Agent Skills: Ralph init

Ralph init

Scaffold or update repo-local Ralph harness. Opt-in only.

Preamble

Pre-check: Local setup version

Compare .flow/meta.json setup_version to the plugin version; on mismatch, escalate once per plugin version. Fail-open throughout: a missing jq, .flow/meta.json, or plugin manifest silently continues.

SETUP_VER=$(jq -r '.setup_version // empty' .flow/meta.json 2>/dev/null)
PLUGIN_JSON="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/.claude-plugin/plugin.json"
PLUGIN_VER=$(jq -r '.version' "$PLUGIN_JSON" 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
VERSION_ACK=$(jq -r '.version_ack // empty' .flow/meta.json 2>/dev/null)
if [[ -n "$SETUP_VER" && "$PLUGIN_VER" != "unknown" && "$SETUP_VER" != "$PLUGIN_VER" ]]; then
  if [[ "${FLOW_RALPH:-}" == "1" || -n "${REVIEW_RECEIPT_PATH:-}" \
        || "${FLOW_AUTONOMOUS:-}" == "1" || "${ARGUMENTS:-}" == *mode:autonomous* \
        || "$VERSION_ACK" == "$PLUGIN_VER" ]]; then
    echo "Local setup v${SETUP_VER} differs from plugin v${PLUGIN_VER}. Run /flow-next:setup to refresh local scripts." >&2
  else
    echo "FLOW_SETUP_ASK ${SETUP_VER} ${PLUGIN_VER}"
  fi
fi

If the block printed a FLOW_SETUP_ASK line, before proceeding ask the user with AskUserQuestion (local setup differs from the plugin; refresh now?), offering exactly the options Refresh now, Remind me next version, Skip this run, then continue the skill whichever is chosen:

• Refresh now: pause and have the user run /flow-next:setup in this session (do not run setup yourself), then continue once it finishes.
• Remind me next version: record the acknowledgement so this version is not re-asked (only a later plugin version re-arms it), then continue. Run this self-contained write (fail-open: on any error, continue anyway):

  PJ="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/.claude-plugin/plugin.json"
  PV=$(jq -r '.version' "$PJ" 2>/dev/null)
  [[ -n "$PV" && "$PV" != "null" ]] && rm -f .flow/meta.json.tmp && jq --arg v "$PV" '.version_ack = $v' .flow/meta.json > .flow/meta.json.tmp && mv .flow/meta.json.tmp .flow/meta.json
  

• Skip this run: continue without writing anything; the next invocation asks again.

Any other output (the one-line differs notice, or nothing) is non-blocking: continue.

The plugin root resolves once via the cross-platform env-var fallback (Droid uses DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT; Claude Code documents CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT as its compat alias). Subsequent blocks use $PLUGIN_ROOT:

PLUGIN_ROOT="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}"

Rules

• Only create/update scripts/ralph/ in the current repo.
• If scripts/ralph/ already exists, offer to update (preserves config.env).
• Copy templates from templates/ into scripts/ralph/.
• Copy flowctl, flowctl.cmd, flowctl.py (from $PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/) and pick-python.sh (from $PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/lib/) into scripts/ralph/ — flat, so the resolver lands at scripts/ralph/pick-python.sh (NOT scripts/ralph/lib/) where ralph.sh and the hook wrapper source it.
• Set executable bit on scripts/ralph/ralph.sh, scripts/ralph/ralph_once.sh, and scripts/ralph/flowctl.

Workflow

1. Resolve repo root: git rev-parse --show-toplevel

2. Check if scripts/ralph/ exists:

   • If exists: ask "Update existing Ralph setup? (preserves config.env and runs/) [y/n]"
     • If no: stop
     • If yes: set UPDATE_MODE=1
   • If not exists: set UPDATE_MODE=0

3. Detect available review backends (skip if UPDATE_MODE=1):

   HAVE_RP=$(which rp-cli >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo 1 || echo 0)
   HAVE_CODEX=$(which codex >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo 1 || echo 0)
   HAVE_COPILOT=$(which copilot >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo 1 || echo 0)
   HAVE_CURSOR=$(which cursor-agent >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo 1 || echo 0)
   

4. Determine review backend (skip if UPDATE_MODE=1):

   • If MULTIPLE available, ask user (do NOT use AskUserQuestion tool). Only show the options whose CLIs were detected:

