The agent loop

An agent repeats a loop: decide an action, run a tool, look at the result, until the task is done.

• The model chooses each step from what it has seen so far.
• Set a step limit and a cost budget.
• If the steps are always the same, a fixed workflow is cheaper.

steps, done = 0, False
while not done and steps < 5:
    steps += 1
    done = steps == 3
print(steps, done)

3 True

Remember: Agents suit open-ended tasks; workflows suit known ones.

Common mistake: No step limit, so a confused agent loops and runs up a bill.