/help

Ralph Loop Plugin Help

Please explain the following to the user:

What is Ralph Loop?

Ralph Loop implements the Ralph Wiggum technique - an iterative development methodology based on continuous AI loops, pioneered by Geoffrey Huntley.

Core concept:

while :; do
  cat PROMPT.md | claude-code --continue
done

The same prompt is fed to Claude repeatedly. The "self-referential" aspect comes from Claude seeing its own previous work in the files and git history, not from feeding output back as input.

Each iteration:

1. Claude receives the SAME prompt
2. Works on the task, modifying files
3. Tries to exit
4. Stop hook intercepts and feeds the same prompt again
5. Claude sees its previous work in the files
6. Iteratively improves until completion

The technique is described as "deterministically bad in an undeterministic world" - failures are predictable, enabling systematic improvement through prompt tuning.

Available Commands

/ralph-loop [OPTIONS]

Start a Ralph loop in your current session.

Usage:

/ralph-loop "Refactor the cache layer" --max-iterations 20
/ralph-loop "Add tests" --completion-promise "TESTS COMPLETE"

Options:

• --max-iterations <n> - Max iterations before auto-stop
• --completion-promise <text> - Promise phrase to signal completion
• --verify <command> - Shell command the hook runs before accepting the promise

How it works:

1. Creates .claude/.ralph-loop.local.md state file
2. You work on the task
3. When you try to exit, stop hook intercepts
4. Same prompt fed back
5. You see your previous work
6. Continues until promise detected or max iterations

---

/cancel-ralph

Cancel an active Ralph loop (removes the loop state file).

Usage:

/cancel-ralph

How it works:

• Checks for active loop state file
• Removes .claude/.ralph-loop.local.md
• Reports cancellation with iteration count

---

Key Concepts

Completion Promises

To signal completion, Claude must output a <promise> tag:

<promise>TASK COMPLETE</promise>

The stop hook looks for this specific tag. Without it (or --max-iterations), Ralph runs infinitely.

Verification

When a completion promise is set, the stop hook automatically enforces verification:

• Promises on iteration 1 are always rejected (forces at least one loop cycle)
• Claude must output a RALPH VERIFICATION checklist with [PASS]/[FAIL] per requirement
• Promises without a checklist or with any [FAIL] are rejected mechanically

Use --verify to make this even stricter — the hook runs your command itself and rejects the promise if it exits non-zero.

Self-Reference Mechanism

The "loop" doesn't mean Claude talks to itself. It means:

• Same prompt repeated
• Claude's work persists in files
• Each iteration sees previous attempts
• Builds incrementally toward goal

Example

Interactive Bug Fix

/ralph-loop "Fix the token refresh logic in auth.ts. Output <promise>FIXED</promise> when all tests pass." --completion-promise "FIXED" --max-iterations 10

You'll see Ralph:

• Attempt fixes
• Run tests
• See failures
• Iterate on solution
• In your current session

When to Use Ralph

Good for:

• Well-defined tasks with clear success criteria
• Tasks requiring iteration and refinement
• Iterative development with self-correction
• Greenfield projects

Not good for:

• Tasks requiring human judgment or design decisions
• One-shot operations
• Tasks with unclear success criteria
• Debugging production issues (use targeted debugging instead)

Learn More

• Original technique: https://ghuntley.com/ralph/
• Ralph Orchestrator: https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator