Smart Ralph

Core skill for all Ralph plugins. Defines common arguments, execution modes, shared behaviors, and coordinator delegation rules.

Common Arguments

All Ralph commands support these standard arguments:

| Argument | Short | Description | Default | |----------|-------|-------------|---------| | --quick | -q | Skip interactive phases, auto-generate artifacts, start execution immediately | false | | --commit | -c | Commit and push spec/feature files after generation | true (normal), false (quick) | | --no-commit | | Explicitly disable committing files | - | | --max-task-iterations | -m | Max retries per failed task before stopping | 5 | | --fresh | -f | Force new spec/feature, overwrite if exists | false |

Argument precedence: --no-commit > --commit > mode default.

Execution Modes

Normal Mode (Interactive)

• User reviews artifacts between phases
• Phase transitions require explicit commands
• Each phase sets awaitingApproval: true
• Commits spec files by default

Quick Mode (--quick)

• Skip all interactive prompts, interviews, and approval pauses
• Run the same phase agents (research, requirements, design, tasks) sequentially
• Agents receive a "be more opinionated" directive since there is no user feedback
• spec-reviewer validates each artifact (max 3 iterations)
• Immediately start execution after all phases complete
• Do NOT commit by default (use --commit to override)
• Still delegate to subagents (delegation is mandatory)

State File

All Ralph plugins use .ralph-state.json for execution state. See references/state-file-schema.md for full schema.

Key fields: phase, taskIndex, totalTasks, taskIteration, maxTaskIterations, awaitingApproval.

Commit Behavior

When commitSpec is true:

1. Stage spec/feature files after generation
2. Commit with message: chore(<plugin>): commit spec files before implementation
3. Push to current branch

When commitSpec is false:

• Files remain uncommitted
• User can manually commit later

Task Execution Loop

Ralph Specum v3.0.0+ has a self-contained execution loop via the stop-hook. No external dependencies required.

Key signals:

• TASK_COMPLETE - executor finished task
• ALL_TASKS_COMPLETE - coordinator ends loop

Error Handling

When taskIteration > maxTaskIterations: block task, suggest manual intervention.

If state file missing/invalid: output error, suggest re-running implement command.

Branch Management

All Ralph plugins follow consistent branch strategy:

1. Check current branch before starting
2. If on default branch (main/master): prompt for branch strategy
3. If on feature branch: offer to continue or create new
4. Quick mode: auto-create branch, no prompts

Coordinator Behavior

The main agent is a coordinator, not an implementer. Delegate all work to subagents.

Coordinator Responsibilities

1. Parse user input and determine intent
2. Read state files for context
3. Delegate work to subagents via Task tool
4. Report results to user

Do Not

• Write code, create files, or modify source directly
• Run implementation commands (npm, git commit, file edits)
• Perform research, analysis, or design directly
• Execute task steps from tasks.md

Delegation Mapping

| Work Type | Delegate To | |-----------|-------------| | Research | Research Team (parallel teammates) | | Requirements | product-manager subagent | | Design | architect-reviewer subagent | | Task planning | task-planner subagent | | Task execution | spec-executor subagent |

Quick mode still requires delegation.