Ralph Skill Review Loop
Overview
A meta-skill that uses the Ralph Wiggum technique to review and improve the Ralph Wiggum prompt generator skills themselves. Runs a continuous improvement loop until skills pass review twice consecutively with no recommendations.
Quick Start
Copy and run this prompt in a Ralph loop:
/ralph-wiggum:ralph-loop "[paste prompt below]" --completion-promise "RALPH_SKILLS_PERFECTED" --max-iterations 100THE SELF-IMPROVING REVIEW LOOP PROMPT
# Task: Self-Improving Review of Ralph Wiggum Skills
## Objective
Review and improve the Ralph Wiggum prompt generator skills until they pass two consecutive reviews with zero improvement recommendations.
## Target Skills
1. ralph-prompt-builder (Master orchestrator)
2. ralph-prompt-single-task (Single task generator)
3. ralph-prompt-multi-task (Multi-task generator)
4. ralph-prompt-project (Project generator)
5. ralph-prompt-research (Research generator)
Location: .claude/skills/ralph-prompt-*/SKILL.md
## Reference Materials
- RALPH-WIGGUM-TECHNIQUE-COMPREHENSIVE-RESEARCH.md (12,000+ words of best practices)
- skill-builder-package/research/ (skill building best practices)
- skill-builder-package/examples/ (production skill patterns)
---
## STATE MANAGEMENT
### Required State Files
Create these files to track progress:
**RALPH_REVIEW_STATE.json**:{ "current_iteration": 1, "consecutive_clean_reviews": 0, "skills_reviewed": [], "improvements_made": [], "last_review_timestamp": "", "status": "IN_PROGRESS" }
**RALPH_REVIEW_LOG.md**:
Ralph Skills Review Log
Iteration History
[Append each iteration's findings here]
---
## STEP 1: ORIENTATION (Every Iteration)
Read current state:
cat RALPH_REVIEW_STATE.json cat RALPH_REVIEW_LOG.md | tail -50 git log --oneline -5 ls -la .claude/skills/ralph-prompt-*/
Check: How many consecutive clean reviews do we have?
- If 2 or more: Output RALPH_SKILLS_PERFECTED
- If less than 2: Continue to Step 2
---
## STEP 2: COMPREHENSIVE SKILL REVIEW
### Review Framework
For EACH skill in ralph-prompt-*, evaluate against:
#### 2.1 Ralph Technique Alignment (from research)
- Clear completion criteria defined
- Includes self-verification commands
- Has TDD/iteration approach
- Includes "If Stuck" guidance
- Uses completion tags correctly
- Recommends appropriate max-iterations
- Follows "deterministically bad" philosophy (failures are fixable)
#### 2.2 Skill Structure Quality
- YAML frontmatter complete (name, description with triggers)
- Progressive disclosure (overview → details → examples)
- Quick Start section exists and is actionable
- Examples are realistic and complete
- Best practices section included
- Integration with Ralph loop documented
#### 2.3 Content Completeness
- All sections properly filled (no placeholders)
- Examples match the skill type
- Verification commands are real and runnable
- Edge cases addressed
- Cross-references to related skills
#### 2.4 Prompt Template Quality
- Templates follow research best practices
- Success criteria are measurable
- Phase structure is clear (for multi-phase)
- State tracking included
- Progress tracking pattern included
### Review Process
For each skill:
1. Read the SKILL.md file completely
2. Compare against RALPH-WIGGUM-TECHNIQUE-COMPREHENSIVE-RESEARCH.md
3. Check against all 16 criteria above
4. Document findings in REVIEW_FINDINGS.md
### Review Output Format
Create/update **REVIEW_FINDINGS.md**:
Review Findings - Iteration [N]
Summary
- Skills reviewed: [count]
- Total issues found: [count]
- Critical issues: [count]
- Improvements needed: [count]
ralph-prompt-builder
Passing
- [x] Criterion that passes
Issues Found
- [ ] [CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW] Issue description
- Location: [section/line] - Current: [what exists] - Should be: [what it should be] - Fix: [specific fix]
ralph-prompt-single-task
[... same format]
