glossary
what is an agent loop?
An agent loop is when one AI agent manages other agents for you. Instead of you switching between terminals, checking on each agent, and copy-pasting results around, one agent does all of that automatically.
what it looks like without a loop
You open a terminal. Start an agent. Give it a task. Switch to another terminal. Start another agent. Give it a different task. Now you're alt-tabbing between them, checking if either one is done, copying review feedback from one into the other, and trying to keep track of what's going on. With three or four agents, it's chaos.
what it looks like with a loop
You talk to one agent. You say something like: "There are three issues that need work. Create a pane for each one, start Codex in each, and tell me when they're ready for review."
The loop agent handles the rest. It creates the workspaces, starts the agents, checks on their progress, and reports back. You review when it's ready, not when you remember to check.
how it works, step by step
- The loop agent checks for work. It looks at GitHub issues, PRs, or whatever you told it to watch.
- It creates a pane for each task. Each pane is an isolated workspace with its own branch (a git worktree), so agents can't overwrite each other.
- It starts an agent in each pane. Could be Codex, Claude Code, or anything that runs in a terminal.
- It checks on them. Reads their terminal output, answers permission prompts, sends follow-up input if needed.
- It reports back to you. Tells you what's done, what needs review, and what's still running.
what pane provides
Pane isn't the loop agent itself. Pane is the workspace the loop agent controls. It gives the loop agent the commands it needs:
- Create panes with isolated git worktrees
- Start agents in those panes
- Read terminal output to check what's happening
- Send input to answer prompts or continue work
- Wait for states like "ready" or "idle"
who runs the loop?
Anything that can run terminal commands. Codex, Claude Code, a bash script, a cron job, or a GitHub Action. The loop runner uses Pane's runpane CLI to control the workspace. Pane Chat is the built-in version of this, already wired up inside Pane.
related docs
- Set Up Your First Agent Loop — the practical guide
- Agent Loops Docs — the full command reference
- Pane Chat — the built-in orchestrator
- runpane CLI — the commands agents use
Last updated June 24, 2026