ralph-loop

name

ralph-loop

description

Launch and manage ralph-orchestrator planner-builder-reviewer loops for autonomous multi-step implementation. Use this skill whenever the user says "ralph loop", "ralph orchestrate", "ralph run", wants to delegate work to a plan/build/review cycle, mentions phase plans, wants to configure loop iterations (max activations), hat workflows, cost budgets, or guardrails. Also trigger when the user asks to "orchestrate", "delegate to ralph", "launch a loop", "reduce max to N", or references the planner/builder/reviewer pattern. Covers project setup, spec writing, tmux launch, loop monitoring, steering, and ceremony.

Ralph Loop

Configure and launch ralph-orchestrator. Install: cargo install --git https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator ralph-cli

Directory Discipline

.kiro/specs/                        # specs (committed)
  NN-<name>/
    requirements.md                 # input: the spec AND the ralph prompt (-P)
    design.md                       # output: archived scratchpad after loop
    progress.txt                    # output: timestamped task log
  steering/                         # optional: product vision, tech decisions

.ralph/                             # orchestrator (gitignored runtime state)
  ralph.yml                         # config (core.specs_dir → .kiro/specs)
  hats/greenfield.yml               # hat definitions with ceremony instructions
  agent/scratchpad.md               # hat handoff channel (ephemeral)
  agent/memories.md                 # persistent constraints (seed with ceremony rules)

Rules: No root pollution. requirements.md IS the prompt — no separate prompt.md. design.md is an output, not an input. .kiro/specs/ is canonical — migrate legacy locations. Number spec dirs sequentially (01-, 02-).

Before You Start

ralph loops list                    # existing loops?
tmux has-session -t ralph-$NAME 2>/dev/null && echo "running"
ls .ralph/loop.lock 2>/dev/null     # stale lock?

If running: monitor, don't start another. If stale lock with no session: rm .ralph/loop.lock.

Hats = Roles in the Loop

work.start → [planner] → plan.ready → [builder] → build.done → [reviewer]
                ↑                         ↑                          │
                │                         └── work.resume ───────────┤ (code bug)
                └──────── replan ────────────────────────────────────┘ (plan wrong)
                                                                     │
                                                        LOOP_COMPLETE (verified)

Hats communicate via scratchpad (task breakdown + acceptance criteria), memories (persistent constraints), and event payloads. Sonnet MUST NOT be reviewer — it ignores event constraints and causes stale loops. Use Opus for planner and reviewer; Opus or Sonnet for builder.

Tmux Setup

SPEC="<spec-name>"
tmux new-session -d -s "$NAME" -c "$PROJECT_PATH"
tmux send-keys -t "$NAME:0" "ralph run -q -c .ralph/ralph.yml -H .ralph/hats/greenfield.yml -P .kiro/specs/$SPEC/requirements.md > .ralph/run.log 2>&1" Enter
tmux split-window -v -t "$NAME:0" -c "$PROJECT_PATH" -l 80%
tmux send-keys -t "$NAME:0.1" "bash .ralph/monitor.sh" Enter
tmux resize-pane -t "$NAME:0.0" -y 3

Monitor: .ralph/monitor.sh (copy from scripts/monitor.sh in this skill) or ralph tui (needs real TTY, attach directly). Set up CronCreate every 3 minutes to poll events + commits. Auto-cancel when loop terminates.

Codex Periodic Watch

For Codex, periodic Ralph monitoring can be implemented by reusing a watcher sub-agent as a timer-like harness.

• Spawn one monitor sub-agent and keep reusing the same agent id/thread.
• Give it a bounded instruction such as: wait 60-180 seconds, inspect the Ralph loop, then return a compact status summary.
• When it returns, the main Codex agent should:
  • summarize status to the user if needed
  • decide whether to steer Ralph
  • send the next timed watch instruction to that same monitor sub-agent
• Treat this as a reusable monitor channel, not as a native always-on daemon.

Recommended Codex watch cycle:

1. Create monitor agent once.
2. Instruct: wait N minutes, check Ralph status, report progressing, stuck, failed, or needs-input.
3. Main agent inspects result and optionally emits steering.
4. Main agent reuses the same monitor agent for the next cycle.

Use this when Codex is the meta-orchestrator and no built-in timer tool is available. If another frontend provides a native timer tool, prefer that simpler primitive over a sub-agent watch loop.

CLI Reference

Action	Command
Loop status	ralph loops list
Events	ralph events --last 10
View plan	cat .ralph/agent/scratchpad.md
Stop	touch .ralph/stop-requested
Resume	ralph run --continue
Steer	ralph wave emit human.guidance --payloads "msg"
Validate	ralph preflight -c .ralph/ralph.yml -H .ralph/hats/greenfield.yml
Dry run	ralph run --dry-run -c .ralph/ralph.yml -H .ralph/hats/greenfield.yml -P .kiro/specs/<name>/requirements.md

Writing the Spec (requirements.md)

Human-authored, variable-depth. The planner fills gaps; never overrides what the human specified.

