---

name: choose-loop-wakeup-interval locale: caveman-ultra source_locale: en source_commit: 82c77053 fence_basis_commit: 82c77053 translator: "Julius Brussee homage — caveman" translation_date: "2026-04-19" description: > Select a delaySeconds value when scheduling a loop wakeup via the ScheduleWakeup tool or the /loop slash command. Covers the three-tier cache-aware decision (cache-warm under 5 minutes, cache-miss 5 minutes to 1 hour, idle default 20 to 30 minutes), the 300-second anti-pattern, the [60, 3600] runtime clamp, the minute-boundary rounding quirk, and writing a telemetry-worthy reason field. Use when designing an autonomous loop, when a heartbeat cadence is being planned, when polling cadence is being tuned, or when post-hoc review of loop costs reveals interval mis-sizing. license: MIT allowed-tools: "" metadata: author: Philipp Thoss version: "1.0" domain: general complexity: intermediate language: multi tags: loop, wakeup, cache, scheduling, delay, general

Choose Loop Wakeup Interval

Pick delaySeconds for ScheduleWakeup → respects prompt cache 5-min TTL + scheduler whole-min granularity + [60, 3600] clamp. Non-trivial: "wait ~5 min" → worst-of-both zone → pay cache miss without amortizing wait.

Reasoning travels w/ ScheduleWakeup tool desc at call time → but loop already scheduled. This skill hoists reasoning → planning time.

Use When

• Designing autonomous /loop or ScheduleWakeup continuation → pick per-tick delay
• Heartbeat cadence for long-running agent
• Tuning polling vs. cost/cache-warmth
• Post-hoc: loop cost review → mis-sized interval
• Guide/runbook w/ delaySeconds example

In

• Required: What loop waits for (event, state transition, idle tick, periodic check)
• Required: Next tick needs fresh ctx (cache-warm) or cold re-read OK (cache-miss OK)
• Optional: Known lower bound on event occurrence ("build ≥4 min")
• Optional: Cost ceiling (ticks × per-tick cost)

Do

Step 1: Classify the Wait

Tier decision:

• Active watch (cache-warm): Change expected <5 min → build near done, state transition, just-kicked proc
• Cache-miss wait: Nothing worth checking <5 min → cache cold OK
• Idle: No specific signal → checking in case

→ Classification: active-watch, cache-miss, or idle.

If err: Can't classify → no honest answer to "what waiting for?" → loop shouldn't exist → skip to Step 5.

Step 2: Apply Three-Tier Decision

Pick delaySeconds:

Tier	Range	Cache	Use when
Cache-warm	60 – 270 s	Warm (<5-min TTL)	Active watch — fast cheap re-entry
Cache-miss	1200 – 3600 s	Cold; miss buys long wait	Idle, or event can't happen sooner
Idle default	1200 – 1800 s (20–30 min)	Cold	No specific signal; periodic

Do not pick 300 s. Worst-of-both: cache misses, wait too short to amortize. Reaching for "~5 min" → drop to 270 s (warm) or 1200 s+ (amortize).

→ Specific delaySeconds from one of three tiers, not round-minute habit.

If err: Keep landing on 300 s → real question is "should loop exist at this cadence?" → re-examine Step 1.

Step 3: Size for Minute Boundary

Scheduler fires on whole-min boundaries. delaySeconds = N → actual N to N + 60 s, depending on call second.

Example:

ScheduleWakeup({delaySeconds: 90}) at HH:MM:40 → target HH:(MM+2):00 → actual 140 s, not 90 s.

Sub-minute intent meaningless. Value = floor, not precise. Min of skew matters → cadence too tight for this mech.

→ Accepted actual wait up to 60 s longer than requested. Cache-warm: 270 s → ~330 s → tips into cache-miss.

If err: Near-ceiling values common (265 s for cache-warm) → pad down → 240 s preserves warmth under worst-case skew.

