ralph

/ralph — Autonomous Execution Loop

When to use

When the user says "ralph", "autonomous", "auto-pilot", or wants extended unattended execution on a well-defined task.

Safety Circuit Breakers (non-negotiable)

Before entering the loop, state these limits to the user:

• Max iterations: 10 build-verify cycles (then stop and report)
• Error ceiling: 3 consecutive failures on the same step triggers a full stop
• No destructive actions: Gate 2 still enforced — no rm -rf, force push, reset --hard
• No deploys: Autonomous mode NEVER deploys. Use /deploy manually.
• Memory saves: Save to memory every 3 iterations or after any significant discovery
• User can interrupt: Remind the user they can stop you at any time

The Autonomous Loop

Phase 0: SETUP

1. Confirm the task is clearly defined. If ambiguous, ask for clarification BEFORE entering the loop.
2. search_knowledge("[task description]") — check for relevant history
3. State your plan and circuit breaker limits to the user
4. Get explicit user approval: "Starting autonomous mode. I'll work through up to 10 iterations. Ready?"

Phase 1: PLAN (iteration 0)

1. Enter Plan Mode, explore the codebase, write the plan
2. Break the task into ordered sub-tasks (numbered checklist)
3. Exit Plan Mode for user approval
4. Save plan to memory

Phase 2: EXECUTE (iterations 1-N)

For each sub-task in order:

1. Check: Is this sub-task still relevant? (Prior steps may have changed things)
2. Build: Implement the sub-task
3. Test: Run relevant tests or verification 3b. Visual Verify (if UI task): Run /browser verify <url> — screenshot must confirm correctness before marking done
4. Record: If tests pass, mark sub-task done. If tests fail:
   • Increment failure counter
   • record_attempt("[error]", "[strategy]") — log the attempt
   • Try an alternative approach
   • If 3 consecutive failures: STOP (see Phase 3)
5. Save: Every 3 iterations: remember_this("[progress so far]", "ralph autonomous", "type:learning")
6. Next: Move to next sub-task