Which cycle does Claude Code work through for every task?

The principle — the loop, not the single answer, is the unit of work.

Why the key is correct — Anthropic describes the agentic loop as the cycle Claude works through for every task: gather context, take action, verify results, and repeat until done. The repetition is what the word agentic is doing.

Why the others are wrong — a single request-and-answer exchange is a chat turn. A complete upfront plan cannot react to what the first step reveals. And stopping at a failing check would remove the phase that makes the loop worth running.

Remember this — verify is a phase, not an afterthought.

Sources — Anthropic's Claude Code glossary.