ralph-claude-code

# Ralph for Claude Code

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> **Autonomous AI development loop with intelligent exit detection and rate limiting**

Ralph is an implementation of the Geoffrey Huntley's technique for Claude Code that enables continuous autonomous development cycles he named after [Ralph Wiggum](https://ghuntley.com/ralph/). It enables continuous autonomous development cycles where Claude Code iteratively improves your project until completion, with built-in safeguards to prevent infinite loops and API overuse.

**Install once, use everywhere** - Ralph becomes a global command available in any directory.

## Project Status

**Version**: v0.11.5 - Active Development
**Core Features**: Working and tested
**Test Coverage**: 566 tests, 100% pass rate

### What's Working Now
- Autonomous development loops with intelligent exit detection
- **Dual-condition exit gate**: Requires BOTH completion indicators AND explicit EXIT_SIGNAL
- Rate limiting with hourly reset (100 calls/hour, configurable)
- Circuit breaker with advanced error detection (prevents runaway loops)
- Response analyzer with semantic understanding and two-stage error filtering
- **JSON output format support with automatic fallback to text parsing**
- **Session continuity with `--resume` flag for context preservation (no session hijacking)**
- **Session expiration with configurable timeout (default: 24 hours)**
- **Modern CLI flags: `--output-format`, `--allowed-tools`, `--no-continue`**
- **Interactive project enablement with `ralph-enable` wizard**
- **`.ralphrc` configuration file for project settings**
- **Live streaming output with `--live` flag for real-time Claude Code visibility**
- Multi-line error matching for accurate stuck loop detection
- 5-hour API limit handling with user prompts
- tmux integration for live monitoring
- PRD import functionality
- **CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions**
- **Dedicated uninstall script for clean removal**

### Recent Improvements

**v0.11.5 - Community Bug Fixes** (latest)
- Fixed API limit false positive: Timeout (exit code 124) no longer misidentified as API 5-hour limit (#183)
- Three-layer API limit detection: timeout guard → structural JSON (`rate_limit_event`) → filtered text fallback
- Unattended mode: API limit prompt now auto-waits on timeout instead of exiting
- Fixed bash 3.x compatibility: `${,,}` lowercase substitution replaced with POSIX `tr` (#187)
- Added 8 new tests for API limit detection (548 → 566 tests)

**v0.11.4 - Bug Fixes & Compatibility**
- Fixed progress detection: Git commits within a loop now count as progress (#141)
- Fixed checkbox regex: Date entries `[2026-01-29]` no longer counted as checkboxes (#144)
- Fixed session hijacking: Use `--resume <session_id>` instead of `--continue` (#151)
- Fixed EXIT_SIGNAL override: `STATUS: COMPLETE` with `EXIT_SIGNAL: false` now continues working (#146)
- Fixed ralph-import hanging indefinitely (added `--print` flag for non-interactive mode)
- Fixed ralph-import absolute path handling
- Fixed cross-platform date commands for macOS with Homebrew coreutils
- Added configurable circuit breaker thresholds via environment variables (#99)
- Added tmux support for non-zero `base-index` configurations
- Added 13 new regression tests for progress detection and checkbox regex

**v0.11.3 - Live Streaming & Beads Fix**
- Added live streaming output mode with `--live` flag for real-time Claude Code visibility (#125)
- Fixed beads task import using correct `bd list` arguments (#150)
- Applied CodeRabbit review fixes: camelCase variables, status-respecting fallback, jq guards
- Added 12 new tests for live streaming and beads import improvements

**v0.11.2 - Setup Permissions Fix**
- Fixed issue #136: `ralph-setup` now creates `.ralphrc` with consistent tool permissions
- Updated default `ALLOWED_TOOLS` to include `Edit`, `Bash(npm *)`, and `Bash(pytest)`
- Both `ralph-setup` and `ralph-enable` now create identical `.ralphrc` configurations
- Monitor now forwards all CLI parameters to inner ralph loop (#126)
- Added 16 new tests for permissions and parameter forwarding

**v0.11.1 - Completion Indicators Fix**
- Fixed premature exit after exactly 5 loops in JSON output mode
- `completion_indicators` now only accumulates when `EXIT_SIGNAL: true`
- Aligns with documented dual-condition exit gate behavior

**v0.11.0 - Ralph Enable Wizard**
- Added `ralph-enable` interactive wizard for enabling Ralph in existing projects
- 5-phase wizard: Environment Detection → Task Source Selection → Configuration → File Generation → Verification
- Auto-detects project type (TypeScript, Python, Rust, Go) and framework (Next.js, FastAPI, Django)
- Imports tasks from beads, GitHub Issues, or PRD documents
- Added `ralph-enable-ci` non-interactive version for CI/automation
- New library components: `enable_core.sh`, `wizard_utils.sh`, `task_sources.sh`

