ralph

/ouroboros:ralph

Persistent self-referential loop until verification passes. "The boulder never stops."

Usage

ooo ralph "<your request>"
/ouroboros:ralph "<your request>"

Trigger keywords: "ralph", "don't stop", "must complete", "until it works", "keep going"

How It Works

Ralph mode includes parallel execution + automatic verification + persistence:

1. Execute (parallel where possible)

   • Independent tasks run concurrently
   • Dependency-aware scheduling

2. Verify (verifier)

   • Check completion
   • Validate tests pass
   • Measure drift

3. Loop (if failed)

   • Analyze failure
   • Fix issues
   • Repeat from step 1

4. Persist (checkpoint)

   • Save state after each iteration
   • Resume capability if interrupted
   • Full audit trail

Instructions

When the user invokes this skill:

1. Parse the request: Extract what needs to be done

2. Initialize state: Create .omc/state/ralph-state.json:

   {
     "mode": "ralph",
     "session_id": "<uuid>",
     "request": "<user request>",
     "status": "running",
     "iteration": 0,
     "max_iterations": 10,
     "last_checkpoint": null,
     "verification_history": []
   }
   

3. Enter the loop:

   while iteration < max_iterations:
       # Execute with parallel agents via evolve_step
       # QA is built into ouroboros_evolve_step — the response
       # includes a "### QA Verdict" section automatically.
       result = await evolve_step(lineage_id, seed_content, execute=true)
   
       # Parse QA from evolve_step response text
       # (EvolveStepHandler runs QA internally and appends verdict)
       verification.passed = (qa_verdict == "pass")
       verification.score = qa_score
   
       # Record in history
       state.verification_history.append({
           "iteration": iteration,
           "passed": verification.passed,
           "score": verification.score,
           "verdict": qa_verdict,
           "timestamp": <now>
       })
   
       if verification.passed:
           # SUCCESS - persist final checkpoint
           await save_checkpoint("complete")
           break
   
       # Failed - analyze and continue
       iteration += 1
       await save_checkpoint("iteration_{iteration}")
   
       if iteration >= max_iterations:
           # Max iterations reached
           break
   

4. Report progress each iteration:

   [Ralph Iteration <i>/<max>]
   Execution complete. Running QA...
   
   QA Verdict: <PASS/REVISE/FAIL> (score: <score>)
   Differences:
     - <difference 1>
     - <difference 2>
   Suggestions:
     - <suggestion 1>
     - <suggestion 2>
   
   The boulder never stops. Continuing...
   

5. Handle interruption:

   • If user says "stop": save checkpoint, exit gracefully
   • If user says "continue": reload from last checkpoint
   • State persists across session resets

Persistence

State includes:

• Current iteration number
• Verification history for all iterations
• Last successful checkpoint
• Issues found in each iteration
• Execution context for resume

Resume command: "continue ralph" or "ralph continue"

The Boulder Never Stops

This is the key phrase. Ralph does not give up:

• Each failure is data for the next attempt
• Verification drives the loop
• Only complete success or max iterations stops it

Example

User: ooo ralph fix all failing tests

[Ralph Iteration 1/10]
Executing in parallel...
Fixing test failures...
Running QA...

QA Verdict: REVISE (score: 0.65)
Differences:
  - 3 tests still failing
  - Type errors in src/api.py
Suggestions:
  - Fix type annotations in api.py before retrying

The boulder never stops. Continuing...

[Ralph Iteration 2/10]
Executing in parallel...
Fixing remaining issues...
Running QA...

QA Verdict: REVISE (score: 0.85)
Differences:
  - 1 test edge case failing
Suggestions:
  - Add boundary check in parse_input()

The boulder never stops. Continuing...

[Ralph Iteration 3/10]
Executing in parallel...
Fixing edge case...
Running QA...

QA Verdict: PASS (score: 1.0)

Ralph COMPLETE
==============
Request: Fix all failing tests
Duration: 8m 32s
Iterations: 3

QA History:
- Iteration 1: REVISE (0.65)
- Iteration 2: REVISE (0.85)
- Iteration 3: PASS (1.0)

All tests passing. Build successful.

Cancellation

Cancel with /ouroboros:cancel --force to clear state.

Standard /ouroboros:cancel saves checkpoint for resume.