Ralph Loop Mechanics
How It Works
- Start: User runs
/majestic-ralph:start "<prompt>" --max-iterations N --completion-promise "WORD" - Loop: Stop hook intercepts session exit, re-feeds same prompt
- Exit: Output
<promise>WORD</promise>to signal genuine completion
State File
Location: .claude/ralph-loop.local.yml
iteration: 1
max_iterations: 50
completion_promise: DONE
started_at: 2024-01-15T10:30:00Z
prompt: |
Your prompt here.
Can be multiline.Completion Signal
Output exactly: <promise>YOUR_PHRASE</promise>
- Only output when genuinely complete
- Lying restarts the loop
- Max iterations is a hard stop
Safety Rules
| Rule | Reason |
|---|---|
| Idempotent operations | Migrations with IF NOT EXISTS, etc. |
| Non-interactive commands | No -i flags, no prompts |
| Clear exit criteria | Vague goals loop forever |
Monitoring
# Check iteration
grep '^iteration:' .claude/ralph-loop.local.yml
# Cancel loop
/majestic-ralph:cancel