Coding agents are shifting from supervised assistants to autonomous workers through self-verifying loops. The article introduces /goal, a command in Claude Code and Codex that triggers a hook after each task completion, forcing the agent to reflect on whether it achieved the stated objective. If not satisfied, it continues iterating without human intervention, freeing developers to manage multiple agents simultaneously.

The technique's power depends on giving agents concrete verification methods. The author recommends Playwright MCP for browser-based end-to-end testing — clicking through the actual application rather than relying on integration tests. For non-UI work, agents should execute API calls and inspect databases or logs. The key principle: verify outputs by running code, not reading it.

A second layer adds Codex as an independent code reviewer. The author uses Claude Code to write, then invokes Codex Exec to review before merging to dev. This cross-model review catches bugs that self-review misses, creating an iterative loop where Claude fixes Codex's comments until approval. The workflow has "drastically lowered" bug counts in practice.

Loops represent a fundamental shift in how developers interact with AI coding tools. By combining goal-driven persistence with executable verification and external review, a single developer can now orchestrate a fleet of agents that complete meaningful work end-to-end.