ralph-add-task

name	/ralph-add-task
description	Add a new task to an existing Ralph project. Use when requirements change during execution.

Add Task to Ralph Project

Add a new task to the existing prd.json without disrupting current execution.

Task to add: $ARGUMENTS

Process

1. Read current state — Load prd.json to understand existing tasks and structure
2. Analyze new task — Determine:
   • Priority level (high/medium/low)
   • Dependencies on existing tasks
   • Which tasks depend on this new one
3. Generate task ID — Use next available ID (e.g., task-007 if last is task-006)
4. Insert into prd.json — Add task with proper structure:

{
  "id": "task-XXX",
  "title": "Task description from $ARGUMENTS",
  "priority": "high|medium|low",
  "status": "pending",
  "dependencies": ["task-YYY"],
  "acceptance_criteria": [
    "Criterion 1",
    "Criterion 2"
  ]
}

5. Update dependencies — If existing tasks should depend on this new one, update their dependencies arrays
6. Log the change — Append to progress.log:

[YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS] Added task-XXX: Task description
[YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS] Dependencies: [list of dependencies]

Priority Assignment

• high — Blocks other tasks, critical path, security-related
• medium — Core functionality, user-facing features
• low — Nice-to-have, optimization, documentation

Dependency Detection

Look for keywords in task description:

• "after X" → depends on X
• "before X" → X depends on this
• "requires X" → depends on X
• "based on X" → depends on X

Completion

Report:

Added task-XXX: [title]
Priority: [high/medium/low]
Dependencies: [list or "none"]
Dependents: [tasks that now depend on this, or "none"]

Run '/ralph' to continue execution with updated task list.