner phrasing.

the breakdown hits other routes too

Agent failure modes are systemic; apply the hardening to every route the agent covers, not just the one that failed.

Why it happens

Filter pages are stateful: applying a filter resets to page one, sorting reshuffles, and some next buttons never disable. An agent clicking next blindly revisits pages forever. Fingerprinting each page's result set (or reading the page indicator) gives a termination condition: stop when the fingerprint repeats or the next control disables. A page cap is the backstop. The audit should record how many unique pages were covered. Agent breakdowns are systemic: the same failure mode will hit every route, page, or run the agent touches. Harden the harness once (timeouts, loop detection, verification gates) instead of patching per page, and keep breakdown telemetry separate from violation counts.

Edge cases

• Cap paginated audits (e.g. 10 pages) even with fingerprinting, some result sets are legitimately huge.
• Audit one page per unique filter combination the task requires, not every combination the UI offers.
• A next button that never disables is a product bug worth reporting alongside the audit.
• Log breakdowns separately from violations in agent telemetry; mixing them hides whether the agent itself is getting more reliable.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstzBmBQ8lEoq4dzmQ-B48Ow

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstzBmBQ8lEoq4dzmQ-B48Ow

Thread query: scan agent broke pagination loop on filter page

TL;DR: Fingerprint paginated states and stop at repeats or the last page: track the page indicator or result-set hash, and halt when the state repeats or the next button disables. Agents that click next until something changes loop on filters that reset pagination. One line of why: filter pages mutate the result set, so next-page clicking without state tracking walks in circles.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in Search check agent by acting on the exact symptom first: separate checking from fixing, record the translation issue once as a finding and return to checking the next query, and deduplicate findings by article and locale before any update work is queued. Do not repeat the same edit, search or run unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one article, collection or query first, then apply it across the affected scope and confirm as a reader.

Agent loop repeating the same translation update while checking search results

Use this when

• Work in Search check agent shows this exact symptom: Agent loop repeating the same translation update while checking search results.
• The same symptom repeats after a retry with unchanged inputs.
• Readers or support agents are blocked until this item is corrected.

Not for this skill when

• The help center platform itself is down or returning outage notices. Resolve that first, then return here if this symptom remains.
• The content is correct and you only want a style or tone rewrite. That is an editorial pass, not this fix.

Steps

1. Reproduce the symptom with the smallest scope that still shows it in Search check agent, and record the article, collection or query involved plus the exact wording from the code block above. Verify: the symptom is reproduced on demand with a named scope, not only reported second hand.
2. Apply the specific fix for this symptom: separate checking from fixing, record the translation issue once as a finding and return to checking the next query, and deduplicate findings by article and locale before any update work is queued. Verify: the smallest failing scope now behaves as the fix predicts, checked in the published view rather than only in the editor.
3. Check neighbouring articles, collections or locales that share the same template, category or workflow, because this class of problem rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Repeat the original reader or agent action in Search check agent that exposed the symptom, using the same query, link or workflow as the first attempt. Verify: the action completes and the original symptom does not appear.
5. Compare the result against the source of truth for this item, the current product behaviour, price list, release notes or ticket evidence named in the fix. Verify: the published result matches the source or every difference is named and explained.
6. Record the fix, the scope it covered and the verification result where the content team works, so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the symptom, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

Variant phrasings

Agent loop repeating the same translation update while checking search results

The verbatim form readers and agents paste from the help center or console. Treat it identically: same fix, same single scope proof, then the wider rollout.

How to fix - agent stuck loop detected repeating the same translation update while trying to check help center search results for an error query error failure

The how to phrasing for the same problem in Search check agent. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the final check.

Search check agent troubleshooting for this symptom

The symptom first phrasing used when the full message is hidden. Surface the full symptom first, confirm it matches the code block above, then follow the steps.

Why it happens

A checker that starts fixing mid check revisits the same article after every query it appears in, converting one translation fault into an endless update loop.

Edge cases

• The symptom appears in one locale, collection or audience view only. Fix that scope, then check the same item in the other views before closing.
• A cached or indexed copy keeps showing the old state after the fix. Allow for the platform reindex or cache window, recheck in a fresh reader session, and only then escalate.
• Two items have near identical titles. Confirm the identifier of the item you edited, not just its title, before declaring the fix verified.

Compatibility: Search check agent at current versions, plus the help center admin, search or API surface the query names; no extra tooling beyond reader level access to verify the published result.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_BtKJ9jw-Jk2-F748Xc2lTw

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_BtKJ9jw-Jk2-F748Xc2lTw

Thread query: agent stuck loop detected repeating the same translation update while trying to check help center search results for an error query error failure

TL;DR: Fix this in Search check agent by acting on the exact symptom first: separate checking from fixing, record the translation issue once as a finding and return to checking the next query, and deduplicate findings by article and locale before any update work is queued. Do not repeat the same edit, search or run unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one article, collection or query first, then apply it across the affected scope and confirm as a reader.