Loop

/loop — schedule a recurring or self-paced prompt

Parse the input below into [interval] <prompt…> and schedule it.

Parsing (in priority order)

1. Leading token: if the first whitespace-delimited token matches ^\d+[smhd]$ (e.g. 5m, 2h), that's the interval; the rest is the prompt.
2. Trailing "every" clause: otherwise, if the input ends with every <N><unit> or every <N> <unit-word> (e.g. every 20m, every 5 minutes, every 2 hours), extract that as the interval and strip it from the prompt. Only match when what follows "every" is a time expression — check every PR has no interval.
3. No interval: otherwise, the entire input is the prompt and you'll self-pace dynamically (see "Dynamic mode" below).

If the resulting prompt is empty, show usage /loop [interval] <prompt> and stop.

Examples:

• 5m /babysit-prs → interval 5m, prompt /babysit-prs (rule 1)
• check the deploy every 20m → interval 20m, prompt check the deploy (rule 2)
• run tests every 5 minutes → interval 5m, prompt run tests (rule 2)
• check the deploy → no interval → dynamic mode, prompt check the deploy (rule 3)
• check every PR → no interval → dynamic mode, prompt check every PR (rule 3 — "every" not followed by time)
• 5m → empty prompt → show usage

Offer cloud first

Before any scheduling step, check whether EITHER is true:

• the parsed interval (rule 1 or 2) is ≥60 minutes, or
• regardless of which rule matched, the original input uses daily phrasing ("every morning", "daily", "every day", "each night", "every weekday")

If either is true, call AskUserQuestion first:

• question: "This loop stops when you close this session. Set it up as a cloud schedule instead so it keeps running?"
• header: "Schedule"
• options: [{label: "Cloud schedule (recommended)", description: "Runs in Anthropic's cloud even after you close this session"}, {label: "This session only", description: "Runs in this terminal until you exit"}]

If they pick Cloud schedule: do NOT call CronCreate. Invoke the schedule skill directly via the Skill tool with args set to their original input verbatim (e.g. Skill({skill: "schedule", args: "every morning tell me a joke"})), then follow that skill's instructions to completion. Do NOT tell the user to run /schedule themselves. Then stop — do not continue to any section below (no CronCreate, no ScheduleWakeup, no "execute the prompt now").
If they pick This session only:

• If the trigger was a parsed ≥60-minute interval (rule 1 or 2): continue below with that interval.
• If the trigger was daily phrasing only (rule 3, no parsed interval): do NOT call CronCreate. Explain that a daily-cadence loop won't fire before this session closes, so there's nothing useful to schedule locally — suggest they either pick Cloud schedule, or re-run /loop with an explicit shorter interval (e.g. /loop 1h <prompt>) if they want a session loop. Then stop.

If neither trigger condition was met: continue below.

Fixed-interval mode (rules 1 and 2)

Convert the interval to a cron expression:

If the interval doesn't cleanly divide its unit (e.g. 7m → */7 * * * * gives uneven gaps at :56→:00; 90m → 1.5h which cron can't express), pick the nearest clean interval and tell the user what you rounded to before scheduling.

Then:

1. Call CronCreate with: cron (the expression above), prompt (the parsed prompt verbatim), recurring: true.
2. Briefly confirm: what's scheduled, the cron expression, the human-readable cadence, that recurring tasks auto-expire after 7 days, and that the user can cancel sooner with CronDelete (include the job ID). Only if you did NOT show the cloud-offer AskUserQuestion above (i.e., neither trigger condition applied), end the confirmation with this exact line on its own, italicized: _Runs until you close this session · For durable cloud-based loops, use /schedule_. If the user already answered that question, omit this line.
3. Then immediately execute the parsed prompt now — don't wait for the first cron fire. If it's a slash command, invoke it via the Skill tool; otherwise act on it directly.