Smart Ralph

Smart Ralph

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

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 Parsing Rules

Priority Order (highest to lowest):
1. --no-commit (explicit disable)
2. --commit (explicit enable)
3. --quick mode default (false)
4. Normal mode default (true)

Parsing Logic

commitSpec = true  // default

if "--no-commit" in args:
  commitSpec = false
else if "--commit" in args:
  commitSpec = true
else if "--quick" in args:
  commitSpec = false  // quick mode defaults to no commit
// else keep default (true)

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)

• Skips all interactive prompts and interviews
• Auto-generates all artifacts in sequence
• Immediately starts execution after generation
• Does NOT commit by default (use --commit to override)
• Still delegates to subagents (delegation is mandatory)

State File Structure

All Ralph plugins use a state file with common fields:

{
  "phase": "research|requirements|design|tasks|execution",
  "taskIndex": 0,
  "totalTasks": 0,
  "taskIteration": 1,
  "maxTaskIterations": 5,
  "awaitingApproval": false
}

Plugins may extend with additional fields.

Commit Behavior

When commitSpec is true:

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

When commitSpec is false:

• Files remain uncommitted
• User can manually commit later

Execution Loop (Self-Contained)

The execution loop is self-contained via the built-in stop-hook. No external plugins are required.

1. Coordinator outputs task delegation prompt
2. Stop-hook detects task completion signals
3. Stop-hook outputs continuation prompt for next task
4. Loop ends when coordinator outputs ALL_TASKS_COMPLETE

Coordinator Prompt

The implement command includes the coordinator prompt inline. The stop-hook (hooks/scripts/stop-watcher.sh) reads .speckit-state.json to determine continuation behavior.

Task Completion Protocol

Executor Signals

| Signal | Meaning |

|--------|---------|

| TASK_COMPLETE | Task finished successfully |

| VERIFICATION_PASS | Verification task passed |

| VERIFICATION_FAIL | Verification failed, needs retry |

Coordinator Signals

| Signal | Meaning |

|--------|---------|

| ALL_TASKS_COMPLETE | All tasks done, end loop |

Error Handling

Max Retries

When taskIteration exceeds maxTaskIterations:

• Output error with task index and attempt count
• Include last failure reason
• Suggest manual intervention
• Do NOT output ALL_TASKS_COMPLETE
• Do NOT continue execution

State Corruption

If state file missing or invalid:

• Output error with state file path
• Suggest re-running the implement command
• Do NOT continue execution

Branch Management

All Ralph plugins follow consistent branch strategy:

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