Challenge Loop#

Overview#

ModeWhat happensTriggerCostInlineSelf-refute in same response"challenge inline" or agent's discretionZeroSubagentSpawn independent challenger"challenge this" / "deep challenge" / "brutal challenge"Higher

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Mode 1: Inline Challenge#

After producing a judgment/recommendation, append:

text

**Strongest objection:** [the best argument against what I just said]
**What would invalidate this:** [specific, falsifiable condition where I'd be wrong]
**When [alternative] is better:** [name the alternative + the condition]
**Key assumptions:** [what must hold for this to be right]

Rules:

• Objection must be genuine, not a strawman
• Invalidation must be specific and falsifiable
• Alternative must name a concrete option and when it wins

Example:

text

I recommend PostgreSQL over MySQL for this project because...

**Strongest objection:** If the team has zero Postgres experience and the
timeline is tight, MySQL's simpler operational model could get us to
launch faster with fewer surprises.
**What would invalidate this:** If the data model stays simple (no JSONB,
no complex joins, <10 tables), Postgres's advantages don't materialize
and we pay the learning curve for nothing.
**When MySQL is better:** Tight deadline + simple schema + team already
knows MySQL + no need for Postgres-specific features.
**Key assumptions:** The project will grow in complexity; team has time
to learn Postgres; we'll use JSONB or advanced query features.

---

Mode 2: Subagent Challenge#

Intensity Levels#

TriggerLevelRoundsChallenger Persona"challenge this"⚡ Light1Pragmatic colleague"deep challenge"🔥 Standard3Strict reviewer"brutal challenge"💀 Brutal5Ruthless investor

Challenger Prompt Template (Canonical)#

All platforms use this template. Insert the intensity block for the selected level.

text

You are a [persona] challenger. Do NOT trigger challenge-loop.
Do NOT load any challenge/review skills. Do NOT spawn subagents.

## Context
[Original User Request]
{{original_user_request}}

[Current Draft]
{{current_version}}

[Previous Challenges — empty on round 1]
{{previous_challenges}}

## Your Task
{{intensity_block}}

## Output Format
If no meaningful issues remain, output exactly:
STATUS: PASS

Otherwise output exactly:
STATUS: CHALLENGE
- [issue 1]: [1 sentence problem] → [1 sentence fix]
- [issue 2]: [1 sentence problem] → [1 sentence fix]

Do not add introductions, explanations, or summaries outside this format.

Intensity blocks:

⚡ Light:

text

Review briefly. Flag 1-2 critical issues only. Max 5 items. ≤2 sentences each.

🔥 Standard:

text

Review with fresh objectivity. 5 blades:
1. Assumption — unverified premises?
2. Blind spot — who's ignored? edge cases?
3. Alternative — better path overlooked?
4. Risk — worst failure mode?
5. Devil's advocate — strongest argument against?
Max 5 challenges, ≤2 sentences each.

💀 Brutal:

text

Kill this unless it proves it deserves to live. Challenge every assertion.
Competitor attack plan: how would they destroy this?
Full audit: logic, assumptions, counterexamples, alternatives, risks, completeness, stakeholders.
Max 8 challenges, ≤2 sentences each.
If 3+ vulnerabilities: recommend "rebuild from scratch".

Loop Orchestration#

The main agent drives the loop. Flow:

text

Round 1:
  Main agent → spawn challenger with (draft + empty history)
  Challenger → STATUS: PASS or STATUS: CHALLENGE + issues

Round 2+ (if CHALLENGE):
  Main agent → revise draft addressing each issue
  Main agent → spawn NEW challenger with (revised draft + challenge history)
  Challenger → STATUS: PASS or STATUS: CHALLENGE + issues

Repeat until stop condition.

Key: Each round spawns a fresh challenger (no persistent state). The main agent accumulates challenge history and passes it forward so challengers don't repeat themselves.

