Autoresearch Create

Autoresearch

Autonomous experiment loop: try ideas, keep what works, discard what doesn't, never stop.

Tools

• init_experiment — configure session (name, metric, unit, direction). Once runs exist, calling it again requires reset: true to start a new segment explicitly.
• run_experiment — runs the benchmark command, times it, captures output, parses METRIC name=number lines, and opens a pending run that must be logged before another run can start.
• log_experiment — records the pending run. The first logged run in a segment becomes the baseline automatically. keep auto-commits. discard/crash → git checkout -- . to revert. discard also requires an idea note so the failed path gets appended to autoresearch.ideas.md. If the previous run_experiment captured the primary metric, commit and metric can be omitted and will default from the pending run.

Setup

1. Ask (or infer): Goal, Command, Metric (+ direction), Files in scope, Constraints.
2. If autoresearch.checkpoint.json already names a canonical branch, reuse it. Otherwise create one with git checkout -b autoresearch/<goal>-<date> and keep using that branch for the whole loop.
3. Read the source files. Understand the workload deeply before writing anything.
4. Write autoresearch.md and autoresearch.sh (see below). Commit both.
5. init_experiment → run_experiment baseline → log_experiment → start looping immediately.

autoresearch.md

This is the heart of the session. A fresh agent with no context should be able to read this file and run the loop effectively. Invest time making it excellent.

# Autoresearch: <goal>

## Objective
<Specific description of what we're optimizing and the workload.>

## Metrics
- **Primary**: <name> (<unit>, lower/higher is better)
- **Secondary**: <name>, <name>, ...

## How to Run
`./autoresearch.sh` — outputs `METRIC name=number` lines.

## Files in Scope
<Every file the agent may modify, with a brief note on what it does.>

## Off Limits
<What must NOT be touched.>

## Constraints
<Hard rules: tests must pass, no new deps, etc.>

## What's Been Tried
<Update this section as experiments accumulate. Note key wins, dead ends,
and architectural insights so the agent doesn't repeat failed approaches.>

The plugin rewrites the Metrics, How to Run, What's Been Tried, and Plugin Checkpoint sections after init/log transitions. You may add context elsewhere in the file, but do not fight the plugin-managed sections.

autoresearch.sh

Bash script (set -euo pipefail) that: pre-checks fast (syntax errors in <1s), runs the benchmark, outputs METRIC name=number lines. Keep it fast — every second is multiplied by hundreds of runs. Update it during the loop as needed.

Loop Rules

LOOP FOREVER. Never ask "should I continue?" — the user expects autonomous work.

• Primary metric is king. Improved → keep. Worse/equal → discard. Secondary metrics rarely affect this.
• Simpler is better. Removing code for equal perf = keep. Ugly complexity for tiny gain = probably discard.
• Don't thrash. Repeatedly reverting the same idea? Try something structurally different.
• Crashes: fix if trivial, otherwise log and move on. Don't over-invest.
• Think longer when stuck. Re-read source files, study the profiling data, reason about what the CPU is actually doing. The best ideas come from deep understanding, not from trying random variations.
• Resuming: if autoresearch.md exists, read it plus autoresearch.checkpoint.json, then continue looping.
• Respect the canonical branch. If the checkpoint names a canonical branch, switch back to it before resuming. Do not create a fresh autoresearch branch for every session.
• Respect the lock file. If autoresearch.lock exists and the PID is alive, another loop is active. Resume that loop instead of forking a second session.
• No raw benchmark exec: during active autoresearch mode, benchmark/test commands should go through run_experiment, not raw exec/bash.
• Reset explicitly. If you need a new segment, call init_experiment with reset: true; do not silently wipe the current baseline.

NEVER STOP. The user may be away for hours. Keep going until interrupted.