Run RALPH - Autonomous Development

Execute the RALPH autonomous development loop to implement features from the PRD.

Two Operating Modes

1. PRD Loop Mode (Greenfield)

For implementing features from a PRD file:

bash

./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh 20

2. Single-Task Mode (Brownfield)

For quick one-off tasks without a PRD:

bash

./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh --task "Fix the login button styling"

Trigger

This skill activates when:

•/ralph-run - Start RALPH with default iterations (10)
•/ralph-run 20 - Start RALPH with specified iterations
•/ralph-run --task "description" - Single-task mode
•User says "run RALPH", "start autonomous development", etc.

Prerequisites Check

1. Verify PRD exists (supports multiple formats)

bash

# Check for PRD in multiple formats
if [ -f prd.json ]; then
  echo "✓ Found prd.json (JSON format)"
  # Validate JSON
  cat prd.json | jq . > /dev/null 2>&1
  if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "❌ prd.json is not valid JSON"
    exit 1
  fi
  # Check for incomplete stories
  REMAINING=$(cat prd.json | jq '[.userStories[] | select(.passes == false)] | length')
elif [ -f PRD.md ]; then
  echo "✓ Found PRD.md (Markdown format)"
  # Count unchecked tasks
  REMAINING=$(grep -c '^\s*- \[ \]' PRD.md || echo "0")
elif [ -f tasks.yaml ]; then
  echo "✓ Found tasks.yaml (YAML format)"
  REMAINING=$(grep -c 'completed: false' tasks.yaml || echo "0")
else
  echo "❌ No PRD found"
  echo ""
  echo "Create one first:"
  echo "  /prd [feature description]"
  echo "  or"
  echo "  Create prd.json, PRD.md, or tasks.yaml"
  exit 1
fi

if [ "$REMAINING" -eq 0 ]; then
  echo "✓ All stories already complete!"
  exit 0
fi

echo "✓ Found $REMAINING incomplete stories/tasks"

2. Check RALPH configuration

bash

# Check for .ralph/config.yaml
if [ -f .ralph/config.yaml ]; then
  echo "✓ Found .ralph/config.yaml"
  # Show configured commands
  echo "  Quality gates:"
  grep -A4 "commands:" .ralph/config.yaml | tail -4
else
  echo "⚠ No .ralph/config.yaml found"
  echo "  Run /setup-project to generate it"
fi

3. Verify PROJECT_SPEC.md exists (recommended)

bash

if [ ! -f PROJECT_SPEC.md ]; then
  echo "⚠ PROJECT_SPEC.md not found"
  echo "  RALPH works better with project context"
  echo "  Run /setup-project to generate it"
fi

4. Check Git status

bash

# Ensure clean working directory or uncommitted changes are intentional
git status --short

5. Show PRD status

bash

echo "=== PRD Status ==="
if [ -f prd.json ]; then
  cat prd.json | jq '{
    project: .project,
    branch: .branchName,
    total: (.userStories | length),
    complete: ([.userStories[] | select(.passes == true)] | length),
    remaining: ([.userStories[] | select(.passes == false)] | length)
  }'
  echo ""
  echo "=== Stories to Implement ==="
  cat prd.json | jq -r '.userStories[] | select(.passes == false) | "  \(.id): \(.title) (Priority \(.priority))"'
elif [ -f PRD.md ]; then
  echo "Remaining tasks:"
  grep '^\s*- \[ \]' PRD.md
elif [ -f tasks.yaml ]; then
  echo "Remaining tasks:"
  grep -B1 'completed: false' tasks.yaml | grep 'title:'
fi

Running RALPH

Option 1: Bash Script (Recommended)

bash

./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh 20

The script:

•Detects PRD format (JSON/Markdown/YAML) automatically
•Loads configuration from .ralph/config.yaml (rules, boundaries)
•Runs Claude with context-aware RALPH prompt
•Each iteration implements ONE story
•Runs quality gates (typecheck, lint, tests)
•Checks for <promise>COMPLETE</promise> signal
•Stops when all stories pass or max iterations reached

With CLI Options:

bash

# Skip tests (faster iteration)
./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh --skip-tests 20

# Skip linting
./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh --skip-lint 20

# Custom branch
./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh --branch feature/my-feature 20

# Dry run (no commits)
./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh --dry-run 20

# Single-task mode (no PRD needed)
./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh --task "Add dark mode toggle to settings page"

Option 2: Node.js Runner

bash

node scripts/run-ralph.js 20

Additional options:

bash

node scripts/run-ralph.js --status       # Show PRD status
node scripts/run-ralph.js --validate     # Validate prd.json
node scripts/run-ralph.js --reset        # Reset progress.txt
node scripts/run-ralph.js --analyze      # Re-analyze project
node scripts/run-ralph.js --skip-tests   # Skip test quality gate
node scripts/run-ralph.js --skip-lint    # Skip lint quality gate
node scripts/run-ralph.js --dry-run      # Don't commit changes

Configuration

RALPH configuration is stored in .ralph/config.yaml:

yaml

# Rules - AI MUST follow these on every task
rules:
  - "Always use TypeScript strict mode"
  - "Follow existing patterns in src/utils/"
  - "Write tests for all new functions"

# Boundaries - AI should NOT modify these files
boundaries:
  never_touch:
    - "src/legacy/**"
    - "migrations/**"
    - "*.lock"

# Quality gate commands
commands:
  test: "npm test"
  lint: "npm run lint"
  typecheck: "npx tsc --noEmit"
  build: "npm run build"

