Ralph Loop

Autonomous iteration loop for Claude Code with dual-mode support. Named after the Ralph Wiggum technique popularized in the Claude Code community (Dec 2025 - Feb 2026).

Purpose

Enable Claude Code to work autonomously on well-defined tasks until genuine completion, without manual re-prompting. The skill provides:

1. Dual-mode architecture — Standalone mode (Stop hook) or multi-agent mode (router-managed iteration)
2. RALPH_ACTIVE env var guard — Stop hook only activates when RALPH_ACTIVE=1 is set, preventing host/router trapping
3. State persistence — JSON state file tracks iteration count, timestamps, findings
4. Circuit breaker — Detects repeated failures and exits gracefully
5. Verification-first exit — Completion signal only accepted when validation commands pass
6. Guardrails — Accumulated lessons from past failures prevent repeated mistakes

When to Use

• Well-defined tasks with clear, testable success criteria
• Iterative work (get tests passing, fix lint errors, audit codebase)