ralph-github-start-loop

Loop GitHub Issues

Run the autonomous loop to execute features from GitHub Issues.

Usage

/loop-github-issues              # Interactive: shows available PRDs and asks which to run
/loop-github-issues --all        # Run all available PRDs (no prompt)
/loop-github-issues auth-flow    # Run PRDs matching search term
/loop-github-issues 25           # Run with 25 iterations per PRD
/loop-github-issues --all 25     # Run all PRDs with 25 iterations each

When running non-interactively (background mode), --all is auto-enabled.

Prerequisites

• gh CLI authenticated
• PRD issues created via /ralph-github-create-issues (reads from .claude/plans/ or prds/)

Note: Assume gh extensions are installed. Do NOT try to install them.

Process

1. Check prerequisites (gh auth status)
2. Run the script directly - it handles PRD selection and filtering:

~/.claude/skills/loop-github-issues/loop-github-issues.sh [iterations] [prd-search-term] [--all]

Use run_in_background: true to prevent timeout.

Monitoring progress:

• Local status: cat /tmp/ralph-status-{repo}-{prd-number}.txt
• GitHub: Comments are posted to the PRD issue as stories complete

Important: Don't list PRDs separately before running - the script shows available PRDs (excluding those with open PRs) and handles selection.

What It Does

1. Lists open PRD issues (identified by prd label) that don't already have open PRs
2. Prompts user to select which PRD(s) to work on (or auto-selects in background mode)
3. For each selected PRD:
   • Assigns issue to current user (shows as in progress)
   • Creates git worktree at ../{repo}-{feature}/
   • For each iteration:
     • Passes all open sub-issues to the agent
     • Agent picks the logical next story based on dependencies
     • Implements the story
     • Commits: feat: Story Title (closes #XXX)
     • Closes sub-issue with link to commit
   • When all sub-issues closed, creates PR (parent PRD closes on merge)
   • Cleans up worktree

Differences from /ralph

Aspect	/ralph (JSON)	/loop-github-issues (GitHub)
Story source	prds/*.json	GitHub Issues
Status tracking	passes: true/false	Issue open/closed
Dependencies	dependsOn array	Native GitHub blocking
Completion	Update JSON	Close issue
PRD done	All stories pass	All sub-issues closed

Dependencies

Ralph-issues checks GitHub's native blocking relationships. PRDs with open blocking issues are skipped.

The script queries the blockedBy field via GraphQL to determine if a PRD is ready to start.

Issue Conventions

Finding PRD Issues

gh issue list --label prd --state open --json number,title,body

Finding Story Sub-Issues

Uses the gh-sub-issue extension:

gh sub-issue list <parent-number> --state open --json number,title,body

Closing Issues

On story completion:

gh issue close 101 --comment "Implemented in https://github.com/owner/repo/commit/abc123"

Parent PRD issues close automatically when the PR is merged (via Closes #XX in PR body).

Branch Naming

Uses conventional prefixes parsed from the PRD issue body:

• feature/<name> for enhancements
• bugfix/<name> for bug fixes

Notes

• Run multiple Ralph instances in parallel on independent PRDs (separate terminals)
• Each works in its own worktree, no conflicts
• Commits include closes #XXX to auto-close issues on merge