I researched loop engineering to build a product. I built nothing.
I went into last week intending to ship a loop engineering tool. The term is two months old, the searches are climbing, and I build guardrails for AI coding agents — it looked like my lane. I killed the idea twice. If you're eyeing the same space — as a builder or just deciding what to adopt — the map that stopped me is more useful than another definition post. Page one of every search is…
In the pursuit of building a product centered around loop engineering for AI coding agents, the author found themselves in a crowded field with little room for innovation. Despite attempts to create a unique offering, the author realized that the market had already been divided into three distinct categories: runners, guardrails, and platforms.
The platform providers had already incorporated these patterns into their products, leaving little space for third-party development. Furthermore, the author discovered that the most crucial aspect of loop engineering, the post-run evaluation phase, lacked proper tooling. This "morning after" period, where comprehension debt arises, has no dedicated solution in the current offerings.
Based on this research, the author decided to build a tool called "plumb" that focuses on the post-loop evaluation process, addressing the gap identified in the industry.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
