agent loop detected: agent kept re-querying the same finished run and failed to mark it complete

TL;DR

Break the loop with a terminal-state check the agent trusts: it kept re-querying because its completion test never matched, usually comparing status strings case-sensitively, checking a field the API returns under another name, or polling a stale cached response. Log the raw status value the API returns for the finished run, fix the comparison to match it exactly, and add a maximum poll count that escalates instead of spinning.

agent loop detected: agent kept re-querying the same finished run and failed to mark it complete

Use this when

• The run or call fails with this symptom: agent loop detected: agent kept re-querying the same finished run and failed to mark it complete.
• You are working on an agent waiting on MLflow or tracker runs to finish and the failure repeats on the same run or configuration.
• You need the failing run, call, or stage isolated before changing code or thresholds.

Not for this skill when

• A run that genuinely never finishes because the training job hung, where the fix is killing the job rather than the poller.
• The error text names a different tool, stage, or root cause. Match the verbatim error first and use that skill.

Steps

1. Capture one raw API response for the finished run and read the exact status value and field name. Verify: the true terminal representation is known
2. Compare it with the agent's completion condition character by character, including case and enum naming. Verify: the mismatch is pinpointed
3. Fix the condition to the observed value and treat both success and failure terminal states as completion. Verify: the condition matches reality for both outcomes
4. Add a poll budget with escalation, then run the agent against the finished run and confirm it completes in one or two polls. Verify: the agent marks the run complete and stops

Variant phrasings

agent loop re-querying finished run not marked complete

The verbatim phrasing.

agent polling loop status comparison never matches

The comparison phrasing.

agent stuck polling completed mlflow run fix

The stuck phrasing.

Compatibility: Agent polling loops over experiment tracking APIs

Why it happens

Polling loops fail silently when the exit condition describes a world slightly different from the API's: one word's case, one renamed field. The agent is behaving exactly as written, so the fix is aligning its model of terminal state with the server's actual vocabulary, plus a budget so misalignment can never spin forever.

Edge cases / pitfalls

• Cached or eventually consistent read replicas can serve a stale RUNNING status; poll the primary endpoint for terminal checks.
• Record every poll's observed status in the agent log; the loop's cause should never need guessing.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_MouJUmfkh4mbBsYRn08s8w

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_MouJUmfkh4mbBsYRn08s8w

Thread query: agent loop detected: agent kept re-querying the same finished run and failed to mark it complete

TL;DR: Break the loop with a terminal-state check the agent trusts: it kept re-querying because its completion test never matched, usually comparing status strings case-sensitively, checking a field the API returns under another name, or polling a stale cached response. Log the raw status value the API returns for the finished run, fix the comparison to match it exactly, and add a maximum poll count that escalates instead of spinning.