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claude-code-agent-loop/exercises/01-watch-the-loop.md
2026-03-30 10:36:26 +02:00

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# Exercise 01: Watch the Loop
**Concept:** The Agent Loop (CC-001)
**Level:** Basic
**Time:** ~10 minutes
---
## Objective
Watch Claude Code execute a multi-step task from start to finish.
You will see the agent loop in action: Claude reads, thinks, picks
a tool, observes the result, and repeats until done.
This is your first hands-on contact with the agent loop. No prior
experience with Claude Code required beyond having it installed.
---
## Before You Start
Confirm you have:
- [ ] Claude Code installed (`claude --version` prints a version)
- [ ] This repo cloned and open in your terminal
- [ ] Started Claude Code in this directory (`claude`)
---
## Instructions
**Step 1:** Open Claude Code in this repo directory.
```bash
cd claude-code-agent-loop
claude
```
**Step 2:** Paste this prompt into Claude Code:
```
Create a file called loop-demo.md that contains:
1. Today's date and time
2. A list of all files in this directory with their sizes
3. The first 5 lines of README.md
4. A summary sentence describing what this repo is about
Do not ask me any questions. Just do it.
```
**Step 3:** Watch the terminal output carefully as Claude works.
You will see Claude make a series of tool calls. Pay attention to:
- Which tools Claude picks (Bash, Read, Write, Glob)
- The order it chooses to do things
- How it uses the output of one step to inform the next
- That you did not tell it which tools to use or what order
**Step 4:** Read the generated `loop-demo.md` file.
Check that it contains all four items from the prompt. Claude gathered
information from multiple sources (system clock, file system, file
contents) and synthesized them into one output file.
---
## Expected Output
After 15-30 seconds, you should see:
- A new file `loop-demo.md` in the repo root
- It contains today's date (from a Bash call to `date`)
- It lists files with sizes (from `ls -la` or similar)
- It includes the first 5 lines of README.md (from Read tool)
- It ends with a summary sentence about the repo
The exact content varies, but the structure should match.
**How you know the agent loop worked:**
- Claude made 3-5 tool calls without asking you anything between them
- Each tool call built on information from the previous one
- The final file synthesizes data from multiple sources
---
## What You Learned
- **The loop is autonomous:** Claude decided the order and tools on its own
- **Each step informs the next:** The loop observes results before choosing the next action
- **The task, not the steps, is what you specify:** You said what you wanted, not how to get it
---
## Clean Up
Delete the generated file so the repo stays clean:
```bash
rm loop-demo.md
```
---
## Next
Ready to go further? Move to [Exercise 02: Control the Loop](./02-control-the-loop.md).