Keep longer work on track
Long-running work needs a clear goal, a way to inspect progress, and an explicit stopping condition. Gideon loops and workflow runs expose different kinds of progress.
Define the finish
For a finite goal, specify the deliverable and evidence needed to finish. For monitoring, specify what to observe, when to report, and when to stop. Set any available budget intentionally.
Watch meaningful progress
Look at tasks completed, findings, generated artifacts, and verification results. A stream of activity is not the same as movement toward the outcome.
Handle a pause
If Gideon asks for input, read the question in context. Supply the missing decision or access, then check that work resumes. If the runtime reconnects, inspect the existing run before starting another copy of the job.
Stop with a useful handoff
Pause this work and summarize the current state: completed deliverables, evidence checked, unresolved questions, any external changes, and the next useful step. Give me the saved file paths or artifact links.
Review the final state
A task stopped by its budget is not automatically complete. A monitor ending cleanly does not establish a finite research result. Inspect the final artifact and the remaining work before treating the goal as achieved.