wf-ralph

Purpose

Run a "Ralph loop" using the ralph CLI.

• Keep the mental model: one story per iteration, frequent verification, small changes.
• Default agent: Codex (YOLO) unless you override --agent.
• Default task source: dossier-local Ralph PRD JSON (prd.json or prd-<slug>.json).
• Browser testing: YES for UI stories (default skill: $dev-browser).

When to use

Use this skill when any of the following is true:

• You want copy-paste-ready ralph commands for dev | research | e2e | review | prd-gen.
• You have (or want) a dossier-local Ralph PRD JSON and need to run one iteration at a time.
• You have an @slug and need to locate the PRD JSON under docs/04-projects/**.

Minimum questions

If any of these are missing, ask only these questions first (reply format at the end).

1. Mode?

• a) dev (default)
• b) research
• c) e2e
• d) review
• e) prd-gen

2. PRD location?

• a) Use ./prd.json if present (default)
• b) pick from ./prd-*.json
• c) @slug (search under docs/04-projects/**)
• d) explicit path to PRD JSON

3. Commit behavior?

• a) Commit (default)
• b) --no-commit

Reply shorthand:

• defaults (accept all defaults)
• or 1c 2c @bulk-invite-members 3b etc

Discovery

Determine repo root (required)

Run ralph from the repo root so .ralph/ state/logs land in the right place:

cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"

Locate dossier PRD JSON (avoid brittle paths)

Ralph auto-discovery only scans .agents/tasks/*.json. For dossier-local PRDs, pass --prd explicitly.

Resolution order:

1. If the current working directory contains prd.json, use it.
2. Else if it contains prd-*.json:

• if exactly one match, use it
• if multiple matches, ask which to use

3. Else accept either:

• an @slug (dossier folder name contains the slug), or
• a relative path to a dossier folder, or
• an explicit path to a PRD JSON file

# Find PRDs and filter by slug
find docs/04-projects -type f \( -name 'prd.json' -o -name 'prd-*.json' \) | rg '<slug>'

# Example
find docs/04-projects -type f \( -name 'prd.json' -o -name 'prd-*.json' \) | rg 'bulk-invite-members'

If you don't have rg, run the find ... and inspect the results.

Ralph commands

Defaults that match the Ralph vibe

• Run one story per invocation: ralph build 1.
• Repeat the command N times manually (or via a wrapper script) to avoid context rot.
• Prefer explicit --prd <file> for dossier-local PRDs.

Dev mode

ralph build 1 --agent=codex --prd "<PRD_JSON>"

Behavioural requirements:

• Keep changes small and focused (one concern per iteration).
• Respect repo conventions (pnpm workspaces, TypeScript preference).
• For code changes: always use the verify skill and report commands + results.
• For UI/user-flow changes: browser verification is required (default: $dev-browser).

No-commit (dry run style)

ralph build 1 --agent=codex --prd "<PRD_JSON>" --no-commit

Research mode

Behavioural requirements:

• Treat “done” as a concrete artefact (memo, plan, decision record) written into the dossier.
• Prefer writing under the dossier folder (for example: docs/04-projects/.../<dossier>/research/…).
• Avoid modifying product code unless a task explicitly asks.

Recommendation:

• default to --no-commit if you're exploring
• enable commits once the story is clearly correct

E2E mode

Behavioural requirements:

• Require browser verification for UI stories.
• Default browser verification skill: $dev-browser.
• Optional/alternate quick smoke: $test-browser.
• Write evidence artefacts to a dossier-local artefacts folder (recommendation):
  • <dossier>/artifacts/e2e/ (screenshots, notes, logs)

Test suite status:

• If an automated E2E runner does not exist yet, treat it as a placeholder task.
• Still produce proof via test-browser screenshots and a short run log.

Review mode

Use ralph review (do not run ralph build unless explicitly asked).

ralph review
ralph review --scope staged
ralph review --scope range --range main..HEAD

PRD generation mode (optional)

Generate a new PRD JSON into .agents/tasks/:

ralph prd --agent=codex

Override output path:

ralph prd --agent=codex --out .agents/tasks/prd-<short>.json "<feature description>"

PRD JSON notes

Ralph PRD JSON uses top-level qualityGates[] and stories[].

• Ralph updates story status automatically (open -> in_progress -> done). Avoid editing story statuses manually.
• Optional fields like stories[].passes and stories[].notes are supported for downstream workflows, but Ralph does not set them.

Output format when running this skill

When this skill is invoked in a chat/thread:

1. Ask the minimum questions if anything is missing (mode, PRD path/slug, commit behavior).
2. Print copy-paste-ready command lines for the chosen mode.
3. List expected evidence artefacts and where they will be written.
4. End with a suggestion to run pickup at the start (new thread) and handoff at the end (before switching threads).