     Multiple review backends available. Which one?
     a) RepoPrompt (macOS, visual builder)
     b) Codex CLI (cross-platform, GPT 5.5 High)
     c) GitHub Copilot CLI (cross-platform, Claude/GPT via Copilot)
     d) Cursor CLI (cross-platform, runs cursor-agent; gpt-5.5-high via Cursor subscription)
     
     (Reply: "a", "rp", "b", "codex", "c", "copilot", "d", "cursor", or just tell me)
     

     Wait for response. Default if empty/ambiguous: prefer rp > codex > copilot > cursor.
   • If only rp-cli available: use rp
   • If only codex available: use codex
   • If only copilot available: use copilot
   • If only cursor-agent available: use cursor
   • If none available: use none

5. Copy files using bash (MUST use cp, NOT Write tool):

   If UPDATE_MODE=1 (updating):

   # Backup config.env
   cp scripts/ralph/config.env /tmp/ralph-config-backup.env
   
   # Update templates (preserves runs/)
   cp "$PLUGIN_ROOT/skills/flow-next-ralph-init/templates/ralph.sh" scripts/ralph/
   cp "$PLUGIN_ROOT/skills/flow-next-ralph-init/templates/ralph_once.sh" scripts/ralph/
   cp "$PLUGIN_ROOT/skills/flow-next-ralph-init/templates/prompt_plan.md" scripts/ralph/
   cp "$PLUGIN_ROOT/skills/flow-next-ralph-init/templates/prompt_work.md" scripts/ralph/
   cp "$PLUGIN_ROOT/skills/flow-next-ralph-init/templates/prompt_completion.md" scripts/ralph/
   cp "$PLUGIN_ROOT/skills/flow-next-ralph-init/templates/watch-filter.py" scripts/ralph/
   cp "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/flowctl" "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/flowctl.cmd" "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/flowctl.py" "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/lib/pick-python.sh" scripts/ralph/
   mkdir -p scripts/ralph/hooks
   cp "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/hooks/ralph-guard.py" "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/hooks/ralph-guard" scripts/ralph/hooks/
   chmod +x scripts/ralph/ralph.sh scripts/ralph/ralph_once.sh scripts/ralph/flowctl scripts/ralph/hooks/ralph-guard.py scripts/ralph/hooks/ralph-guard
   
   # Restore config.env
   cp /tmp/ralph-config-backup.env scripts/ralph/config.env
   

   If UPDATE_MODE=0 (fresh install):

   mkdir -p scripts/ralph/runs scripts/ralph/hooks
   cp -R "$PLUGIN_ROOT/skills/flow-next-ralph-init/templates/." scripts/ralph/
   cp "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/flowctl" "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/flowctl.cmd" "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/flowctl.py" "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/lib/pick-python.sh" scripts/ralph/
   cp "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/hooks/ralph-guard.py" "$PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/hooks/ralph-guard" scripts/ralph/hooks/
   chmod +x scripts/ralph/ralph.sh scripts/ralph/ralph_once.sh scripts/ralph/flowctl scripts/ralph/hooks/ralph-guard.py scripts/ralph/hooks/ralph-guard
   

   Note: cp -R templates/. copies all files including dotfiles (.gitignore).

6. Edit scripts/ralph/config.env to set the chosen review backend (skip if UPDATE_MODE=1):

   • Replace PLAN_REVIEW={{PLAN_REVIEW}} with PLAN_REVIEW=<chosen>
   • Replace WORK_REVIEW={{WORK_REVIEW}} with WORK_REVIEW=<chosen>
   • Replace COMPLETION_REVIEW={{COMPLETION_REVIEW}} with COMPLETION_REVIEW=<chosen>

7. Print next steps (run from terminal, NOT inside Claude Code):

   If UPDATE_MODE=1:

   Ralph updated! Your config.env was preserved.
   
   Changes in this version:
   - Removed local hooks requirement (plugin hooks work when installed normally)
   
   Run from terminal:
   - ./scripts/ralph/ralph_once.sh (one iteration, observe)
   - ./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh (full loop, AFK)
   

   If UPDATE_MODE=0:

   Ralph initialized!
   
   Next steps (run from terminal, NOT inside Claude Code):
   - Edit scripts/ralph/config.env to customize settings
   - ./scripts/ralph/ralph_once.sh (one iteration, observe)
   - ./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh (full loop, AFK)
   
   Maintenance:
   - Re-run /flow-next:ralph-init after plugin updates to refresh scripts
   - Uninstall (run manually): rm -rf scripts/ralph/