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name: ralph-technique description: The Ralph Wiggum technique for minimal, declarative prompts that enable loop-based autonomous execution. agents: [rex, nova, blaze, grizz, tess] triggers: [minimal, ralph, loop, autonomous, simple prompt, deterministic]

Ralph Wiggum Technique

The Ralph technique is a minimal prompting approach that enables autonomous, loop-based agent execution. Named after the Simpsons character, it embraces simplicity and iterative refinement.

Core Philosophy

"Ralph is deterministically bad in an undeterministic world."

Key insight: Simpler prompts (~40-50 lines) often outperform verbose prompts (~200+ lines). Overly detailed prompts can make agents "slower and dumber."

The Ralph Loop

In its purest form, Ralph is a bash loop:

Copywhile :; do cat PROMPT.md | claude-code ; done

The agent runs continuously, making incremental progress. Failures are expected and corrected through iteration.

Signs on the Playground

When Ralph makes mistakes, don't blame the tools—add "signs":

CopyRalph builds playground → Falls off slide → Add sign: "SLIDE DOWN, DON'T JUMP"
                                         → Ralph sees sign next time
                                         → Behavior improves

Translation: When an agent fails, add a concise constraint to the prompt. Don't explain why—just state the rule.

Minimal Prompt Pattern

Copy# {Agent} - {Role}

You are {Agent}. Your job is to {primary task} in `task/`.

## Constraints

- {Essential constraint 1}
- {Essential constraint 2}
- {Essential constraint 3}
- {Max 5-7 constraints}

## Definition of Done

- All acceptance criteria in `task/acceptance.md` satisfied
- {Required commands pass}
- PR created with Linear issue link

## Task Context

- Task ID: {{task_id}}
- Service: {{service}}
- Branch: feature/task-{{task_id}}-{job}

Read `task/` directory and implement.

Total: ~40-50 lines

What to Include

What to Exclude

When to Use Ralph

Tuning Ralph

When Ralph fails repeatedly:

1. Identify the pattern - What mistake keeps happening?
2. Add a sign - One-line constraint, no explanation
3. Test again - Run the loop
4. Iterate - Repeat until stable

Example signs (constraints):

• "Never use any types"
• "Run cargo clippy before committing"
• "Test at 375px mobile viewport"
• "Use Effect.gen, not raw Promise chains"

Ralph vs Standard Prompts

Activating Ralph Mode

Via Linear Label

CopyLabels: cto:prompt:minimal

Via CodeRun Spec

Copyspec:
  promptStyle: "minimal"

The Ralph Mindset

1. Faith in eventual consistency - Ralph will get there
2. Deterministic failure - Failures are predictable and fixable
3. Tuning, not debugging - Adjust prompts like tuning a guitar
4. Less is more - Every word costs attention

References

• Ralph Wiggum technique - Original concept by Geoff Huntley
• YC Agents hackathon - Field report
• Brief History of Ralph - HumanLayer's experience