Visible-Agent-Loop-Protocol

Correction Cycle Evidence

VALP treats self-correction as a runtime capability and an evidence contract.

A runtime may use tests, queues, model review, human review, or another repair loop to fix work. VALP does not prescribe that engine. It requires a task-local record when work is rejected, retried, blocked, invalid, or superseded.

When To Write It

Write correction-cycle.json when a task records any of these signals:

• dispatch_blocked;
• expected evidence missing after a runtime says work completed;
• evidence marked invalid, superseded, rejected, or blocked;
• critical or high review finding that sends work back to fixing;
• verification failure;
• runtime timeout or runtime failure;
• approval or context policy block;
• manual retry after a failed result.

Tasks with no correction signal may omit the file.

Required Shape

The file uses schemas/correction-cycle.schema.json.

Minimal fixed example:

{
  "schema_version": "valp-correction-cycle.v1",
  "task_id": "TASK-001",
  "status": "fixed",
  "max_rounds": 3,
  "rounds": [
    {
      "round": 1,
      "trigger": "evidence_superseded",
      "owner": "codex",
      "status": "fixed",
      "started_at": "2026-07-03T00:03:00Z",
      "ended_at": "2026-07-03T00:04:00Z",
      "reason": "Draft notes did not prove command-backed work.",
      "rejected_refs": ["agents/codex/draft-evidence.md"],
      "required_actions": ["replace draft notes with implementation evidence"],
      "evidence_refs": ["agents/codex/evidence.md", "evidence/verification.md"],
      "receipt_refs": ["dispatch-receipts.jsonl"]
    }
  ],
  "final_outcome": "fixed",
  "final_evidence_refs": ["agents/codex/evidence.md", "evidence/verification.md"]
}

Audit Rule

valp audit skips this gate when no correction signal exists.

When a correction signal exists, audit requires:

• correction-cycle.json exists;
• schema_version is valp-correction-cycle.v1;
• at least one round is recorded;
• final_outcome is fixed;
• referenced replacement evidence uses task-relative safe paths and exists.

blocked, escalated, or cancelled are useful final states for a real task, but they do not satisfy Done Criteria. They mean the loop should stop, shrink scope, route another review, or ask the user.

Boundary

Correction cycle evidence is not a routing model, retry engine, or verifier. Those belong to the runtime adapter. The protocol only makes the loop auditable: what failed, who owned the fix, what changed, and which evidence now proves the result.

This site is open source. Improve this page.