backpressure

name	backpressure
description	How to run and interpret backpressure checks. Use before committing code to ensure quality gates pass.

Backpressure

Backpressure is the mandatory quality gate that runs before every commit. Nothing gets committed without passing.

Command

The backpressure command is project-specific. Read it from .ralphrc:

# Source the config to get BACKPRESSURE_CMD
source .ralphrc
eval "$BACKPRESSURE_CMD"

Common examples of BACKPRESSURE_CMD:

• npx nx affected -t lint test build -- Nx monorepo
• npm run lint && npm test && npm run build -- standard npm project
• make lint test build -- Makefile-based project
• cargo clippy && cargo test && cargo build -- Rust project

If BACKPRESSURE_CMD is not set, check AGENTS.md for the project's quality gate commands.

Interpreting Failures

Lint failures

• Linter errors in changed files (ESLint, clippy, pylint, etc.)
• Fix: read the error, apply the fix, re-run
• Common: unused imports, missing types, formatting issues

Test failures

• Unit test assertions failing
• Fix: check if test expectation is correct or if implementation has a bug
• If the test is wrong: fix the test
• If the implementation is wrong: fix the implementation

Build failures

• Compilation errors or build tool failures
• Fix: read the error, fix the type mismatch or missing dependency
• Common: missing exports, incorrect import paths, type mismatches

Self-Heal Protocol

If backpressure fails after an iteration:

1. Read the error output carefully
2. Fix all failures
3. Re-run the backpressure command (from BACKPRESSURE_CMD in .ralphrc)
4. Only commit when all checks pass
5. If still failing after one fix attempt, stop and report the issue

Rules

• NEVER skip backpressure
• NEVER commit code that fails quality gates
• Run backpressure on affected code only (not the entire project) when the tooling supports it
• If a pre-existing failure exists in an unrelated area, note it but don't block on it
• The backpressure command may vary between projects -- always read it from .ralphrc