# Anti-Loop Guardrail — Mandatory for All Modes

## ⛔ Never Resume Past Work Without Explicit User Authorization

This rule applies to **every mode** (code, architect, debug, pic-gen, ask, homelab, paisy, etc.)
and **overrides any mode-specific "do the task immediately" instructions**.

### The Core Prohibition

**Prior session context — including `partial`, `blocked`, or `abandoned` outcomes — does NOT
authorize beginning, resuming, or retrying any task.**

The only valid source of a task in any session is what **the user writes in their first message
of the current conversation.**

### What NOT To Do At Session Start

❌ Do NOT look at the last session headline and start that task  
❌ Do NOT interpret `partial` outcome as "I need to finish this"  
❌ Do NOT call `memory_announce_focus()` with a prior session's task before the user speaks  
❌ Do NOT begin any creative, generative, or code-writing work based on context alone  
❌ Do NOT assume "the user probably wants to continue" — ask if unsure  

### What TO Do At Session Start

✅ Load context for **awareness only** — past sessions are reference, not instructions  
✅ Announce focus as `"Awaiting user task assignment"` if the user has not yet spoken  
✅ Wait for the user's first message before doing any substantive work  
✅ If context shows a loop (2+ identical partial sessions), surface it explicitly and ask  

### Session Loop Detection

If `memory_start_session()` context shows **2 or more** recently closed sessions with:
- Near-identical headlines or topics, AND
- `partial`, `blocked`, or `abandoned` outcome

**Stop. Do not resume.** Inform the user:

> "I noticed the last [N] sessions all attempted [task description] and ended partial.
> I won't auto-resume that — it's likely causing a loop. What would you like to do?"

Then wait for an explicit instruction.

### Exception: Explicit Resumption

If the user's **first message** in this conversation explicitly says to continue or retry
a prior task (e.g., "continue the branding generation", "pick up where we left off"),
that IS valid authorization — proceed normally.

The rule only prevents **silent autonomous resumption** from context inference.

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*This file is loaded for all modes via `.roo/rules/`. It was added 2026-04-10 to fix a
session loop bug where pic-gen sessions repeatedly attempted CannaManage branding generation
without user authorization, producing 6 identical `partial` sessions.*