ralph-loop
The ralph-loop skill operates Ralph orchestration loops by running, monitoring, and recovering loop executions through CLI commands. Use it when managing ralph run operations, inspecting loop state and diagnostics, resuming suspended loops, merging completed worktree results, or debugging unexpected behavior in Ralph's task orchestration system.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator /tmp/ralph-loop && cp -r /tmp/ralph-loop/skills/ralph-loop ~/.claude/skills/ralph-loopSKILL.md
# Ralph Loop Use this skill to operate Ralph loops from the outside. ## Use This Skill For - Starting or continuing a Ralph run with the right `-c` and `-H` inputs - Inspecting loop state, worktrees, logs, history, and diffs - Resuming a hook-suspended loop - Merging or discarding completed worktree loops - Debugging unexpected loop behavior with current diagnostics files ## Workflow 1. Start with `ralph loops list` or `ralph loops list --json` to establish the current state. 2. If the user wants execution, run `ralph run ...` with the right core config and hats source. 3. If the loop is stuck or suspicious, inspect `logs`, `history`, and `diff` before changing state. 4. If the loop is suspended, read `.ralph/suspend-state.json` and use `ralph loops resume <id>`. 5. If a loop is queued or in `needs-review`, inspect the diff first, then use `merge`, `process`, `retry`, or `discard` as appropriate. 6. Use diagnostics when you need detailed evidence about hats, events, tool calls, parse errors, or performance. ## Guardrails - Prefer the CLI over direct edits to `.ralph` state files. - Treat tasks and memories as the canonical runtime systems; do not center scratchpad as the primary state model. - Inspect diffs before merging. - Only remove lock or queue artifacts when the underlying process is confirmed dead. - Manual edits under `.ralph/` are last-resort recovery steps and should be called out explicitly when used. ## Read These References When Needed - For command recipes and operator flows: `references/commands.md` - For diagnostics files and suspend-state details: `references/diagnostics.md`
Guides implementation of code tasks using test-driven development in an Explore, Plan, Code, Commit workflow. Acts as a Technical Implementation Partner and TDD Coach — following existing patterns, avoiding over-engineering, and producing idiomatic, modern code.
Use this agent when you need to run the Ralph orchestrator end-to-end test suite, analyze diagnostic outputs, and generate comprehensive reports of findings. This includes validating backend connectivity, orchestration loop behavior, event parsing, hat collections, memory systems, and error handling. Invoke this agent after making changes to core orchestration logic, before releases, or when debugging integration issues.\\n\\nExamples:\\n\\n<example>\\nContext: User has made changes to the event parsing logic and wants to verify nothing is broken.\\nuser: \"I just modified the event parsing in ralph-core, can you verify everything still works?\"\\nassistant: \"I'll use the ralph-e2e-verifier agent to run the full E2E test suite and analyze the results.\"\\n<Task tool invocation to launch ralph-e2e-verifier>\\n</example>\\n\\n<example>\\nContext: User is preparing a release and needs validation.\\nuser: \"We're preparing to release v0.5.0, please run the E2E tests\"\\nassistant: \"I'll launch the ralph-e2e-verifier agent to run comprehensive E2E tests across all backends and generate a release readiness report.\"\\n<Task tool invocation to launch ralph-e2e-verifier>\\n</example>\\n\\n<example>\\nContext: User notices orchestration issues and wants diagnostics analyzed.\\nuser: \"Ralph seems to be selecting the wrong hats, can you investigate?\"\\nassistant: \"I'll use the ralph-e2e-verifier agent to run E2E tests with diagnostics enabled and analyze the hat selection decisions.\"\\n<Task tool invocation to launch ralph-e2e-verifier>\\n</example>
Use this agent when you need to execute a Ralph orchestration loop end-to-end and verify its completion. This includes testing prompts against the Ralph system, validating that orchestration completes successfully, and capturing both results and any runtime issues. Examples:\\n\\n<example>\\nContext: User wants to test if a prompt works correctly with Ralph orchestration.\\nuser: \"Test if Ralph can handle the prompt 'create a hello world function'\"\\nassistant: \"I'll use the ralph-loop-runner agent to execute this prompt through Ralph and verify completion.\"\\n<Task tool call to ralph-loop-runner agent>\\n</example>\\n\\n<example>\\nContext: User is debugging why a Ralph run failed.\\nuser: \"Run this spec through Ralph and tell me what went wrong\"\\nassistant: \"Let me use the ralph-loop-runner agent to execute this and capture any runtime problems.\"\\n<Task tool call to ralph-loop-runner agent>\\n</example>\\n\\n<example>\\nContext: User wants to validate Ralph behavior after code changes.\\nuser: \"I just modified the event parser, can you run a test loop?\"\\nassistant: \"I'll use the ralph-loop-runner agent to run a complete orchestration loop and verify the changes work correctly.\"\\n<Task tool call to ralph-loop-runner agent>\\n</example>
Generates structured .code-task.md files from descriptions or PDD implementation plans. Auto-detects input type, creates properly formatted tasks with Given-When-Then acceptance criteria.
Use when testing Ralph's hat collection presets, validating preset configurations, or auditing the preset library for bugs and UX issues.
Lists all code tasks in the repository with their status, dates, and metadata. Useful for getting an overview of pending work or finding specific tasks.
Transforms a rough idea into a detailed design document with implementation plan. Follows Prompt-Driven Development — iterative requirements clarification, research, design, and planning.
Browser automation via Playwriter (remorses) using persistent Chrome sessions and the full Playwright Page API.