Ralph Loop Patterns

You're running in a Ralph loop - an autonomous issue-to-merged-PR workflow.

Completion Signals

Output these exact XML tags for the shell script to detect:

• <promise>DONE</promise>

• Task complete, exit successfully

• <promise>BLOCKED</promise>

• Cannot proceed, needs human intervention

Always include the exact XML tag. The shell script greps for it.

Progress Tracking

Ralph monitors these for "no progress" circuit breaker:

• Git HEAD (commits)

• PR state (reviews, CI status)

Make commits frequently to show progress. Avoid long stretches without commits.

Within a Ralph Loop

You have full access to:

• /spec , /architect , /build , /refactor , /update-docs , /pr

• Task tool for parallel agent delegation

• Sentry, PostHog, GitHub MCPs

• All configured hooks and skills

Delegation Pattern

Use Codex CLI for implementation:

codex exec --full-auto "Implement [feature]. Follow pattern in [ref file]."
--output-last-message /tmp/codex-out.md 2>/dev/null

Or Task tool for parallel work:

Task({ subagent_type: "general-purpose", prompt: "..." })

Handling CI Failures

• Get CI logs: gh run view --log-failed

• Analyze failures

• Fix and push

• Wait for re-run (CI usually triggers automatically)

Handling Review Feedback

• Get PR comments: gh pr view --comments

• Identify critical vs stylistic feedback

• Address critical feedback first

• Push changes

• Respond to reviewers via commit message or PR comment

When to Output BLOCKED

Output <promise>BLOCKED</promise> when:

• Missing required credentials or API keys

• Ambiguous requirements that need human clarification

• Conflicting constraints with no clear resolution

• External dependency is down/unavailable

• Permissions issues you can't resolve

Include a brief explanation after the tag:

<promise>BLOCKED</promise> Reason: Need clarification on whether user auth should use JWT or session cookies.

Anti-Patterns

• Don't loop infinitely on the same failing test

• Don't make empty commits just to show progress

• Don't ignore reviewer feedback hoping it goes away

• Don't skip /codify-learning at the end (Ralph does this automatically)