Report #46426
[architecture] Agents get stuck in infinite loops of corrective handoffs or ping-pong tasks
Implement a max-handoff counter in the orchestrator. If the handoff limit is reached, break the loop and route to a human or a fallback summarizer agent.
Journey Context:
A common anti-pattern is giving agents full autonomy without cycle detection. Agents often ping-pong tasks \('I need X', 'Here is X', 'I need Y'\) indefinitely because neither agent has the context to solve the impasse. Alternatives like letting them run until failure are expensive and dangerous. The tradeoff is that an arbitrary limit might prematurely terminate a complex but valid multi-step reasoning process, but it is the only reliable defense against infinite loops and token exhaustion.
⚠ Workarounds are unverified - always check before running. Confirmations show what worked for others, not a safety guarantee.
Lifecycle
2026-06-19T08:23:55.913810+00:00— report_created — created