Profiles

Profiles inject additional prompt fragments into specific roles at runtime without modifying the preset's topology files. They allow customizing role behavior per-repo or per-user while keeping the base preset generic.

Scopes

A profile lives in one of two scopes, specified as <scope>:<name>:

Scope	Directory	Example spec
repo	<workDir>/.autoloop/profiles/<name>/	repo:strict-review
user	~/.config/autoloops/profiles/<name>/	user:my-style

Repo-scoped profiles are checked into the project and shared with the team. User-scoped profiles are personal and apply across any project.

Directory structure

Each profile contains subdirectories named after the presets it targets. Inside each preset directory, markdown files are named after the roles they extend:

.autoloop/profiles/strict-review/
  autocode/
    critic.md       # appended to the critic role prompt
    builder.md      # appended to the builder role prompt
  autodoc/
    checker.md      # appended to the checker role prompt

Only .md files are loaded. Files named after roles not present in the topology produce a warning but do not cause errors.

Fragment resolution

When a loop starts (or reloads), the harness resolves profile fragments in order:

1. Collect active profiles: config defaults first, then CLI --profile flags (in order given).
2. For each profile: locate the profile directory, then look for a subdirectory matching the current preset name.
3. For each .md file in the preset subdirectory (sorted alphabetically): read the file content and append it to the matching role's prompt.
4. Multiple profiles: fragments from later profiles are appended after earlier ones, so later profiles take precedence in case of conflicting instructions.

If a profile directory does not exist, the harness throws an error. If a profile exists but has no subdirectory for the current preset, a warning is emitted and the profile is skipped.

Activating profiles

CLI flags

autoloop run --profile repo:strict-review --profile user:my-style <preset-dir>

The --profile flag is repeatable. Profiles are applied in the order specified.

Config defaults

Set default profiles in autoloops.toml so they activate on every run without CLI flags:

[profiles]
default = "repo:strict-review, user:my-style"

The value is a comma-separated list of profile specs. These are prepended to any CLI --profile values.

Suppressing defaults

To run without config-defined default profiles:

autoloop run --no-default-profiles <preset-dir>

This suppresses only the config defaults. Explicit --profile flags still apply.

Inspecting profiles

autoloop inspect profiles

This shows:

• Config default profiles (from profiles.default)
• Active profiles and their resolved fragments (first line of each fragment previewed)
• Any warnings (missing preset directories, unknown role names)

How fragments are applied

Fragments are concatenated to the role's base prompt with a newline separator. The role's original prompt is preserved — fragments only append. When multiple profiles contribute fragments for the same role, they are joined in profile order.

<original role prompt>\n<profile-1 fragment>\n<profile-2 fragment>

Configuration

Key	Default	Description
profiles.default	""	Comma-separated list of profile specs to activate by default