Thin (domain is well-understood):

Rework Docker/Splunk infra from the devcontainer template.
Splunk 10.2.1+, Python 3.12. Ports: 18000/18088/18089.
Accept when: `docker compose config` validates and all 7 checks pass.

Detailed (high stakes, specific opinions):

### Requirement 1: Strategy wiring
1. WHEN scene JSON has `"strategy": "rule-based"`, THE Bot SHALL use RuleBasedStrategy
2. WHEN strategy is omitted, THE Bot SHALL default to RuleBasedStrategy
3. WHEN unknown strategy specified, THE ScenePlayer SHALL raise ScenePlayerError

Include: code deliverables, infrastructure tasks, handoff artifacts, verification requirements. Claude can help draft — but should not author unilaterally.

Lifecycle

human writes requirements.md  →  ralph run -P requirements.md
                                       ↓
                              planner → builder → reviewer loop
                                       ↓
                              ceremony: archive scratchpad → design.md
                                        write progress.txt
                                       ↓
                              update PROJECT_PLAN.md → next spec

One spec = one loop. Only write requirements.md before launching. Archive after loop. Migrate legacy spec locations on sight.

Iteration Budgeting

Each full plan→build→review cycle costs 3 iterations minimum. Budget accordingly:

iterations_needed = (num_phases × 3) + retries_buffer

Spec shape	Tasks	Recommended max_iterations
Single phase, 1-3 tasks	1-3	6
Two phases, 3-5 tasks	3-5	9-12
Three phases, 5-8 tasks	5-8	12-15
Complex multi-phase	8+	15-20 or split into multiple specs

Common budget killers:

• Reviewer backpressure rejections for ceremony reasons (not code bugs) — costs 1 iteration each
• Planner re-engaging between phases (phase.next → replanning) — costs 1 iteration each
• Sequential dependent tasks split into separate build/review cycles when they could be batched

Task merging rule: If tasks are sequential dependencies within the same phase (A feeds B feeds C), merge them into one task. Three separate build→review cycles for dependent work burns 9 iterations; one batched cycle burns 3.

Continuation loops: When a loop terminates at max_iterations with remaining tasks, write a new spec referencing prior commits. Seed the scratchpad/memories with what's already done. Budget only for the remaining work.

Hat Configurations

Create a hat file per spec (e.g. .ralph/hats/05-parity.yml), never edit the greenfield template in-place. Choose the right hat topology for the work:

3-hat: planner → builder → reviewer (default)

work.start → [planner] → plan.ready → [builder] → build.done → [reviewer]

Use when: the plan is uncertain and may need revision based on review findings. The reviewer can emit replan to change direction. Best for exploratory work and specs with 4+ tasks.

2-hat: planner+builder → reviewer

work.start → [planner+builder] → build.done → [reviewer]

Use when: the task requires deep research that the builder needs in-context. The planner reads the codebase, understands the architecture, and implements in the same session — no lossy scratchpad handoff. Best for: small specs (1-3 tasks) where context is critical. Warning: combining roles on large specs causes the first activation to absorb too much context and stall. Prefer 3-hat with phase-scoped planning for specs with 4+ tasks.

2-hat: planner → builder+reviewer

work.start → [planner] → plan.ready → [builder+reviewer]

Use when: tasks have clear pass/fail criteria and the builder should self-verify. Saves an iteration per task by skipping the separate review cycle. The builder runs tests, lint, dryrun before emitting. Best for: well-defined tasks with mechanical acceptance criteria (all tests pass, dryrun clean, files exist).

Phase-scoped planning

For specs with many tasks, instruct the planner to plan only the next 2-3 tasks per activation — not the entire spec. This prevents the planner from spending a full iteration reading the whole codebase upfront. The planner advances phase by phase as the reviewer emits phase.next.

Reviewer discipline

The reviewer must run verification commands itself. It should never reject because the build.done payload lacks formatted evidence. If the reviewer wants to verify coverage, lint, or dryrun — it runs them. It decides based on its own command output, not on what the builder reported.

