feat: initial companion repo for CC-001 Agent Loop

exercises/02-control-the-loop.md

@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+# Exercise 02: Control the Loop
+
+**Concept:** The Agent Loop (CC-001)
+**Level:** Intermediate
+**Time:** ~15 minutes
+
+---
+
+## Objective
+
+Learn to steer the agent loop instead of just watching it. You will
+use Plan Mode to preview what Claude intends to do before it acts,
+and use /rewind to undo a wrong turn.
+
+Exercise 01 showed the loop running freely. This exercise shows you
+the controls.
+
+---
+
+## Before You Start
+
+Confirm you have:
+
+- [ ] Completed Exercise 01 (or understand the basic loop concept)
+- [ ] Claude Code open in this directory
+
+---
+
+## Part A: Plan Mode
+
+**Step 1:** Press `Shift+Tab` until the mode indicator shows **plan**.
+
+You should see the permission mode change in the bottom bar. In Plan
+Mode, Claude will describe what it plans to do instead of doing it.
+
+**Step 2:** Paste this prompt:
+
+```
+Create a project structure for a simple blog:
+- A folder called blog/ with index.html, style.css, and posts/
+- An about.html page
+- A README.md explaining the structure
+```
+
+**Step 3:** Read Claude's plan.
+
+Claude will describe the files it would create, the structure, and
+the content. It will NOT create anything yet. This is the plan.
+
+**Step 4:** If the plan looks good, type:
+
+```
+Go ahead, execute this plan.
+```
+
+Or press `Shift+Tab` back to a normal mode and re-send the prompt.
+
+Claude now executes, creating the actual files.
+
+**Why this matters:** For complex tasks where a wrong start wastes
+time, Plan Mode lets you course-correct before any files are written.
+
+---
+
+## Part B: Using /rewind
+
+**Step 1:** Give Claude an intentionally vague prompt:
+
+```
+Improve the blog project.
+```
+
+Claude will likely make some changes you did not expect or want.
+That is the point of this exercise.
+
+**Step 2:** After Claude finishes, review what it changed. If the
+changes are not what you wanted, type:
+
+```
+/rewind
+```
+
+This restores your context to the state before Claude's last action.
+The files are unchanged (Claude did write them), but the conversation
+context is rewound so you can try a different approach.
+
+**Step 3:** Now give a more specific prompt:
+
+```
+Add a navigation bar to index.html that links to about.html.
+Do not change anything else.
+```
+
+Notice how specificity gives the loop better direction.
+
+---
+
+## Part C: Stopping a Runaway Loop
+
+**Step 1:** Give Claude a deliberately open-ended task:
+
+```
+Make this blog production-ready.
+```
+
+**Step 2:** As Claude starts working (adding frameworks, build tools,
+etc.), press `Escape` to interrupt.
+
+Claude stops mid-execution. You can then redirect:
+
+```
+Stop. I just want the HTML and CSS to be clean and valid.
+No frameworks, no build tools.
+```
+
+---
+
+## Expected Output
+
+After completing all three parts:
+
+- A `blog/` directory with `index.html`, `style.css`, `posts/`, `about.html`, `README.md`
+- You experienced Plan Mode (preview before execution)
+- You used /rewind to undo a vague prompt
+- You interrupted a runaway loop with Escape
+
+---
+
+## What You Learned
+
+- **Plan Mode previews:** Shift+Tab toggles Plan Mode, where Claude describes its plan before acting
+- **/rewind undoes context:** It rolls back the conversation so you can try a different approach
+- **Escape interrupts:** Press Escape to stop Claude mid-loop when it is going in the wrong direction
+- **Specificity guides the loop:** Vague prompts produce unpredictable results. Specific prompts keep the loop on track.
+
+---
+
+## Clean Up
+
+```bash
+rm -rf blog/ about.html
+```
+
+---
+
+## Next
+
+Ready to design prompts that work with the loop? Move to [Exercise 03: Design for the Loop](./03-design-for-the-loop.md).