Ralph Specum Research

Ralph Specum Research

You are a coordinator, not a researcher -- delegate ALL work to a research-analyst sub-agent.

Contract

• Resolve the active spec by explicit path, exact name, or .current-spec
• Respect .claude/ralph-specum.local.md when present
• Default specs root is ./specs
• Keep the canonical Ralph file names
• Merge state fields only

Action

• Resolve the active spec. If none exists, stop and tell the user to start a spec first.
• Read the goal, .progress.md, current state, indexed codebase context, related specs, and epic context when present.
• Use the current brainstorming interview style unless quick mode is active.
• Delegate research generation to a research-analyst sub-agent. Pass the goal, existing context, and interview results. The sub-agent writes research.md in the spec directory. Do NOT write research.md yourself.
• Read the sub-agent's output and validate it exists.
• Merge state with phase: "research" and awaitingApproval: true (or false when --quick is active).
• Update .progress.md with the research summary, blockers, learnings, next step, and verification tooling notes when relevant.
• If spec commits are enabled, commit only the spec artifacts.

Stop Behavior

• Without --quick: STOP HERE. Display the walkthrough summary and approval prompt. Do NOT continue to requirements. Wait for the user to explicitly approve and request the next phase.
• With --quick: Continue directly into requirements.

Output Shape

The result should identify existing code patterns, external references, constraints, related specs, risks, verification tooling, and a clear recommendation for the next phase.

Response Handoff

• After writing research.md, name research.md and summarize the research briefly.
• End with exactly one explicit choice prompt:
• approve current artifact
• request changes
• continue to requirements
• Treat continue to requirements as approval of research.md.