Ralph Wiggum Loop - Generic Software Template

A PowerShell outer loop that repeatedly invokes Claude Code with fresh context each iteration. Memory persists via filesystem only: git commits, progress.txt, and IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md.

How It Works

1. ralph.ps1 pipes RALPH_PROMPT.md to claude --print in a loop
2. Each iteration, Claude reads IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md, picks the first unchecked task, implements it, commits, and updates progress.txt
3. When all tasks are checked off, Claude outputs <promise>COMPLETE</promise> and the loop exits
4. No context accumulates between iterations - each one starts clean

Setup

1. Copy this template folder into your project directory
2. Edit IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md:
   • Fill in the Project Overview section
   • Add your Quality Checks commands (e.g. npm test, dotnet build)
   • List your Tasks as - [ ] checklist items in priority order
3. Ensure claude CLI is available on your PATH

Usage

Basic run:

.\ralph.ps1

With options:

.\ralph.ps1 -MaxIterations 15 -Model sonnet -BranchName "feature/my-feature"

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
-MaxIterations	10	Maximum loop iterations before stopping
-Model	sonnet	Claude model to use
-BranchName	(none)	Git branch to create/checkout before starting

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	All tasks completed
1	Max iterations reached without completing all tasks

Files

File	Purpose
ralph.ps1	PowerShell outer loop script
RALPH_PROMPT.md	Prompt template piped to Claude each iteration
IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md	Task checklist and project config (you edit this)
progress.txt	Accumulated learnings and iteration log (auto-populated)

Git Behaviour

• The script initialises a git repo if one doesn't exist
• Creates/checks out -BranchName if provided
• Pushes to remote after each iteration (silently skips if no remote configured)
• Claude commits after implementing each task and after updating progress files