{
  "name": "AI Loop Glossary",
  "last_updated": "2026-07-01",
  "terms": [
    {
      "term": "AI loop",
      "definition": "A bounded operating cycle where an AI system repeatedly acts, checks evidence, and decides whether to continue, stop, or ask for approval.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#ai-loop"
    },
    {
      "term": "Loop engineering",
      "definition": "Designing the trigger, objective, verifier, stop condition, budget, and approval boundary around an AI agent.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#loop-engineering"
    },
    {
      "term": "Ralph Loop",
      "definition": "A simple repeated-agent pattern, often bash-style, that reruns an AI coding agent against durable task state until success, budget, blocker, or review.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#ralph-loop"
    },
    {
      "term": "Loop stack",
      "definition": "A layered model of repeated AI work, from token loops and tool loops to verification, goal, scheduled, and operating loops.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#loop-stack"
    },
    {
      "term": "Stop condition",
      "definition": "The explicit rule that ends a loop: success, blocker, budget, no progress, risk, or required human approval.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#stop-condition"
    },
    {
      "term": "Verifier",
      "definition": "The evidence check that decides whether a loop’s output is acceptable.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#verifier"
    },
    {
      "term": "Approval gate",
      "definition": "A boundary where a human must approve before the loop publishes, sends, deletes, spends, shares, deploys, or changes accounts.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#approval-gate"
    },
    {
      "term": "Goal loop",
      "definition": "A loop that keeps working toward a stated outcome until the verifier passes or a stop condition fires.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#goal-loop"
    },
    {
      "term": "Cadence loop",
      "definition": "A loop where the next run starts on a time interval or schedule.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#cadence-loop"
    },
    {
      "term": "Maker-checker loop",
      "definition": "A loop where one agent produces work and another agent, script, or human checks it against evidence.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#maker-checker-loop"
    },
    {
      "term": "Loop budget",
      "definition": "The maximum time, tokens, dollars, files, retries, or risk a loop can spend before it must stop or ask for approval.",
      "url": "https://ailooplibrary.com/glossary/#loop-budget"
    }
  ]
}