Step 4: Respect the Clamp

Runtime clamps delaySeconds → [60, 3600]. Out-of-range → silently adjusted. Telemetry: chosen_delay_seconds vs. clamped_delay_seconds + was_clamped: true.

Plan vs. clamped, not requested:

• Req <60 → actual 60 s + skew (up to 120 s)
• Req >3600 → actual 3600 s (1 h)
• No ceiling extension → multi-hour = multi tick

→ Value in [60, 3600] or clamp accepted.

If err: Genuinely multi-hour ("wake in 4 h") → chain wakeups (3600 s tick reschedules) or cron loop (CronCreate w/ kind: "loop").

Step 5: Write Specific reason

reason = telemetry + user status + cache-warmth reasoning. 200-char limit. Specific.

• Good: checking long bun build, polling for EC2 instance running-state, idle heartbeat — watching the feed
• Bad: waiting, loop, next tick, continuing

Reader = user glancing at status → write for them.

→ Concrete one-phrase reason sensible to glancing user.

If err: No specific reason → revisit loop existence (Step 1, Step 6).

Step 6: Recognize Don't-Loop Case

Not every "come back later" = scheduled wakeup. Do NOT schedule when:

• User actively watching → their input is trigger, not timer
• No convergence criterion → no "done" def
• Interactive task (asks user between ticks)
• Cadence <clamp floor (60 s) → tight polling = event-driven, not loop

→ Conscious choice: schedule wakeup vs. no loop. "Because I could" ≠ reason.

If err: User keeps interrupting wakeups → pattern wrong, not interval.

Check

• Wait classified: active-watch, cache-miss, or idle
• delaySeconds in one of three tier ranges (60–270, 1200–3600, 1200–1800 idle)
• Value ≠ 300 (worst-of-both)
• Value in [60, 3600] or clamp explicitly accepted
• Minute-boundary skew accounted (value = floor)
• reason concrete + <200 chars
• Don't-loop check done → wakeup warranted

Traps

• Round-minute default (300 s): #1 mistake. "About 5 min" feels natural, is wrong. → 270 s or 1200 s+.
• Ignoring minute-boundary skew: 60 s req near min end → ~120 s actual. Cache-warm: past 5-min TTL.
• Sub-min precision: Min granularity. 85 vs. 90 vs. 95 s = noise. Pick + move.
• Opaque reason: "waiting" = nothing. Write for user status line.
• Justifying unnecessary loop: Vague "watching for?" → no interval helps → loop shouldn't exist.
• Hand-clamping in prompt: Don't clamp in reasoning ("cap at 3600"). Runtime clamps.
• Forgetting 7-day age-out: Dynamic loop reaped after 7 days default (up to 30). Long loops end before ceiling.

Examples

Example 1 — Cache-warm active watch

bun build kicked off → agent checks quick → cache warm at results.

• Classify: active watch (Step 1)
• Tier: cache-warm (Step 2) → 240 s
• Min boundary (Step 3): worst-case ~300 s → under 5-min TTL w/ 60 s buffer
• Reason (Step 5): checking long bun build

Example 2 — Idle heartbeat

Autonomous agent watches low-volume feed 1×/h.

• Classify: idle (Step 1)
• Tier: idle default (Step 2) → 1800 s (30 min)
• Min boundary (Step 3): irrelevant → 60 s skew negligible
• Reason (Step 5): idle heartbeat — watching the feed

Example 3 — Anti-pattern

Agent wants "wait 5 min" → remote API retries → 300 s req.

• Problem: cache cold at 5 min → 300 s pays miss but too short to amortize
• Fix: → 270 s (warm) or 1500 s (amortize). Not 300.

→

• manage-token-budget — cost ceilings; cache-aware sizing is one lever
• du-dum — observe/act pattern; this skill sizes observe-clock when cron-less
• read-continue-here — cross-session handoff; this = within-session wakeups
• write-continue-here — complement of read-continue-here