ralph-wiggum-loop
Use when context window exhaustion is a concern or when addressing a large volume of PR comments — spawns a fresh agent session per comment via an external shell loop. For an in-session approach, use pr-review-loop or copilot-review-loop instead.
What this skill does
# Ralph Wiggum Loop
## Overview
The [Ralph Wiggum pattern](https://ghuntley.com/ralph/): an external shell loop
that spawns a **fresh agent session per PR comment**. Each invocation reads a
plan file, does exactly one unit of work (triage or fix), then exits. The shell
loop handles repetition.
This avoids context window exhaustion and works with any agent.
## How to invoke
This skill is **not invoked via chat**. Instead, you run a shell loop in your
terminal — the loop pipes `CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md` to a fresh agent session for
each iteration:
```bash
# Claude
while [ ! -f PR_REVIEW_DONE ]; do
cat CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md | claude -p --dangerously-skip-permissions
done
# Codex
while [ ! -f PR_REVIEW_DONE ]; do
cat CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md | codex exec --yolo -
done
```
See **Setup** below to get `CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md` into your project.
## Setup (once per PR)
1. Copy `CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md` from this skill to your project root:
```bash
# Project-local install (default — installed without --global):
cp .agents/skills/ralph-wiggum-loop/CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md .
# Global install (installed with --global):
cp ~/.claude/skills/ralph-wiggum-loop/CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md .
```
The path depends on how the skill was installed. Check `.agents/skills/` first (project-local); if not found, use your global skills directory.
2. Optionally add both files to `.gitignore`:
```
CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md
PR_COMMENTS_PLAN.md
PR_REVIEW_DONE
.pr-review/
```
3. Start the loop:
**Claude:**
```bash
while [ ! -f PR_REVIEW_DONE ]; do
cat CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md | claude -p --dangerously-skip-permissions
done
```
**Codex:**
```bash
while [ ! -f PR_REVIEW_DONE ]; do
cat CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md | codex exec --yolo -
done
```
**Any agent that accepts stdin:**
```bash
while [ ! -f PR_REVIEW_DONE ]; do
cat CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md | <agent-command>
done
```
## How it works
| Iteration | `PR_COMMENTS_PLAN.md` exists? | What the agent does |
|-----------|-------------------------------|---------------------|
| 1st | No | Fetches all PR comments, triages them, writes the file |
| 2nd–N | Yes | Fixes the topmost unresolved comment, marks it done |
| Final | Yes, all resolved | Writes `PR_REVIEW_DONE`, loop terminates |
Each session is minimal: one triage pass or one comment fix.
## State files (in project root)
- `CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md` — the instruction file (static, copied once)
- `PR_COMMENTS_PLAN.md` — triage + progress state (generated, updated each run)
- `PR_REVIEW_DONE` — written by the agent when all comments are addressed; stops the loop
- `.pr-review/plan-<id>.md` — per-comment plan for non-trivial fixes (deleted after resolution)
## Cleanup
```bash
rm -f CODE_REVIEW_PLAN.md PR_COMMENTS_PLAN.md PR_REVIEW_DONE
rm -rf .pr-review/
```
## Do Not
- Run the loop with `--dangerously-skip-permissions` on a repository you do not fully trust
- Let the loop run unattended past the first few iterations without reviewing what the agent committed
- Bundle all PR feedback into one large commit (each agent session commits at most one fix)
- Delete `PR_COMMENTS_PLAN.md` while the loop is running — this is the shared state file
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