Internal Ralph Mode (Max Subscription)

Overview

Internal Ralph processes a PRD backlog using Claude Code's built-in Task tool to spawn subagents. Each task gets fresh context while using the SAME Max subscription - no API key required.

How It Works

code

Main Session (You - Orchestrator)
    │
    ├── Read .deep/prd.json
    │
    ├── For each task where passes=false:
    │       │
    │       └── Spawn Task agent (subagent_type=general-purpose)
    │             ├── Agent implements task
    │             ├── Agent runs verification
    │             └── Agent returns result
    │
    ├── Update prd.json with result
    │
    └── Continue until all tasks pass or max iterations

Why This Works

External Ralph (broken)	Internal Ralph (works)
Spawns new CLI process	Uses Task tool subagents
`-p` flag = API mode	Subagents = same session
Requires API key	Uses Max subscription
External orchestration	Internal orchestration

PRD Format

Create .deep/prd.json:

json

[
  {
    "id": "task-001",
    "story": "Description of what to build",
    "acceptance_criteria": [
      "Criterion 1",
      "Criterion 2"
    ],
    "priority": "high",
    "passes": false,
    "attempts": 0,
    "lastError": null
  }
]

Execution Protocol

Step 1: Read PRD

code

Read .deep/prd.json and identify next task where passes=false

Step 2: Spawn Task Agent

code

Use Task tool with:
- subagent_type: "general-purpose"
- description: "[task-id]: [brief description]"
- prompt: |
    You are executing a single task from a PRD backlog.

    TASK: [task story]

    ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA:
    [list criteria]

    INSTRUCTIONS:
    1. Implement the task to meet ALL acceptance criteria
    2. Run appropriate verification (tests, lint, types)
    3. Make a git commit if successful
    4. Report: TASK_PASSED or TASK_FAILED with details

    Work autonomously. Do not ask questions - make reasonable decisions.

Step 3: Process Result

•If TASK_PASSED: Update prd.json with passes: true
•If TASK_FAILED: Increment attempts, log error, try next task or retry

Step 4: Continue or Complete

•If all tasks have passes: true: Output PROMISE_COMPLETE
•If tasks remain: Go to Step 1
•If max iterations reached: Output RALPH_TIMEOUT

Progress Tracking

Append to progress.txt after each task:

code

## [timestamp] - [task-id]
Status: PASSED/FAILED
Summary: [what was done]
---

Invocation

From Claude Code, say:

code

/internal-ralph

Or manually:

code

Run internal ralph mode on .deep/prd.json with max 10 iterations

Advantages Over External Ralph

•No API key needed - Uses Max subscription
•Fresh context per task - Task agents get clean slate
•No TTY issues - All internal to Claude Code
•Better error handling - Main session can retry/adjust
•Visible progress - See each task as it runs
•Can run in background - Use run_in_background: true

Parallel Execution (Advanced)

For independent tasks, spawn multiple agents simultaneously:

code

Launch Task agents for task-001, task-002, task-003 in parallel

This maximizes throughput while staying within Max subscription.