Ralph Wiggum

Ralph Wiggum Technique

Overview

A simple, powerful pattern for autonomous multi-iteration development:

1. `plans/prd.json` — JSON file with user stories, each with a passes boolean 2. `plans/progress.txt` — Append-only LLM memory between iterations 3. Loop — Run Claude Code repeatedly until all tasks pass

Named after Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons — simple but effective.

"Me fail English? That's unpossible!" — Ralph Wiggum

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Why It Works

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PRD Format (plans/prd.json)

{
  "project": "Unite-Group Nexus",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "user_stories": [
    {
      "id": "US-001",
      "epic": "Social",
      "title": "Persona avatar upload",
      "description": "As a founder, I want to upload an avatar for each brand persona",
      "priority": "high",
      "acceptance_criteria": [
        "File picker opens on click",
        "Image uploads to Supabase Storage under founder_id prefix",
        "Avatar displays immediately after upload",
        "Error state shown if upload fails"
      ],
      "verification": {
        "type_check": true,
        "lint": true,
        "unit_tests": true,
        "build": false,
        "e2e": false
      },
      "passes": false,
      "last_attempt": null,
      "attempt_count": 0,
      "depends_on": []
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "total_stories": 1,
    "passing_stories": 0
  }
}

Key Fields

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Progress File (plans/progress.txt)

Append-only. The LLM reads this at the start of each iteration to learn from previous failures.

# Ralph Progress Log
# Project: Unite-Group Nexus
# Created: 20/03/2026

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## Session 1: 20/03/2026 10:30 AEST
**Task**: US-001 — Persona avatar upload
**Status**: IN_PROGRESS

### Work Done
- Added file input to SocialPersonasManager.tsx
- Wired to Supabase Storage upload

### Issues Encountered
- Type error: `File | null` not assignable — needs explicit null check

### Learnings
- Supabase Storage path must include founder_id: `avatars/${founderId}/${personaId}`
- Use `useState<File | null>(null)` not `useState(null)` for file state

### Next Steps
1. Fix null check on file input handler
2. Run Tier A verification

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## Session 2: 20/03/2026 11:00 AEST
**Task**: US-001 — Persona avatar upload
**Status**: COMPLETED

### Work Done
- Fixed null check
- All Tier A verification passed

### Learnings
- Supabase Storage public URL: `supabase.storage.from('avatars').getPublicUrl(path).data.publicUrl`

### Next Steps
- Move to US-002

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Verification Pipeline (Unite-Group Stack)

ALL must pass before marking passes: true:

pnpm run type-check    # TypeScript — always required
pnpm run lint          # ESLint — always required
pnpm vitest run        # Unit tests — if verification.unit_tests: true
pnpm build             # Build — if verification.build: true

E2E (Playwright) is run manually or via CI only — not in the loop by default.

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Loop Workflow

Iteration N:
  1. All stories passed? → EXIT (done)
  2. Find highest-priority unpassed story (respect depends_on)
  3. Read progress.txt — load learnings from previous attempts
  4. Produce context manifest (context-partitioning skill)
  5. Implement per acceptance criteria
  6. Run verification pipeline
  7. PASS → set passes: true → git commit → append to progress.txt
     FAIL → increment attempt_count → record issue → append to progress.txt
  8. Next iteration

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Escalation Rules

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Invocation

# Via slash command
/ralph run 50    # Max 50 iterations

# Manual: provide this prompt to Claude Code
"Read plans/prd.json and plans/progress.txt.
Find the highest-priority unpassed story.
Implement it, verify it, update both files.
Repeat until all stories pass or you reach {N} iterations."

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Best Practices

Small, Focused Stories

• 1–2 hour scope maximum
• One component or one API route per story
• Specific acceptance criteria (not "it works")

Always Read Progress First

Previous learnings prevent repeating the same mistake across sessions.

Commit After Each Pass

Creates safe checkpoints — a failed story doesn't undo previous work.

# Commit format
git commit -m "feat(US-001): persona avatar upload"

Australian Context

All implementations follow en-AU defaults automatically via the pre-response hook:

• en-AU spelling
• DD/MM/YYYY dates
• AUD currency

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Integration with Agent Harness

For stories requiring 3+ agents, Ralph delegates to the Harness instead of implementing directly:

Story requires frontend + database + API changes
  → Ralph creates manifest per context-partitioning skill
  → Dispatches to Agent Harness (AGENT_HARNESS.md)
  → Harness returns structured result
  → Ralph runs verification gate
  → Ralph updates prd.json and progress.txt

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References

• Original Ralph article — Jeffrey Huntley
• Matt Pocock video
• Verification protocol: .claude/skills/custom/verification-first/SKILL.md
• Context isolation: .claude/skills/custom/context-partitioning/SKILL.md