Mode-Adaptive Cadence

Problem

A fixed-cadence loop is wrong in both directions. Running every fifteen seconds wastes tokens on idle evenings when nothing has changed since the last tick. Running every five minutes makes the agent feel sluggish during active conversation when the user is waiting for the next response. The agent already has the signal needed to decide which regime it should be in, but nothing reads that signal and adjusts the interval, so compute spend and responsiveness are decoupled from what is actually happening.

Solution

Define two (or more) modes with different sleep intervals (idle around 60s, intense around 15s). Score each tick's outcome for salience or external impulse; if it crosses a threshold, lock into intense mode for N ticks. Otherwise drift back to idle. Mode transitions are written to the ledger. The user can force a mode but cannot bypass the configured floor and ceiling. Lock-in cannot be self-extended without an explicit external trigger.

When to use

• The agent runs as a long-lived loop and idle ticks are observable cost.
• Salience signals (new events, user activity, scheduled fires) are reliable enough to drive the cadence.
• Both responsive and idle behaviour matter — fixed cadence wastes one or the other.