ralphlisted

# ralph (Ouroboros) — Specification-First AI Development > **Stop prompting. Start specifying.** > > *"The beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning."* > The serpent doesn't repeat — it evolves. --- ## When to use this skill - **Before writing any code** — expose hidden assumptions with Socratic interviewing - **Long-running tasks** that need autonomous iteration until verified - **Vague requirements** — crystallize them into an immutable spec (Ambiguity ≤ 0.2) - **Tasks requiring guaranteed completion** — loop until verification passes - **When stuck** — 5 lateral thinking personas break through stagnation - **Drift detection** — measure how far execution has deviated from original spec --- ## Core Architecture: The Loop ``` Interview → Seed → Execute → Evaluate ↑ ↓ └──── Evolutionary Loop ────┘ ``` Each cycle **evolves**, not repeats. Evaluation output feeds back as input for the next generation until the system converges. ### Double Diamond ``` ◇ Wonder ◇ Design ╱ (diverge) ╱ (diverge) ╱ explore ╱ create ╱ ╱ ◆ ──────────── ◆ ──────────── ◆ ╲ ╲ ╲ define ╲ deliver ╲ (converge) ╲ (converge) ◇ Ontology ◇ Evaluation ``` The first diamond is **Socratic**: diverge into questions, converge into ontological clarity. The second diamond is **pragmatic**: diverge into design options, converge into verified delivery.