Agentic Loop

Autonomous AI coding loop for Claude Code.

You describe what you want to build. Claude Code writes a PRD (Product Requirements Document) with small, testable stories. Ralph executes each story automatically - coding, testing, and committing in a loop until everything passes.

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What It Does and How to work with Agentic Loop

The Two-Terminal Workflow

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  TERMINAL 1: Plan & Generate           │  TERMINAL 2: Execute                    │
├────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                        │                                         │
│  claude --dangerously-skip-permissions │  npx agentic-loop run                   │
│                                        │                                         │
│  THE PIPELINE                          │  ┌─ prd-check (once) ───────────────┐   │
│  1. Plan mode                          │  │ Validate all stories upfront     │   │
│     → Think through the feature        │  │ Auto-fix missing test steps      │   │
│     → Claude explores codebase         │  └──────────────────────────────────┘   │
│     → Plan saved to docs/plans/        │            ↓                            │
│                                        │                                         │
│  2. /prd plans/my-feature              │  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐   │
│     → Hardening questions              │  │ Read prd.json → get next story   │   │
│     → Generates .ralph/prd.json        │  │ Load PROMPT.md, signs, config    │   │
│                                        │  │ Load last_failure.txt (if retry) │   │
│  3. /prd-check                         │  │ Build prompt with full context   │   │
│     → Validate stories                 │  │ Spawn Claude → write code        │   │
│     → Cross-ref signs                  │  │                                  │   │
│     → Auto-fix issues                  │  │ code-check:                      │   │
│                                        │  │   [1] Lint                       │   │
│  ENHANCE AS YOU LEARN                  │  │   [2] Tests                      │   │
│  /sign        → teach patterns         │  │   [3] PRD test steps             │   │
│  /my-dna      → your coding style      │  │   [4] API smoke                  │   │
│  /styleguide  → UI consistency         │  │   [5] Frontend smoke             │   │
│  /color       → terminal tint          │  │                                  │   │
│  /tab-rename  → name your tabs         │  │                                  │   │
│  config.json  → tune your setup        │  │                                  │   │
│                                        │  │ Pass → commit, next story        │   │
│                                        │  │ Fail → save to last_failure.txt, │   │
│                                        │  │        retry                     │   │
│                                        │  └──────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                        │                                         │
└────────────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Terminal 1 is where you plan and generate. Plan mode lets you think through a feature with Claude before committing to code. /prd turns that plan into executable stories. /prd-check validates them. Terminal 2 is where Ralph executes autonomously — coding, testing, and committing each story in a loop.

The loop gets smarter over time. When Ralph struggles with something, teach it with /sign. Tune timeouts and checks in config.json. Capture your coding style with /my-dna.

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Quick Start

Prerequisites: Node.js 18+, Claude Code CLI, jq (brew install jq)

npm install agentic-loop
npx agentic-loop setup

Terminal 1 — Plan and generate with Claude:

claude --dangerously-skip-permissions

# 1. Use plan mode to think through your feature
#    Claude explores the codebase, you discuss, plan saved to docs/plans/

# 2. Turn the plan into executable stories
/prd plans/my-feature

# 3. Validate before running
/prd-check

Terminal 2 — Run the loop:

npx agentic-loop run         # Execute PRDs autonomously (spins up claude -p)
npx agentic-loop run --quiet # Same, but suppress activity feed

Ralph shows a live activity feed as it works — what files it's reading, what code it's writing, and why. Use --quiet to suppress it. On macOS Terminal.app, Ralph tints the terminal background dark teal so you can tell the two terminals apart at a glance — the original color is restored when the loop ends.

Tip: Plan first, then generate. Use plan mode to explore and think, /prd to create stories, /prd-check to validate, and ralph run to execute.

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Note

New here? Follow the Getting Started Guide for a full step-by-step walkthrough — from install to your first autonomous loop run.

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Docs

• Getting Started - Full walkthrough from zero to your first loop run
• Beginners Guide - New to this? Start here (no coding experience required)
• PRD Check - Story validation before coding starts
• Code Check - Verification pipeline after each story
• Customization - Personalization and guardrails
• How Ralph Works - Architecture, config, full reference
• UAT & Chaos Agent - Autonomous acceptance testing and adversarial red teaming
• Cheatsheet - All commands at a glance
• Hooks Reference - Pre-commit and Claude Code hooks
• Loopgram - Telegram bot for mobile idea capture and loop monitoring
• Troubleshooting - Common issues and fixes
• Contributing - How to contribute

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Inspired by Ralph and Anthropic's guidance on long-running agents.

Built by @allierays | MIT License - AllThrive AI