**v0.10.1 - Bug Fixes & Monitor Path Corrections**
- Fixed `ralph_monitor.sh` hardcoded paths for v0.10.0 compatibility
- Fixed EXIT_SIGNAL parsing in JSON format
- Added safety circuit breaker (force exit after 5 consecutive completion indicators)
- Fixed checkbox parsing for indented markdown

**v0.10.0 - .ralph/ Subfolder Structure (BREAKING CHANGE)**
- **Breaking**: Moved all Ralph-specific files to `.ralph/` subfolder
- Project root stays clean: only `src/`, `README.md`, and user files remain
- Added `ralph-migrate` command for upgrading existing projects

<details>
<summary>Earlier versions (v0.9.x)</summary>

**v0.9.9 - EXIT_SIGNAL Gate & Uninstall Script**
- Fixed premature exit bug: completion indicators now require Claude's explicit `EXIT_SIGNAL: true`
- Added dedicated `uninstall.sh` script for clean Ralph removal

**v0.9.8 - Modern CLI for PRD Import**
- Modernized `ralph_import.sh` to use Claude Code CLI JSON output format
- Enhanced error handling with structured JSON error messages

**v0.9.7 - Session Lifecycle Management**
- Complete session lifecycle management with automatic reset triggers
- Added `--reset-session` CLI flag for manual session reset

**v0.9.6 - JSON Output & Session Management**
- Extended `parse_json_response()` to support Claude Code CLI JSON format
- Added session management functions

**v0.9.5 - v0.9.0** - PRD import tests, project setup tests, installation tests, prompt file fix, modern CLI commands, circuit breaker enhancements

</details>

### In Progress
- Expanding test coverage
- [Automated badge updates](#138)

**Timeline to v1.0**: ~4 weeks | [Full roadmap](IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md) | **Contributions welcome!**

## Features

- **Autonomous Development Loop** - Continuously executes Claude Code with your project requirements
- **Intelligent Exit Detection** - Dual-condition check requiring BOTH completion indicators AND explicit EXIT_SIGNAL
- **Session Continuity** - Preserves context across loop iterations with automatic session management
- **Session Expiration** - Configurable timeout (default: 24 hours) with automatic session reset
- **Rate Limiting** - Built-in API call management with hourly limits and countdown timers
- **5-Hour API Limit Handling** - Three-layer detection (timeout guard, JSON parsing, filtered text) with auto-wait for unattended mode
- **Live Monitoring** - Real-time dashboard showing loop status, progress, and logs
- **Task Management** - Structured approach with prioritized task lists and progress tracking
- **Project Templates** - Quick setup for new projects with best-practice structure
- **Interactive Project Setup** - `ralph-enable` wizard for existing projects with task import
- **Configuration Files** - `.ralphrc` for project-specific settings and tool permissions
- **Comprehensive Logging** - Detailed execution logs with timestamps and status tracking
- **Configurable Timeouts** - Set execution timeout for Claude Code operations (1-120 minutes)
- **Verbose Progress Mode** - Optional detailed progress updates during execution
- **Response Analyzer** - AI-powered analysis of Claude Code responses with semantic understanding
- **Circuit Breaker** - Advanced error detection with two-stage filtering, multi-line error matching, and automatic recovery
- **CI/CD Integration** - GitHub Actions workflow with automated testing
- **Clean Uninstall** - Dedicated uninstall script for complete removal
- **Live Streaming Output** - Real-time visibility into Claude Code execution with `--live` flag

## Quick Start

Ralph has two phases: **one-time installation** and **per-project setup**.

```
INSTALL ONCE              USE MANY TIMES
+-----------------+          +----------------------+
| ./install.sh    |    ->    | ralph-setup project1 |
|                 |          | ralph-enable         |
| Adds global     |          | ralph-import prd.md  |
| commands        |          | ...                  |
+-----------------+          +----------------------+
```

### Phase 1: Install Ralph (One Time Only)

Install Ralph globally on your system:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/frankbria/ralph-claude-code.git
cd ralph-claude-code
./install.sh
```

This adds `ralph`, `ralph-monitor`, `ralph-setup`, `ralph-import`, `ralph-migrate`, `ralph-enable`, and `ralph-enable-ci` commands to your PATH.

> **Note**: You only need to do this once per system. After i