Ultrawork Loop
The evidence-first work discipline behind LazyCodex.
Ultrawork is the discipline LazyCodex uses for long work. When a prompt includes ultrawork or ulw, or when $ulw-loop is invoked, the agent judges completion by executed evidence, not by "it seems done."
"Plan, execute, verify, and leave evidence behind."
The principle is simple: work is not done because the agent says it is done. It is done only when observable evidence is verified.
What Ultrawork Enforces
When ultrawork is active, the harness does not accept a hopeful "looks done."
- Strict TDD: RED -> GREEN -> SURFACE -> CLEAN
- Realistic QA scenarios sized to the risk of the work
- Real manual QA channels such as HTTP calls, tmux, browser, computer use, CLI stdout, and data diffs
- Binding verification gates that keep running until the work is actually done
Relationship to $ulw-loop
$ulw-loop exposes ultrawork discipline as a Command. The latest flow records the request, goals, success criteria, and evidence ledger under .omo/ulw-loop.
| File | Role |
|---|---|
.omo/ulw-loop/brief.md | Original request and continuing constraints |
.omo/ulw-loop/goals.json | Goals and success criteria |
.omo/ulw-loop/ledger.jsonl | Records for pass, fail, block, steering, checkpoint |
Saying the work is done is not enough. Each success criterion needs real-surface evidence, and that evidence must pass before the loop stops.
Exact syntax and flags live only in the $ulw-loop command doc.
Failure Limits
The loop has limits so it does not run forever. The latest $ulw-loop workflow uses:
| Condition | Limit |
|---|---|
| Repeats on one goal without a full pass | 5 cycles |
| Same failure on the same criterion | 3 times |
Evidence Over Hope
The loop does not stop at "some code was written." It stops only when the result is confirmed by evidence: which checks ran, what they showed, and why that proves the outcome.
Position Among Commands
$ulw-loop is one of the Commands, and each Command is for a different shape of work.
The usual flow is simple: $ulw-plan creates a decision-complete plan, $start-work executes it checkbox by checkbox, and $ulw-loop keeps open work moving until the verifier approves. Detailed syntax for each command lives in Commands.