# PAT-0250 — Circular Dependency

## Ontology Metadata

Code: PAT-0250
Version: PAT-0250@0.1.0
Ontology release: 0.1.0
Updated: 2026-05-10T00:00:00Z
Canonical URL: /workbench/patterns/circular-dependency/

## Summary

A structural condition where two or more elements depend on each other in a closed loop without an independent base condition or declared resolution mechanism.

## Primary Lenses

- LEN-0150 — Conflict Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/conflict-lens/
  - Summary: Detects mutually incompatible constraints, claims, states, or declarations that cannot be simultaneously satisfied.
- LEN-0250 — Propagation Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/propagation-lens/
  - Summary: Traces how structural declarations, effects, or state changes propagate across boundaries or stages.

## Secondary Lenses

- LEN-0230 — Normalization Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/normalization-lens/
  - Summary: Transforms structurally equivalent variants into a canonical form to prevent false divergence.

## Primary Issue Matches

- ISS-0087 — Agent Cannot Choose Tool Without Tool Result
  - URL: /workbench/issues/agent-cannot-choose-tool-without-tool-result/
  - Summary: The agent needs a tool result to choose the right tool, but cannot obtain that result without choosing a tool first.
- ISS-0088 — Approval Depends on Output That Needs Approval
  - URL: /workbench/issues/approval-depends-on-output-that-needs-approval/
  - Summary: A required approval depends on an AI output or workflow result that itself cannot be produced or trusted until approval is granted.
- ISS-0090 — Policy Decision Depends on Itself
  - URL: /workbench/issues/policy-decision-depends-on-itself/
  - Summary: A policy decision requires the outcome of the same policy decision before it can be made.
- ISS-0092 — Routing Path Cycles Back to Start
  - URL: /workbench/issues/routing-path-cycles-back-to-start/
  - Summary: A routing path sends the case back to the starting point or an earlier step without resolving the condition that caused the route.
- ISS-0091 — Schema Reference Loops Without Base Case
  - URL: /workbench/issues/schema-reference-loops-without-base-case/
  - Summary: A schema, field, type, object, or structured reference points through a loop without a base case that allows validation or interpretation to resolve.
- ISS-0086 — Workflow Loops Through Review Without Resolution
  - URL: /workbench/issues/workflow-loops-through-review-without-resolution/
  - Summary: A workflow repeatedly sends work through review, repair, or escalation without reaching an approved, rejected, or otherwise resolved state.
- ISS-0089 — Workflow Waits on Step That Waits Back
  - URL: /workbench/issues/workflow-waits-on-step-that-waits-back/
  - Summary: A workflow step waits for another step that also waits on the first step, creating a blocking loop.

## Supporting Issue Matches

- ISS-0082 — Agent Never Settles on Final Answer
  - URL: /workbench/issues/agent-never-settles-on-final-answer/
  - Summary: The agent keeps revising, rechecking, planning, or branching instead of converging on a final answer or completed result.
- ISS-0014 — Fallback Authority Is Missing
  - URL: /workbench/issues/fallback-authority-is-missing/
  - Summary: The system does not declare who or what has authority when the primary owner, rule, tool, source, or decision path is unavailable or inconclusive.
- ISS-0100 — Review Escalates Without Stop Condition
  - URL: /workbench/issues/review-escalates-without-stop-condition/
  - Summary: A review process keeps escalating, re-reviewing, or adding scrutiny without a declared condition for stopping.