v1.14.0-outer-loop: explicit while loop replaces inference recursion

Converts the ad-hoc executeToolPhase → runAssistantTurn recursion into an
explicit while (stepNumber < effectiveCap) loop. A step is one stream-and-
tool-execute iteration; the loop terminates on non-tool finish, step-cap hit,
doom-loop, budget exhaustion, abort, or synthesis success.

MAX_STEPS = 200 hard ceiling (4x old effective limit from budget). Per-agent
steps: field in AGENTS.md frontmatter sets tighter caps (Refactorer: 5,
Architect: 20, others: unset = bounded only by MAX_STEPS). Resolution:
effectiveCap = Math.min(agent.steps ?? Infinity, MAX_STEPS).

executeToolPhase no longer recurses — returns ToolPhaseResult struct
(action: 'continue' | 'paused' | 'synthesis_done') so the caller decides
whether to continue or break. steps: 0 handled as "no tool calls allowed"
via runTextOnlyTurn (one text-only stream phase, tool calls ignored with
warn log).

Step-cap hits produce a sentinel summary (reuses cap_hit kind so
CapHitSentinel.tsx renders without frontend changes; text distinguishes
"Step limit reached" from "Tool budget exhausted"). Doom-loop check migrated
to top of loop body — same predicate, same threshold (3), break instead of
return.

step_start parts are in the schema CHECK but not emitted as message_parts —
writing before the stream phase creates a sequence-0 collision with
partsFromAssistantMessage. Structured log line emitted instead. Adversarial
review caught the collision pre-deploy.

332/332 server tests passing. No frontend changes. No schema changes.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 All notable changes per release tag. Most recent on top, ordered by tag creation date (which matches the git history). Tag names follow `vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH-slug` — the slug describes what shipped, so the tag name alone is enough to recall the batch.
 
+## v1.14.0-outer-loop — 2026-05-23
+
+Converts the inference engine's ad-hoc `executeToolPhase → runAssistantTurn` recursion into an explicit `while` loop with a configurable step cap. A step is one stream-and-tool-execute iteration; the loop terminates on non-tool finish, step-cap hit, doom-loop, budget exhaustion, abort, or synthesis success. `MAX_STEPS = 200` is the hard ceiling (4x the old effective limit from budget); per-agent `steps:` field in AGENTS.md frontmatter sets tighter caps (Refactorer: 5, Architect: 20, others: unset = bounded only by MAX_STEPS). `executeToolPhase` no longer recurses — returns a `ToolPhaseResult` struct (`action: 'continue' | 'paused' | 'synthesis_done'`) so the caller (the while loop) decides whether to continue or break. `steps: 0` is handled as "no tool calls allowed" — one text-only stream phase, tool calls ignored with a warn log. Step-cap hits produce a sentinel summary (reuses `cap_hit` kind so `CapHitSentinel.tsx` renders it without frontend changes; text distinguishes "Step limit reached" from "Tool budget exhausted"). Doom-loop check migrated from pre-recursion position to top of loop body — same predicate (`detectDoomLoop`), same threshold (3 identical calls), `break` instead of `return`. `step_start` parts are in the schema CHECK but not emitted as message_parts in v1.14 — writing to the assistant message before the stream phase creates a sequence-0 collision with `partsFromAssistantMessage`; a structured log line is emitted instead. Adversarial review caught the collision pre-deploy. 332/332 server tests passing; no frontend changes. Pairs with `v1.13.20-drop-legacy-cols` (parts is now the sole source of truth, and this batch's loop operates entirely through parts).
+
 ## v1.13.20-drop-legacy-cols — 2026-05-23
 
 Final phase of the v1.13.0 strangler-fig migration. Removes the dual-write into `messages.tool_calls` / `messages.tool_results` JSON columns and drops the columns themselves; `message_parts` is now the only source of truth for tool-call and tool-result data. 10 dual-write sites stripped (5 in `tool-phase.ts`, 2 in `routes/skills.ts`, 2 in `routes/messages.ts`, 1 in `routes/chats.ts` fork-clone) — recon's grep-driven inventory caught 2 sites beyond the original v1.13.2 roadmap count. `messages_with_parts` view simplified to parts-only subselects (COALESCE fallbacks gone) and rewritten via `CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW` BEFORE the column DROP since Postgres rejects column-drop on view-referenced cols. Adversarial review caught a runtime bug the green test suite missed: `chats.ts:/api/chats/:id/discard_stale` had a `RETURNING ... tool_calls, tool_results, ...` clause referencing the dropped columns; would have crashed on every 60s-no-token-activity recovery in production. Fixed by switching to two-step UPDATE-then-SELECT-from-view so the response keeps the parts-synthesized fields. `Message` API type retains `tool_calls?` / `tool_results?` fields (override on the original v1.13.2 plan) — the view continues to populate them from parts, so the wire shape is unchanged and the frontend needs no updates. v1.12.1 cleanup block (`DROP CONSTRAINT messages_status_check`/`messages_role_check`) removed — those one-shots have done their work. `tool_cost_stats.test.ts` had a direct `INSERT INTO messages` touching the legacy columns that wasn't in the roadmap's inventory; rewritten to parts-table inserts and confirmed semantically faithful. 339/339 server tests passing including the 7 DB-integration tests (live-DB applied the schema migration and ran the parts-only view end-to-end). Pairs with `v1.13.0-ai-sdk-v6` (which introduced the dual-write) and `v1.13.1-B` (which moved the read path to `messages_with_parts`); umbrella `v1.13` tag ships on the same commit.