{
  "handle": "Reflexion",
  "mechanism": "A self-improvement loop where after completing a {{task}} attempt, the agent generates linguistic self-critique analyzing what went wrong with the {{plan}} regarding the {{goal}}, then uses this reflection as context for a retry. Unlike fine-tuning, the model is frozen—improvement comes from explicit textual feedback stored in an episodic memory buffer. It writes self-critique to a {{scratchpad}} memory buffer, using this feedback to improve the next attempt.",
  "gloss": "Self-critique and retry after failure",
  "failure_modes": [
    "Shallow Reflection: {{critique}} is generic ('try harder') without actionable insight.",
    "Reflection Drift: Each retry diverges further from the goal.",
    "Premature Success: Declaring success before the task is actually solved."
  ],
  "invariants": [
    "Memory of error persists",
    "Self-correction based on past failure"
  ],
  "preconditions": [
    "Failed trial",
    "{{outcome}} signal"
  ],
  "postconditions": [
    "Improved policy/next trial"
  ],
  "_meta": {
    "tier": 1,
    "related": [
      "sema:EvaluatorOptimizer#mh:SHA-256:6c2dd39e3dfae94dee24fb49b8769219134e2ca9bb79e047165d9424614eb729"
    ],
    "ring": 2,
    "supersedes": [
      "sema:Reflexion#mh:SHA-256:51b91d2cdfeb6aed5ea3293154279d16af2c98b0c473e731066198b5d4d43e7f",
      "sema:Reflexion#mh:SHA-256:4a467a44a1172f5d7d2119e3a4c3646e36a5f8dea4cdca2fa85bea6f92619d83",
      "sema:Reflexion#mh:SHA-256:b2b59e0b162b7c5f91b36d991ffb143331568be2d1dbc56218ccfccafd40dfc3"
    ],
    "path": [
      "Mind",
      "Reasoning"
    ]
  },
  "sema_id": "sema:Reflexion#mh:SHA-256:81eb9140703ea95f53556741df731af84c1cada66cc1e0f3a1d88e4de5fe54d8",
  "sema_ref": "Reflexion#81eb",
  "sema_stub": "81eb",
  "dependencies": {
    "accepts": {
      "task": "sema:Task#mh:SHA-256:a85010f508f85055170c396c8fa390125c1206888c565ac10651f3969a339f8d"
    },
    "references": {
      "critique": "sema:Critique#mh:SHA-256:646b71acb10a6b7f0874f3d5c7977c44d253f29f9c1231c974d85c7fba131980",
      "goal": "sema:Goal#mh:SHA-256:986beec5f7aea2c89962d1e93806de83c61eee9bd7364d9ce1d20bd479fa5e70",
      "outcome": "sema:Outcome#mh:SHA-256:753768dae28040f1291ee2849d2aac2a08bbffd836cfab679bdbea9a6ff7ec03",
      "plan": "sema:Plan#mh:SHA-256:246db278c5db286fcd78d824d85054fafb3348565ef584599b63900000c43b32",
      "scratchpad": "sema:Scratchpad#mh:SHA-256:626c5a0a716ab29b51e68429d41e99619201af48d17975d89636b55b8dc852f5"
    }
  },
  "sema_layer": "Mind",
  "sema_category": "Reasoning",
  "used_by": {
    "composes_with": {
      "ChainOfThought": "sema:ChainOfThought#mh:SHA-256:27ad1f2386f58e1f9e1983c97f6dbeb8f1345e1d9b9e00af30871b97d21e0c95",
      "OptimisticSolver": "sema:OptimisticSolver#mh:SHA-256:63aaa2e083c615a967019ce3aa709f431ff624aafce8b90ed6229144c102fda8",
      "PolymorphicSolver": "sema:PolymorphicSolver#mh:SHA-256:f7fe4635a7520f918c823f0047d6fed8e38fd820c1970ef4623cc8fd78d2b0bd"
    },
    "references": {
      "DogfoodFirst": "sema:DogfoodFirst#mh:SHA-256:76eea0e77af92abe85e0dda7c20710ca3f9b2dd0e243f2f08c3468b6c1d96204",
      "MetaCheck": "sema:MetaCheck#mh:SHA-256:5ac54fce5c9e81842e2bd859f8e2aa50182082d1340e2ab9a8144067a205fe5e"
    }
  }
}