ralph-loop

name	ralph-loop
description	Execute one Ralph development loop iteration. Reads fix_plan.md, implements the first unchecked task, verifies, and commits.

Current Status

From the repo root you can summarize progress:

RALPH_DIR=".ralph"
total=$(grep -c "^\- \[" "$RALPH_DIR/fix_plan.md" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
done=$(grep -c "^\- \[x\]" "$RALPH_DIR/fix_plan.md" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
echo "Tasks: $done/$total complete, $((total - done)) remaining"

Execution Contract

1. Read .ralph/fix_plan.md — find the FIRST unchecked - [ ] item. If the user provided a task override in their message, use that instead.
2. Search the codebase for existing implementations (delegate exploration to a subagent or Task tool when available).
3. If the task uses an external library API, look up docs first.
4. Implement the smallest complete change.
5. Run targeted verification (lint/type/test for touched scope).
6. Update fix_plan.md: - [ ] to - [x].
7. Commit with descriptive message.
8. Report status in RALPH_STATUS block.
9. STOP immediately after the status block.

Constraints

• ONE task only. Stop after completing it.
• Skip QA unless this task completes the last - [ ] in its ## section (epic boundary).
• At epic boundary: run full QA (e.g. project test runner). Otherwise set TESTS_STATUS: DEFERRED.
• NEVER modify .ralph/ files except fix_plan.md checkboxes.
• Prefer dedicated exploration for large searches; keep the main change set small.

Status Reporting

At the end of your response, include:

---RALPH_STATUS--- STATUS: IN_PROGRESS | COMPLETE | BLOCKED TASKS_COMPLETED_THIS_LOOP: FILES_MODIFIED: TESTS_STATUS: PASSING | FAILING | DEFERRED | NOT_RUN WORK_TYPE: IMPLEMENTATION | TESTING | DOCUMENTATION | REFACTORING EXIT_SIGNAL: false | true RECOMMENDATION: ---END_RALPH_STATUS---