## TL;DR
Fix this in Clay enrichment by acting on the exact message first: add a progress guard for the task to run a waterfall enrichment in Clay - store the ids already processed, stop the run when the same id set repeats with no new completion, allow at most three attempts per record, and queue records that hit the cap for human review instead of retrying them forever. Do not rerun the whole job unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one record, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.

```text
agent loop detected: repeating the same lead enrichment task to run a waterfall enrichment in Clay error loop failure
```

## Use this when
- The operation in Clay enrichment fails with this exact message: agent loop detected: repeating the same lead enrichment task to run a waterfall enrichment in Clay error loop failure.
- The same failure repeats on retry with unchanged inputs.
- A run, import, export or alert is blocked until this item completes.

## Not for this skill when
- The message is a permission or platform outage notice. 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 Clay enrichment, and copy the full message plus the record, account or list involved into the run notes. Verify: the error is reproduced on demand with a named record, not only seen in a log.
2. Apply the specific fix for this error: add a progress guard for the task to run a waterfall enrichment in Clay - store the ids already processed, stop the run when the same id set repeats with no new completion, allow at most three attempts per record, and queue records that hit the cap for human review instead of retrying them forever. Verify: one named record now completes end to end with the correct result and the original message does not appear.
3. Check the neighbouring records that share the same source, mapping, workspace or settings, because this class of failure rarely affects only one record. Verify: the neighbouring records are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Compare the result counts, fields or alerts against the source in Clay 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 Clay 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 record so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the error, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

## Why it happens
The agent retried without recording progress, so a record that could not complete was selected again on every pass and the run never advanced.

## Variant phrasings

### agent loop detected: repeating the same lead enrichment task to run a waterfall enrichment in Clay error loop failure
The verbatim form searchers paste from the terminal or console. Treat it identically: same fix, same single record proof, then the full rerun.

### How to fix this failure in Clay enrichment
The how-to phrasing for the same failure. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the rerun.

### Troubleshooting this failure in Clay enrichment
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: Clay enrichment at current versions, plus the platform API or console the query names; no extra tooling beyond the source system access needed to verify counts.

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_xUP3G858oAG_D8eet4-p0A