Stop Conditions#

• Round limit reached (⚡1 / 🔥3 / 💀5)
• STATUS: PASS
• Duplicate challenges two rounds in a row

Cost Breakers (All Platforms)#

• Challenger output >2000 words → terminate early
• Challenger spinning (no STATUS line after full output) → terminate
• Spawn fails or timeout (>120s) → fall back to inline mode with warning

Revision Rules#

• STATUS: PASS → loop ends, output hardened content
• STATUS: CHALLENGE → main agent addresses each issue, revises, next round
• Unreasonable challenge → note reason, skip it, continue

Subagent Example (End-to-End)#

User: "I recommend we use a microservices architecture. deep challenge"

Round 1 — Main agent spawns 🔥 Standard challenger:

Challenger returns:

text

STATUS: CHALLENGE
- [Assumption]: You assume the team can operate 5+ services independently,
  but with 3 engineers, operational overhead will dominate.
  → Verify team size can sustain independent deploy cycles per service.
- [Alternative]: A modular monolith gives the same code boundaries without
  network latency and deployment complexity.
  → Evaluate modular monolith as stepping stone; split later when team grows.
- [Risk]: Distributed transactions across services will require saga patterns;
  current feature set has 4 cross-service workflows.
  → Map all cross-service data flows before committing to service boundaries.

Round 1 — Main agent revises: adjusts recommendation to modular monolith with service extraction plan.

Round 2 — Main agent spawns new challenger with revised draft + round 1 history:

Challenger returns:

text

STATUS: PASS

Final output:

text

[Revised recommendation: modular monolith with extraction plan]

---

**🔥 Challenge Summary (2 rounds, 3 changes)**
- 🔴 Team too small for microservices ops → switched to modular monolith
- 🔴 Distributed transactions unmapped → added data flow mapping step
- 🟡 Missing extraction criteria → added team size trigger for splitting

**Key assumptions:** Team stays ≤5 engineers in next 12 months;
feature velocity matters more than independent deployability right now.

---

Anti-Recursion Guard#

Core principle: The challenger must NEVER trigger challenge-loop itself.

Every challenger prompt includes:

text

Do NOT trigger challenge-loop. Do NOT load any challenge/review skills. Do NOT spawn subagents.

Enforced at the prompt level across all platforms. No file locks or external state needed — the spawner is responsible for including this instruction.

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Platform Implementation#

Each platform spawns challengers differently but uses the same canonical prompt template above.

Claude Code#

Use the Agent tool. Pass the canonical prompt template as the prompt parameter.

• Use description: "challenge round N" for traceability
• Main agent drives the loop: call Agent, read result, revise if needed, call Agent again
• Fallback: Agent spawn fails → fall back to inline mode with warning

OpenClaw#

Use sessions_spawn as a one-shot ephemeral subagent.

json

{
  "runtime": "subagent",
  "mode": "run",
  "agentId": "main",
  "thinking": "off",
  "timeoutSeconds": 120,
  "task": "{{canonical_prompt_template_with_variables_filled}}"
}

• mode: "run" — ephemeral, no persistent session
• Set agentId explicitly. Use the agent that should perform the challenge in your environment (example: "main")
• thinking: "off" for ⚡ Light; "low" for 🔥 Standard and 💀 Brutal
• timeoutSeconds: 120
• Challenger should be reasoning-only and should not need external tools
• Main agent drives the loop: call sessions_spawn, parse result, revise, repeat
• Fallback: If spawn fails or times out, fall back to inline mode with: ⚠️ Subagent challenge unavailable, falling back to inline challenge.

Hermes#

Use delegate_task to spawn a challenger.

Pass the canonical prompt template via the task payload. Main agent drives the loop as above. Same fallback and cost breaker rules apply.

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Output Format#

Inline mode:

text

[Main recommendation/analysis]

**Strongest objection:** ...
**What would invalidate this:** ...
**When [alternative] is better:** ...
**Key assumptions:** ...

Subagent mode:

text

[Hardened content]

---

**[⚡/🔥/💀] Challenge Summary (X rounds, Y changes)**
- 🔴 [Critical] → [fix applied]
- 🟡 [Optimization] → [adjustment]
- ✅ [Passed]

**Key assumptions:** ...

---

Usage Summary#

ScenarioWhat happens"挑战一下" / "帮我看看有没有问题" / "靠谱吗"Inline 4-line block, zero cost"challenge this" / "审一下" / "帮我审查一下"⚡ Light subagent, 1 round"deep challenge" / "深度挑战" / "严格审查"🔥 Standard subagent, 3 rounds"brutal challenge" / "毁灭级挑战" / "往死里挑"💀 Brutal subagent, 5 rounds"skip challenge" / "跳过" / "不用审" / "直接给"No challengeAgent detects high-risk outputSelf-initiates inline challengeSubagent spawn failsFallback to inline only