## TL;DR
Fix this in the agent workflow for SOC alert enrichment by acting on the exact message first: add exponential backoff with a maximum attempt count, and stop the run with a named error after the cap instead of retrying forever. Do not rerun the whole job unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one item, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.

```text
agent loop detected: retrying failed SOC alert enrichment request without backoff error
```

## Use this when
- The operation in the agent workflow for SOC alert enrichment fails with this exact message: agent loop detected: retrying failed SOC alert enrichment request without backoff error.
- The same failure repeats on retry with unchanged inputs.
- A review, export or check is blocked until this item completes.

## Not for this skill when
- The message is a permission or outage notice from the platform. Resolve that first, then return here if this error remains.
- The operation completes and you only disagree with its output. That is a quality review, not this failure.

## Steps
1. Reproduce the failure with the smallest scope that still shows it in the agent workflow for SOC alert enrichment, and copy the full message plus the alert, incident or enrichment record involved into the run notes. Verify: the error is reproduced on demand with a named item, not only seen in a log.
2. Apply the specific fix for this error: add exponential backoff with a maximum attempt count, and stop the run with a named error after the cap instead of retrying forever. Verify: a failing request stops after the capped attempts with growing delays between them.
3. Check the neighbouring items that share the same config, template, feed or credential, because this class of failure rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Compare the result counts, decisions or alerts against the source in the agent workflow for SOC alert enrichment so a silent partial success is caught before sign off. Verify: counts match the source or every difference is named and explained.
5. Rerun the original operation in the agent workflow for SOC alert enrichment on the previously failing scope, watching for the same message rather than assuming success from a quiet log. Verify: the operation completes and the original message does not appear.
6. Record the fix, the triggering input and the verification result on the item so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the error, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

## Why it happens
nothing recorded that the work was already done or already failing, so the scheduler and the agent kept handing the same work back to each other with no exit condition.

## Variant phrasings

### agent loop detected: retrying failed SOC alert enrichment request without backoff error
The verbatim form searchers paste from the terminal or console. Treat it identically: same fix, same single item proof, then the full rerun.

### How to fix: agent loop detected: retrying failed SOC alert enrichment request without backoff error
The how-to phrasing for the same failure in the agent workflow for SOC alert enrichment. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the rerun.

### the agent workflow for SOC alert enrichment troubleshooting for this failure
The symptom-first phrasing used when the console hides the full message. Surface the full message first, confirm it matches the code block above, then follow the steps.

Compatibility: the agent workflow for SOC alert enrichment at current versions, plus the platform API or console the query names; no extra tooling beyond a text editor and the source system access needed to verify counts.

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_f9_TeNiGjUWFBvfzEsKDcg