ralph

# ralph — Queue Drain Launcher This skill is a **launcher** for the Ralph drain script (`scripts/ralph-loop.mjs` in this plugin). It does not run a loop in the current session. It helps you configure the right invocation, previews what will be processed, and emits the exact command to run. The actual loop runs as a separate Node process. Each iteration spawns a fresh `claude -p` in its own git worktree (via Claude Code's `-w` flag), claims one item from the TO queue, and works it to terminal per the item's schema. Outcome is signaled via a `RALPH_OUTCOME:` JSON marker that the script parses for circuit-breaker decisions. > **Why a separate script, not a slash-command loop?** Per Geoff Huntley's canonical Ralph: the value comes from carving off small bits of work into independent context windows. Each iteration is a fresh process — fresh context, fresh worktree, isolated logs, clean exit codes. The skill-as-orchestrator pattern (one session, internal loop) accumulates context within a session and doesn't preserve fresh-context isolation. For autonomous cadence, compose with `/loop`: `/loop 30m node scripts/ralph-loop.mjs --filter "tag=bug-fix"`. --- ## Step 1 — Resolve the filter Determine what subset of the queue to drain. **If `$ARGUMENTS` is non-empty**, parse it as a filter expression. Supported keys: | Key | Effect | |---|---| | `tag=<value>` | Items whose `tags` field contains `<value>` (substring) | | `type=<value>` | Items with this exact `type` | | `priority=<...