Detect and Break Repetitive Action Loops

Rule

Detect when performing the same action repeatedly (3+ times) and break the loop.

Context

When automation gets stuck (e.g., bot reviews that can't be resolved), it may repeat the same action indefinitely, wasting resources and creating spam.

Detection

Observable signals:

Same comment text posted multiple times
Same verification check run repeatedly
Monitoring service posts identical updates
Log shows repeated identical actions
Time spent without progress increasing

Pattern

Detect repetition:

def detect_action_loop(action_history, current_action, max_repeats=2):
    """Detect if we're repeating the same action"""
    # Compare current action with recent history
    recent_similar = [
        a for a in action_history[-5:]
        if action_similarity(a, current_action) > 0.8
    ]
    return len(recent_similar) >= max_repeats

Break loop with summary:

if detect_action_loop(history, current_action):
    logger.warning("Loop detected: same action repeated 3+ times")

    # Post final summary
    post_summary_comment(
        "🛑 Breaking repetitive loop",
        "Detected repetitive action pattern. Summary of situation:",
        findings
    )

    # Break loop
    break

Example from PR monitoring:

# Track recent comments
recent_comments = get_my_recent_comments(pr_number, limit=10)
comment_texts = [c['body'] for c in recent_comments]

# Before posting new comment
if detect_repetition(comment_texts, new_comment_text, threshold=0.8):
    # Post one final summary instead
    post_final_summary(pr_number,
        "Breaking verification loop - all fixes confirmed in code")
    return

Outcome

Following this pattern:

Prevents spam in issues/PRs
Saves computational resources
Indicates when system is stuck
Forces human review of situation
Maintains professional appearance

Avoid Excessive Setup - Related anti-pattern
GitHub Bot Reviews - Bot review loops are a common trigger