| name | ralph-build |
| description | Run Ralph autonomous build loop. Use when user asks to "ralph build", "run build loop", or needs to process subtasks autonomously. Executes iterations against a subtasks.json queue. |
Ralph Build
Execute the Ralph autonomous build loop to process subtasks from a queue.
Usage
/ralph-build [options]
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|
--subtasks <path> | Path to subtasks.json file (default: subtasks.json) |
-s, --supervised | Supervised mode (default) |
-H, --headless | Headless mode (for automation/CI) |
-i, --interactive | Pause between iterations for user review |
-p, --print | Output the prompt without executing (dry run) |
--validate-first | Run pre-build validation before starting the loop |
--max-iterations <n> | Maximum retry attempts per subtask (0 = unlimited, default: 0) |
Workflow
1. Get Assignment from Queue
Use the same runtime queue logic as CLI build:
aaa ralph subtasks next --milestone <name-or-path>
Use aaa ralph subtasks list --milestone <name-or-path> to inspect pending items.
2. Print Mode (-p)
If print mode is requested:
- Output the full prompt content that would be sent to Claude
- Do NOT execute any iterations
- Exit after printing
3. Validate First (--validate-first)
If validate-first is requested:
- Run pre-build validation prompt on the next subtask
- If validation fails, report the issue and stop
- If validation passes, proceed to build
4. Execute Build Loop
For each iteration, follow the ralph-iteration workflow:
@context/workflows/ralph/building/ralph-iteration.md
5. Interactive Mode (-i)
After each completed iteration:
- Display summary of what was done
- Prompt: "Continue to next subtask? [Y/n]"
- Wait for user confirmation before proceeding
- User can abort the loop at any time
6. Max Iterations (--max-iterations)
If a subtask fails repeatedly:
- Track retry count per subtask
- Stop after
max-iterations failures on the same subtask
- Report the failure and suggest next steps
Runtime Source of Truth
Runtime behavior is defined by the TypeScript CLI implementation:
aaa ralph build [options]
This skill should follow CLI defaults and queue semantics.
CLI Equivalent
This skill provides the same functionality as:
aaa ralph build [options]
References
- Iteration prompt: @context/workflows/ralph/building/ralph-iteration.md
- Pre-build validation: @context/workflows/ralph/building/pre-build-validation.md
