2026-07-29
Error Handling Patterns for Agent Loops: Retry, Fallback, and Circuit Breaker
A practical guide to implementing error handling in agent loops using retry logic, fallback paths, and circuit breaker patterns.
← Back to BlogAgent loops fail. Models timeout, APIs return errors, and unexpected inputs break assumptions. Without explicit error handling, a single failure can crash the entire loop or produce silent failures that corrupt downstream decisions. Three patterns cover most cases: retry with exponential backoff for transient failures, fallback paths for when the primary approach cannot succeed, and circuit breaker to prevent cascading failures when a dependency is down. LoopCraft's visual editor lets you attach error handlers to any node and visualize the fallback flow. Export to LangGraph, AutoGen, CrewAI, or the OpenAI Agents SDK with error handling preserved. Feedback: sapsap@qq.com. LoopCraft: https://getloopcraft.com
Reading time: 6 min