Three threads, six steps — how Intent-System actually runs
The Design / Implementation / Review threads are not metaphors. In the established timer-loop mode, Implementation and Review are two Claude sessions, each in its own cwd and each on its own loop. In the newer Orchestrator Mode preview, Implementation and Review become loopless receivers coordinated by one orchestrator thread.
If you want the message-driven preview instead of timed implementation/review loops, continue to Orchestrator Mode. Open Orchestrator Mode →
Approve on ⑤ rewinds the loop to ③ — the next packet is re-evaluated against the post-merge state, not the pre-PR plan.
In timer-loop mode, both Claude threads are launched via intent-cli; impl and review run in physically separate cwds (e.g. <your-repo> vs <your-repo>Review).
The six steps
Same thread, /loop 5m, separate cwds
- 5-minute interval. Matches Claude's prompt-cache TTL (5 minutes), so the next wake re-enters with a warm context. Longer intervals pay a cache miss for no gain; shorter intervals burn the cache without amortising it.
- Same thread. Don't spawn a fresh session each wake. /loop continues the same thread so prior judgments carry forward — review consistency depends on this.
- Separate cwds for impl and review. Implementation and review run in physically different worktrees (e.g. <your-repo> vs <your-repo>Review). One Claude session cannot grade its own homework when it literally cannot see the other side's local state.
- Fire the first wake once. After intent-cli registers the loop, kick it once. Configuration mistakes surface immediately instead of after the first natural fire.
The intent-cli prompt, in two lines
If the Claude thread is already familiar with intent-cli, the short form below is enough. Fill in <domain> / <target repo> / <cwd> and send.
Implementation loop
Ask intent-cli to set up the implementation-and-pr-comment-update loop for <target repo> in <domain>, running under Claude on a 5-minute interval. cwd is <cwd>. Use the same thread with /loop 5m, and fire the first wake once.
Review / next-slice loop
Ask intent-cli to set up the review-and-next-slice loop for <target repo> in <domain>, running under Claude on a 5-minute interval. cwd is <cwd>. Use the same thread with /loop 5m, and fire the first wake once.
A concrete example: intent-system itself
We run the loop in production on intent-system itself, the CLI that drives it. Two cwds, one for each loop.
# intent-system — implementation intent-cli に聞いて、intent-cli の J-Tech-Japan/intent-system 向け implementation-and-pr-comment-update loop を Claude で 5分間隔に設定してください。cwd は /Users/<you>/dev/GitHub/intent-system。同一スレッド /loop 5m で設定し、最初の wake を1回実行してください。 # intent-system — review / next-slice intent-cli に聞いて、intent-cli の J-Tech-Japan/intent-system 向け review-and-next-slice loop を Claude で 5分間隔に設定してください。cwd は /Users/<you>/dev/GitHub/IntentSystemReview。同一スレッド /loop 5m で設定し、最初の wake を1回実行してください。
Note the cwd pairing — the review loop always runs against a separate worktree (the *Review suffix). That separation is what makes the AI reviewer a real reviewer.
Local /loop vs cloud automation
Claude is the engine for the local /loop 5m threads described on this page — implementation and review, each in its own cwd, each carrying judgment forward inside one thread. Codex sits on the cloud-automation side, running in parallel but not on this /loop mechanism. They are two layers of the same overall system, not two flavours of the same thing.