My tiny mailbox for Claude and Codex handoff automation

Files carry the words

The next agent reads the task

No more copy-paste

I’m a novice at building software and learning as I go. I run a CNC workshop, and on a long project I had Claude Code doing the work and Codex independently reviewing it. The reviews were useful, but I was copying every handoff between them.

So I built Looper. One agent leaves a request in a small folder of readable files. A second agent answers it. If that run fails, the request stays waiting. A fresh session can read the folder and pick up from there.

It started with code reviews, but I’ve since used the same handoff for testing, research and getting a second agent to check things the worker couldn’t. Claude and Codex have taken both roles. I’ve also run a local Qwen model through OpenCode and Ollama for a review. That local route has only had limited testing, but it showed me the point: the files hold the job, so Looper isn’t tied to one model or agent runtime.

The approach came from what I’ve learned about ICM here, especially the work of Jake Van Clief and David McDermott. The sessions can come and go; the folder keeps what they need to continue.

And yes, Looper is partly a nod to the film. During development I jokingly called it Bruce. A job arrives, someone deals with it, and eventually the loop closes.

I’ve found it genuinely useful and have made it public and MIT licensed. If you’re carrying messages between agents, or want another agent to check work without losing track of what’s been reviewed, give it a try. It works with plain files, and there are optional helpers to automate the handoffs.

https://github.com/shedstalker/looper

I’d love to hear what you use it for, what breaks, and what you’d simplify.

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My tiny mailbox for Claude and Codex handoff automation