Ralph Loop Skill
Start an iterative development loop that prevents the session from ending until the task is complete.
Detection Patterns
This skill activates when the user says things like:
- "start ralph loop for building the API"
- "execute plan at plans/active/my-feature/"
- "work through the plan"
- "implement the plan tasks"
- "keep working until the tests pass"
Behavior
When activated:
- Parse the request to determine:
- Is this plan mode (references a plan path)? - Is this simple mode (just a task description)?
- Initialize the loop:
# For plan mode.claude/scripts/setup-ralph-loop.sh --plan <path> --max-iterations 50 # For simple mode.claude/scripts/setup-ralph-loop.sh "<task>" --max-iterations 20 - Start working:
- In plan mode: Read plan files, start on first incomplete task - In simple mode: Start working on the described task
- Continue iterating:
- The stop hook will prevent exit until completion - In simple mode: Output <promise>DONE</promise> when complete - In plan mode: Acceptance criteria checked automatically
Example Invocations
Plan mode:
User: "execute plan at plans/active/add-authentication/"
Claude: [Initializes Ralph Loop in plan mode, reads plan, starts working]Simple mode:
User: "start ralph loop for refactoring the database layer"
Claude: [Initializes Ralph Loop in simple mode, starts refactoring]Notes
- Use
/cancel-ralphto stop early - State stored in
.claude/ralph-loop.local.md - Stop hook:
.claude/hooks/stop.sh