Ralph Loop Setup

Overview

Ralph is an autonomous AI coding loop from the CodeBun article "Claude Code + Ralph: How I Built an AI That Ships Production Code While I Sleep". Core concept: bash loop reads tasks from prd.json, implements them, validates, commits if passing, updates progress, repeats.

Memory persists through: git commits (WHAT changed), progress.txt (WHY and patterns learned), prd.json (task status).

When to Use

Use Ralph when:

• Multiple small implementation tasks (each fits in one context window)
• Clear acceptance criteria for each task
• Fast feedback loops available (tests, typecheck, build)
• Repetitive work you want automated overnight

Don't use Ralph when: