Ralph TUI Pre-Flight Check Skill

Ralph TUI Pre-Flight Check

Fast verification that everything is configured correctly before starting a Ralph loop. Run this after creating a PRD with /prd to validate and launch.

When to Use

After running /prd to create a prd.json
Before starting any Ralph loop
When troubleshooting Ralph loop issues
To verify template and config are in sync

Pre-Flight Phases

Execute these checks in order. Stop and report if critical issues are found.

Phase 1: Environment Check

1.1 Global CLAUDE.md Conflict Detection (CRITICAL)

Ralph loops can have global ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md override local project CLAUDE.md. Check and warn:

# Check if global CLAUDE.md exists
if [ -f ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md ]; then
  echo "WARNING: Global CLAUDE.md exists at ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md"
  echo "This may override your local CLAUDE.md during Ralph loops"
  wc -l ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
else
  echo "OK: No global CLAUDE.md found"
fi

If global CLAUDE.md exists:

Show its contents (first 20 lines)
Ask user if they want to:
- A. Remove it temporarily (rename to CLAUDE.md.bak)
- B. Keep it (may cause issues)
- C. View full contents first

1.2 Ralph TUI Installation

which ralph-tui && ralph-tui --version

1.3 Required Tools

# Check tmux (required for persistent sessions)
which tmux && tmux -V

# Check git (required for worktrees)
git --version

1.4 Existing Ralph State Detection (CRITICAL)

Check if .ralph-tui/ has data from a previous run that could interfere:

# Check for existing state
if [ -d .ralph-tui ]; then
  echo "Found existing .ralph-tui/ directory"

  # Check for progress file with content
  if [ -f .ralph-tui/progress.md ] && [ -s .ralph-tui/progress.md ]; then
    echo "⚠ progress.md exists with content ($(wc -l < .ralph-tui/progress.md) lines)"
  fi

  # Check for iteration logs
  if [ -d .ralph-tui/iterations ] && [ "$(ls -A .ralph-tui/iterations 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
    echo "⚠ iterations/ has $(ls .ralph-tui/iterations | wc -l) log files"
  fi

  # Check for session state
  if [ -f .ralph-tui/state.json ]; then
    echo "⚠ state.json exists (previous session state)"
  fi

  # Check for lock file (Ralph might be running)
  if [ -f .ralph-tui.lock ]; then
    echo "⚠ .ralph-tui.lock exists - Ralph may be running!"
  fi
else
  echo "OK: No existing .ralph-tui/ state"
fi

If existing state is found, determine the situation:

AskUserQuestion: "Found existing Ralph state from a previous run. What's the situation?"
├── "Previous run is complete, clean up for new PRD"
│   → Clean .ralph-tui/iterations/, progress.md, state.json
│   → Keep config.toml and templates
├── "Previous run is still active (different PRD)"
│   → Create new worktree for this PRD
│   → Keep current directory untouched
├── "Save progress to branch first, then clean"
│   → Commit current progress
│   → Clean for new PRD
└── "Let me check the progress first"
│   → Show progress.md contents
│   → Show iteration count
│   → Re-ask after review

Cleanup commands (if user chooses to clean):

# Remove iteration logs
rm -rf .ralph-tui/iterations/*

# Clear progress file (keep file, clear content)
echo "" > .ralph-tui/progress.md

# Remove session state
rm -f .ralph-tui/state.json
rm -f .ralph-tui.lock
rm -f .ralph-tui-session.json

# Verify cleanup
ls -la .ralph-tui/
echo "Cleaned. Ready for new Ralph loop."

If previous run is still active:

# Check current branch
CURRENT_BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
echo "Current branch: $CURRENT_BRANCH"

# Suggest worktree for new PRD
REPO_NAME=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel))
echo "Suggested worktree: ../${REPO_NAME}-[new-prd-name]"

Then proceed to Phase 7 for worktree setup.

Phase 2: Configuration Validation

2.1 Locate .ralph-tui/config.toml

# Check project config exists
if [ -f .ralph-tui/config.toml ]; then
  echo "OK: Config found at .ralph-tui/config.toml"
else
  echo "ERROR: No .ralph-tui/config.toml found"
  echo "Run: ralph-tui setup"
fi

2.2 Validate Config Settings

Read config.toml and verify critical settings:

| Setting | Required Value | Check | |---------|---------------|-------| | tracker | "json" | Must be json for prd.json execution | | agent | "claude" | Claude agent | | prompt_template | Path exists | Template file must exist | | model | "opus" or "sonnet" | Valid model | | maxIterations | > 0 | Reasonable iteration limit |

2.3 Show Template Source

ralph-tui template show | head -5

Verify it's loading from expected location (not default).

Phase 3: Template Validation

3.1 Locate prompt.hbs

Get template path from config.toml prompt_template setting and verify file exists:

# Extract template path from config
grep "prompt_template" .ralph-tui/config.toml
# Verify file exists
ls -la [extracted-path]

3.2 Template Variable Check

Read the prompt.hbs and verify it uses these required variables:

PRD Variables:

{{prdName}} - Project name
{{prdDescription}} - Project overview
{{prdCompletedCount}} / {{prdTotalCount}} - Progress
{{currentIteration}} - Current iteration number (REQUIRED in header)

Task Variables:

{{taskId}} - Story ID (e.g., US-001)
{{taskTitle}} - Story title
{{taskDescription}} - What and why (includes embedded tasks)
{{acceptanceCriteria}} - Auto-formatted checkbox list
{{notes}} - Additional context
{{dependsOn}} - Prerequisites

Context Variables:

{{codebasePatterns}} - Discovered patterns (optional)

DEPRECATED (should NOT be in template):

{{recentProgress}} - Agent reads .ralph-tui/progress.md directly as first action

3.3 Template Quality Check (Optimized v2)

Verify template includes all critical elements:

Structure Checks:

[ ] Template does NOT include {{recentProgress}} (agent reads file directly - this is redundant)
[ ] Template includes {{currentIteration}} in header for tracking
[ ] Template has explicit "Context Files (Read These First)" section with:
- [ ] Path to .ralph-tui/progress.md
- [ ] Instruction to find PRD.md in same directory as prd.json

Workflow Checks:

[ ] Template includes 3-phase workflow: Context Gathering → Implementation → Documentation
[ ] Phase 3 includes gibberish cleanup instructions (remove JSON fragments, malformed entries)
[ ] Template defines verbose progress entry format with sections:
- [ ] "What was implemented" (detailed descriptions)
- [ ] "Files changed" (paths with descriptions)
- [ ] "Learnings" (patterns, gotchas, architecture insights)
- [ ] "Quality gate" (command output, test results)

Rules Checks:

[ ] Template says "Be verbose and thorough - future iterations start with no memory"
[ ] Template instructs to delete malformed entries (JSON fragments, "type":"message", gibberish)
[ ] Completion signals (COMPLETE, BLOCKED, SKIP, EJECT)
[ ] Loop awareness (starts fresh each iteration, must read progress.md)

Context References:

[ ] Reference to CLAUDE.md for project commands/conventions
[ ] Reference to progress.md for iteration context
[ ] Reference to PRD.md for full project goals

3.4 Template Anti-Pattern Detection

Flag these issues if found:

| Issue | Problem | Fix | |-------|---------|-----| | {{recentProgress}} in template | Redundant - agent reads file directly | Remove the section | | No {{currentIteration}} | Can't track which iteration in logs | Add to header | | No gibberish cleanup instruction | JSON fragments accumulate in progress.md | Add Phase 3 step 7 | | Simple progress format | Future iterations lack context | Use verbose 4-section format | | No "start with no memory" warning | Agent may not document thoroughly | Add to rules section |

Phase 4: PRD Validation

4.1 Discover prd.json

Search for prd.json files:

find . -name "prd.json" -not -path "*/node_modules/*" 2>/dev/null

If multiple found, ask user to select. If none found, report and exit.

4.2 Validate prd.json Structure

Read the prd.json and verify required fields:

{
  "name": "required - kebab-case",
  "description": "required - project context",
  "branchName": "required - git branch name",
  "userStories": [
    {
      "id": "required - e.g., US-001",
      "title": "required - short title",
      "description": "required - what and why",
      "acceptanceCriteria": "required - array of strings",
      "dependsOn": "optional - array of story IDs",
      "notes": "optional - additional context",
      "passes": "required - boolean, should be false initially"
    }
  ]
}

4.3 Template Variable Mapping

Verify prd.json fields will map correctly to template:

| prd.json Field | Template Variable | Status | |----------------|-------------------|--------| | name | {{prdName}} | Check | | description | {{prdDescription}} | Check | | userStories[].id | {{taskId}} | Check | | userStories[].title | {{taskTitle}} | Check | | userStories[].description | {{taskDescription}} | Check | | userStories[].acceptanceCriteria | {{acceptanceCriteria}} | Check | | userStories[].notes | {{notes}} | Check | | userStories[].dependsOn | {{dependsOn}} | Check |

4.4 Tasks in Description Check

Verify each story's description includes embedded tasks:

**Tasks:**
1. First task
2. Second task

WARNING: Tasks are NOT a separate field - they must be in the description.

4.5 Acceptance Criteria Format

Verify acceptanceCriteria is an array of strings (Ralph auto-converts to checkboxes).

Phase 5: Project Context Validation

5.1 Local CLAUDE.md Check

if [ -f CLAUDE.md ]; then
  echo "OK: Local CLAUDE.md found"
  # Check it has key sections
  grep -l "Commands\|Development\|Project" CLAUDE.md
else
  echo "WARNING: No local CLAUDE.md - Ralph will rely on global context"
fi

5.2 PRD.md Discovery

Check for human-readable PRD document:

find . -name "PRD.md" -o -name "prd.md" | head -5

If found, note the path for the prompt template enhancement.

5.3 Progress.md Path

Verify progress file path from config:

grep "progressFile" .ralph-tui/config.toml
# Default: .ralph-tui/progress.md

Phase 6: Pre-Launch Summary

6.1 Generate Report

Present a clear summary:

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Ralph TUI Pre-Flight Check Results
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Environment
├── Global CLAUDE.md: ✗ Not found (good) / ⚠ Found (may conflict)
├── Ralph TUI: ✓ v0.x.x installed
├── tmux: ✓ v3.x installed
├── git: ✓ v2.x installed
└── Existing State: ✓ Clean / ⚠ Previous run detected (action taken)

Existing State Details (if found)
├── progress.md: [X lines] / Empty
├── iterations/: [X files] / Empty
├── state.json: Found / Not found
└── Lock file: ⚠ Running / Not found

Configuration (.ralph-tui/config.toml)
├── Tracker: json ✓
├── Agent: claude ✓
├── Model: opus ✓
├── Max Iterations: 70 ✓
├── Template Path: .ralph-tui/templates/prompt.hbs ✓
└── PRD Path: [discovered path] ✓

Template (.ralph-tui/templates/prompt.hbs)
├── File exists: ✓
├── PRD variables: ✓
├── Task variables: ✓
├── Context variables: ✓
├── Workflow section: ✓
└── Completion signals: ✓

PRD (docs/prds/[name]/prd.json)
├── Name: [prd-name] ✓
├── Branch: [branch-name] ✓
├── Stories: [count] stories ✓
├── All have IDs: ✓
├── All have descriptions: ✓
├── All have acceptance criteria: ✓
└── Tasks embedded in descriptions: ✓

Project Context
├── Local CLAUDE.md: ✓ Found
├── PRD.md: ✓ Found at [path]
└── Progress tracking: .ralph-tui/progress.md (clean)

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

6.2 Issues Found

If any issues were found, list them with severity:

Issues Found:
├── [CRITICAL] Global CLAUDE.md may override local context
├── [CRITICAL] Existing Ralph state - may confuse model with old progress
├── [CRITICAL] Lock file present - Ralph may already be running
├── [WARNING] Story US-003 missing tasks in description
└── [INFO] Model set to sonnet, opus recommended for complex work

Phase 7: Launch Options

7.1 Worktree vs Branch Question

AskUserQuestion: "How do you want to run this Ralph loop?"
├── "Branch only" - Create/switch to feature branch in current directory
├── "Worktree" - Create isolated worktree for parallel development
└── "Already set up" - Skip branch/worktree setup

7.2 Branch Setup (if selected)

# Determine base branch
git branch --show-current

# Create and checkout feature branch
git checkout -b [branchName-from-prd]

7.3 Worktree Setup (if selected)

# Get repo name and PRD name
REPO_NAME=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel))
PRD_NAME=[name-from-prd]

# Create worktree
git worktree add ../${REPO_NAME}-${PRD_NAME} -b [branchName-from-prd]

# Show next steps
echo "Worktree created at: ../${REPO_NAME}-${PRD_NAME}"
echo "cd ../${REPO_NAME}-${PRD_NAME}"

7.4 Generate Launch Commands

Provide ready-to-copy commands:

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Launch Commands
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Option 1: Run in new tmux session (recommended)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
tmux new-session -d -s ralph-[prd-name] "ralph-tui run --prd [prd-path]"
tmux attach-session -t ralph-[prd-name]
# Press 's' to start, then Ctrl+B D to detach

Option 2: Run directly (stays in foreground)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ralph-tui run --prd [prd-path]

Option 3: Run with verification (recommended first time)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ralph-tui run --prd [prd-path] --verify

Monitoring:
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# Check progress
cat .ralph-tui/progress.md

# View iteration logs
ralph-tui logs

# Check session status
ralph-tui status

# Reattach to tmux
tmux attach-session -t ralph-[prd-name]
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Quick Reference

Template Variables from Ralph TUI

| Variable | Source | Description | |----------|--------|-------------| | {{prdName}} | prd.json name | Project name | | {{prdDescription}} | prd.json description | Project context | | {{prdCompletedCount}} | Calculated | Completed stories | | {{prdTotalCount}} | Calculated | Total stories | | {{currentIteration}} | Calculated | Current iteration number | | {{taskId}} | userStories[].id | Current story ID | | {{taskTitle}} | userStories[].title | Current story title | | {{taskDescription}} | userStories[].description | Story description (includes tasks) | | {{acceptanceCriteria}} | userStories[].acceptanceCriteria | Auto-formatted checkboxes | | {{notes}} | userStories[].notes | Additional context | | {{dependsOn}} | userStories[].dependsOn | Prerequisites | | {{codebasePatterns}} | .ralph-tui/progress.md | Discovered patterns |

DEPRECATED - Do NOT use: | Variable | Reason | |----------|--------| | {{recentProgress}} | Redundant - agent reads .ralph-tui/progress.md directly as first action every iteration |

Common Issues

| Issue | Solution | |-------|----------| | Global CLAUDE.md overrides local | Rename ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md to .bak | | Existing state from previous run | Clean iterations/, progress.md, state.json OR use worktree | | Lock file present | Another Ralph may be running; check tmux sessions | | Template not loading | Check prompt_template path in config.toml | | Tasks not showing | Embed tasks in description field, not separate | | acceptanceCriteria empty | Ensure it's an array of strings | | Progress corrupted | Check .ralph-tui.lock, use ralph-tui resume | | Model confused by old progress | Clean progress.md before starting new PRD | | Gibberish/JSON in progress.md | Template should include cleanup instructions in Phase 3 | | Duplicate progress entries | Ralph auto-appends + agent appends; use cleanup instructions | | Template uses {{recentProgress}} | Remove it - agent reads file directly (redundant) | | Missing {{currentIteration}} | Add to header for iteration tracking | | Sparse progress notes | Use verbose 4-section format; add "no memory" warning |

Ralph TUI Commands

ralph-tui template show     # Show current template
ralph-tui doctor            # Diagnose issues
ralph-tui config show       # Show merged config
ralph-tui status            # Check session status
ralph-tui resume            # Resume interrupted session
ralph-tui logs              # View iteration logs

Agent Skills: Ralph TUI Pre-Flight Check

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