Operational Discipline

• Minimize loop restarts — each costs a planner re-analysis
• Don't ask human questions unless blocked
• Update PROJECT_PLAN.md after each spec completes
• TUI needs real TTY — use -q mode in tmux
• Handoff artifacts are deliverables with acceptance criteria
• Ceremony is enforced in hat instructions and seeded memories — not here

Greenfield Hat Config

event_loop:
  starting_event: "work.start"
  completion_promise: "LOOP_COMPLETE"

hats:
  planner:
    name: "Architect"
    description: "Reads specs, breaks work into tasks with acceptance criteria"
    backend: claude
    backend_args: ["--model", "opus"]
    triggers: ["work.start", "phase.next", "replan"]
    publishes: ["plan.ready", "scaffold.done"]
    default_publishes: "plan.ready"
    max_activations: 4
    instructions: |
      RESEARCH FIRST: Read existing code, the requirements.md (passed via -P),
      CLAUDE.md, scratchpad, and .ralph/agent/memories.md. Understand what's
      built, what works, what's broken. Do not plan from requirements.md alone.

      Write an ARTIFACT REGISTRY in the scratchpad — a table of every
      deliverable with columns: Exists | Tests | Runtime Verified | Acceptance Criteria

      Break work into tasks. For EACH task, write concrete acceptance criteria:
      commands to run, output to expect, endpoints to curl, files to check.

      Include infrastructure setup and handoff artifacts as tasks when needed.

      Emit scaffold.done if scaffolding, then plan.ready.

  builder:
    name: "Builder"
    description: "Implements tasks from the plan"
    backend: claude
    backend_args: ["--model", "opus"]
    triggers: ["plan.ready", "work.resume"]
    publishes: ["build.done", "tests.passing"]
    default_publishes: "build.done"
    instructions: |
      Read the scratchpad for the current task and its acceptance criteria.
      Read .ralph/agent/memories.md for known constraints and past fixes.

      Implement the task. Write appropriate tests. Verify your own work against
      the acceptance criteria before committing. If a criterion says "run this
      command and see X", actually run it. Commit after each logical unit.

      PROGRESS TRACKING — after each task commit:
      1. Find the spec directory (parent dir of the -P requirements.md file).
         If unsure, check .ralph/agent/memories.md for the spec dir path.
      2. Append a line to progress.txt in that spec directory:
         [YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM] DONE task-id — one-line description (commit-hash)
      3. Update the SUMMARY line at the top:
         # SUMMARY: M/N done | next: <next-task-id>
      4. If progress.txt doesn't exist yet, create it with this header:
         # Progress Log: <spec-name>
         # Auto-updated by builder during ralph loop
         # Format: [TIMESTAMP] STATUS task-id — description
         # SUMMARY: 0/N done | next: <first-task-id>

      Write to .ralph/agent/memories.md when you discover non-obvious constraints.

  reviewer:
    name: "Reviewer"
    description: "Verifies implementation and diagnoses failures"
    backend: claude
    backend_args: ["--model", "opus"]
    triggers: ["build.done"]
    publishes: ["LOOP_COMPLETE", "work.resume", "plan.ready", "replan"]
    default_publishes: "plan.ready"
    max_activations: 1
    instructions: |
      Read the scratchpad for the current task's acceptance criteria.
      Read .ralph/agent/memories.md for known constraints and past fixes.

      RUN EVERYTHING YOURSELF: tests, lint, dryrun, coverage — whatever you
      think is appropriate. Your job is thorough verification. But base your
      accept/reject decision on YOUR OWN command results, not on what the
      builder included in the build.done payload.

      Do NOT reject because the event payload lacks formatted evidence.
      Do NOT re-request the same checks the builder already passed.
      If you want to verify something, run it yourself — don't ask the
      builder to re-emit with more metadata.

      WHEN VERIFICATION FAILS:
      1. Capture the actual error (stderr, stack trace, diff from expected)
      2. Diagnose root cause — read the code, identify what's wrong
      3. Write diagnosis in scratchpad under "## Reviewer Findings"
      4. Write root cause to .ralph/agent/memories.md if non-obvious
      5. Code bug → emit work.resume. Plan wrong → emit replan.

      WHEN VERIFICATION PASSES:
      - Mark task verified in scratchpad with what you ran
      - More tasks remain → emit plan.ready

      COMPLETION CEREMONY — when ALL tasks verified, do these IN ORDER:
      1. SPEC DIR: parent directory of the -P requirements.md file.
         Example: -P .kiro/specs/06-foo/requirements.md → .kiro/specs/06-foo/
      2. ARCHIVE: cp .ralph/agent/scratchpad.md <spec-dir>/design.md
      3. PROGRESS: verify <spec-dir>/progress.txt has a DONE line per task.
         Update SUMMARY to: # SUMMARY: N/N done | next: DONE
         If missing or incomplete, write it now with all tasks.
      4. VERIFY: confirm spec dir has requirements.md, design.md, progress.txt
      5. EMIT LOOP_COMPLETE only after steps 1-4 are done.

      NEVER emit build.done.
      NEVER emit LOOP_COMPLETE without completing ALL ceremony steps.