# Execution settings
settings:
  max_retries: 3
  retry_delay: 5
  auto_commit: true

Option 3: Manual Iteration

For more control, run iterations manually:

bash

# Run single iteration
claude -p "$(cat scripts/ralph/CLAUDE.md)"

# Check progress
cat prd.json | jq '.userStories[] | {id, title, passes}'

# Review changes
git log --oneline -5
git diff HEAD~1

# Continue if needed
claude -p "$(cat scripts/ralph/CLAUDE.md)"

RALPH Execution Flow

Each RALPH iteration follows this flow:

code

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    RALPH ITERATION                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  1. READ CONTEXT                                        │
│     ├── prd.json (stories, completion status)           │
│     ├── PROJECT_SPEC.md (tech stack, patterns)          │
│     ├── progress.txt (learnings from prior iterations)  │
│     └── git log (what was done before)                  │
│                                                         │
│  2. SELECT STORY                                        │
│     └── Pick highest priority with passes: false        │
│                                                         │
│  3. IMPLEMENT                                           │
│     ├── Follow PROJECT_SPEC.md patterns                 │
│     ├── Write clean, production-ready code              │
│     └── Meet ALL acceptance criteria                    │
│                                                         │
│  4. QUALITY GATES                                       │
│     ├── Typecheck: npm run typecheck / npx tsc          │
│     ├── Lint: npm run lint                              │
│     └── Test: npm test                                  │
│                                                         │
│  5. COMMIT                                              │
│     └── git commit -m "feat: US-XXX - Story Title"      │
│                                                         │
│  6. UPDATE PRD                                          │
│     └── Set passes: true in prd.json                    │
│                                                         │
│  7. LOG PROGRESS                                        │
│     └── Append learnings to progress.txt                │
│                                                         │
│  8. CHECK COMPLETION                                    │
│     ├── If all stories pass: <promise>COMPLETE</promise>│
│     └── Otherwise: exit for next iteration              │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Monitoring Progress

Watch progress.txt

bash

# Real-time monitoring
tail -f progress.txt

# Last 50 lines
tail -50 progress.txt

Check story status

bash

# All stories
cat prd.json | jq '.userStories[] | {id, title, passes}'

# Remaining stories
cat prd.json | jq '.userStories[] | select(.passes == false) | {id, title, priority}'

# Completion percentage
cat prd.json | jq '
  (.userStories | length) as $total |
  ([.userStories[] | select(.passes == true)] | length) as $done |
  {total: $total, done: $done, remaining: ($total - $done), percent: (($done / $total) * 100 | floor)}
'

View Git commits

bash

# Recent commits
git log --oneline -10

# Commits on this branch
git log --oneline main..HEAD

# Show files changed
git diff --stat main..HEAD

If RALPH Gets Stuck

1. Check progress.txt for patterns

bash

# Look for recurring issues
grep -i "error\|fail\|stuck\|retry" progress.txt

# Review last iteration
tail -100 progress.txt

2. Fix blocking issues manually

bash

# If tests fail, fix them
npm test

# If typecheck fails, fix types
npx tsc --noEmit

# If lint fails, fix or auto-fix
npm run lint -- --fix

3. Reset and continue

bash

# Reset progress (preserves patterns)
node scripts/run-ralph.js --reset

# Or manually clear the stuck iteration
# Edit progress.txt to remove failed attempt

# Resume
./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh 20

4. Adjust the story

If a story is too complex:

bash

# Edit prd.json to split the story
# Set the original back to passes: false
# Add new smaller stories with higher priority numbers

Completion

When RALPH finishes:

All stories complete

code

=== RALPH Complete ===

Project: [Feature Name]
Branch: ralph/[feature-slug]
Stories: [N]/[N] complete

Commits:
  abc1234 feat: US-001 - Story Title
  def5678 feat: US-002 - Story Title
  ...

Next Steps:
  1. Review the implementation:
     git diff main..HEAD

  2. Run full test suite:
     npm test

  3. Create PR:
     gh pr create --base main --title "feat: [Feature Name]"

Partial completion (max iterations reached)

code

=== RALPH Paused ===

Completed: [X]/[N] stories
Remaining: [Y] stories

To continue:
  ./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh 20

To review progress:
  cat progress.txt
  cat prd.json | jq '.userStories[] | select(.passes == false)'

Quality Commands Reference

TypeScript/JavaScript

bash

# Typecheck
npm run typecheck
# or
npx tsc --noEmit

# Lint
npm run lint
# or
npx eslint . --ext .ts,.tsx

# Test
npm test
# or
npx vitest run

Python

bash

# Type check
mypy .

# Lint
ruff check .
# or
pylint **/*.py

# Test
pytest

Go

bash

# Build
go build ./...

# Lint
golangci-lint run

# Test
go test ./...

Example Session

bash

# 1. Create PRD
/prd Add user authentication with email/password

# 2. Review generated PRD
cat prd.json
cat tasks/prd-user-authentication.md

# 3. Adjust if needed
# (edit prd.json)

# 4. Create feature branch
git checkout -b ralph/user-authentication

# 5. Run RALPH
./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh 20

# 6. Monitor (in another terminal)
watch -n 5 'cat prd.json | jq ".userStories[] | {id, passes}"'

# 7. When complete, review
git log --oneline main..HEAD
npm test

# 8. Create PR
gh pr create --base main

Troubleshooting

"No prd.json found"

Create one with /prd [feature] or /ralph-convert tasks/prd-[name].md

"All stories already complete"

Reset with --reset flag or edit prd.json to set passes: false

"Tests keep failing"

Check progress.txt for patterns, fix tests manually, then continue

"RALPH making same mistake repeatedly"

Add explicit notes to progress.txt about the issue and correct approach

"Story too large for one iteration"

Split into smaller stories in prd.json, adjust priorities

"Quality gates passing but story not complete"

Check acceptance criteria - may need more specific criteria