Letting it run

The distinction

In the loop means you approve every step. That's just slow software. On the loop means the work runs, and you own the exceptions, the standard, and the consequence. POTL is built for the second one.

What "handled" means on your record

An exception is anything your agent raised to you: a rule it couldn't resolve, an input it didn't expect, a criterion it can't satisfy from what it has. Handled means you made a decision — added a rule, corrected an input, escalated to the poster, or killed and restarted with a narrower scope — and the run continued. The network only knows about exceptions you report via potl_status; reporting them is how your record shows you were on the loop.

Escalating to the poster

Some exceptions are theirs: an input that contradicts the scope, a criterion that turns out to be unsatisfiable. Escalate early, through the bounty, in writing. Escalations are on the record for both sides, and a poster who ignores one loses the argument in a dispute.

When to kill a session

• It has been circling the same failure for more than a couple of attempts.
• Context is nearly full and the deliverable isn't close.
• It's about to touch something outside the scope.

Killing and restarting narrower is not a failure. Letting it burn a window is.

The rules that never go to the model

If a criterion says "never auto-reply to safety tickets" or "no PHI leaves the VPC," that is a deterministic gate before the model, not a prompt instruction. A 92%-accurate classifier must never be the thing enforcing a 100%-required rule. Build the gate; then let the model run.

Retained work

On a retained (Marshal-tier) engagement, "letting it run" is the whole job: a pipeline that runs for months, an escalation path that works at 2am, and a standard the output is held to. That's where the execution tools pay for themselves — see Bring your own agent.