ralph-prompt-multi-task
[... same format]
ralph-prompt-project
[... same format]
ralph-prompt-research
[... same format]
Recommendations Summary
Must Fix (Critical/High)
- [Recommendation 1]
- [Recommendation 2]
Should Fix (Medium)
- [Recommendation 3]
Nice to Have (Low)
- [Recommendation 4]
Review Result
- [ ] CLEAN (zero recommendations)
- [ ] NEEDS_WORK (has recommendations)
---
## STEP 3: IMPLEMENT IMPROVEMENTS
If REVIEW_FINDINGS.md shows NEEDS_WORK:
### 3.1 Prioritize Fixes
Work in this order:
1. Critical issues (breaks functionality)
2. High issues (significantly impacts quality)
3. Medium issues (improves quality)
4. Low issues (polish)
### 3.2 Implement Each Fix
For each recommendation:
1. Read the target skill file
2. Implement the specific fix
3. Verify the fix addresses the issue
4. Commit the change:
git add .claude/skills/ralph-prompt-[name]/SKILL.md git commit -m "Improve ralph-prompt-[name]: [brief description]
- [Change 1]
- [Change 2]
Part of Ralph skills self-improvement loop iteration [N]"
### 3.3 Track Improvements
Update RALPH_REVIEW_STATE.json:
{ "improvements_made": [ { "iteration": N, "skill": "ralph-prompt-X", "issue": "description", "fix": "what was done" } ] }
---
## STEP 4: POST-IMPROVEMENT VERIFICATION
After implementing fixes:
### 4.1 Verify Each Skill Still Works
For each modified skill:
- YAML frontmatter is valid
- All sections render correctly
- Examples are syntactically correct
- No broken references
### 4.2 Check for Regressions
- No content accidentally deleted
- Cross-references still valid
- Templates still complete
### 4.3 Run Syntax Check
Verify YAML frontmatter
for f in .claude/skills/ralph-prompt-*/SKILL.md; do head -20 "$f" | grep -E "^(name:|description:)" done
---
## STEP 5: UPDATE STATE
Update RALPH_REVIEW_STATE.json:
If review was CLEAN (zero recommendations):
{ "consecutive_clean_reviews": [previous + 1], "last_review_result": "CLEAN", "last_review_timestamp": "[timestamp]" }
If review was NEEDS_WORK:
{ "consecutive_clean_reviews": 0, "last_review_result": "NEEDS_WORK", "improvements_this_iteration": [count], "last_review_timestamp": "[timestamp]" }
Update RALPH_REVIEW_LOG.md:
Iteration [N] - [timestamp]
Review Result
[CLEAN/NEEDS_WORK]
Issues Found
- [Issue 1]
- [Issue 2]
Fixes Applied
- [Fix 1]
- [Fix 2]
State After
- Consecutive clean reviews: [N]
- Total improvements to date: [N]
---
## STEP 6: LOOP DECISION
### Check Termination Condition
Read RALPH_REVIEW_STATE.json:
cat RALPH_REVIEW_STATE.json | jq '.consecutive_clean_reviews'
### If consecutive_clean_reviews >= 2:
Skills have passed two consecutive reviews with zero recommendations.
Create RALPH_SKILLS_VALIDATION_COMPLETE.md:
Ralph Skills Validation Complete
Summary
- Total iterations: [N]
- Total improvements made: [count]
- Final state: All skills validated
Skills Validated
- ralph-prompt-builder - PASSED
- ralph-prompt-single-task - PASSED
- ralph-prompt-multi-task - PASSED
- ralph-prompt-project - PASSED
- ralph-prompt-research - PASSED
Validation Criteria Met
All 16 review criteria passing for all 5 skills.
Timestamp
[ISO timestamp]
Output: RALPH_SKILLS_PERFECTED
### If consecutive_clean_reviews < 2:
Continue to next iteration (loop back to STEP 1)
---
## REVIEW CRITERIA REFERENCE (Quick Check)
### Ralph Technique Alignment
1. Clear completion criteria
2. Self-verification commands
3. TDD/iteration approach
4. "If Stuck" guidance
5. tags used correctly
6. Appropriate max-iterations recommendations
7. Deterministically bad philosophy
### Skill Structure Quality
1. Complete YAML frontmatter
2. Progressive disclosure
3. Actionable Quick Start
4. Realistic examples
5. Best practices section
6. Ralph loop integration docs
### Content Completeness
1. No placeholders
2. Matching examples
3. Real verification commands
---
## ESCAPE HATCH
If stuck after 50 iterations without reaching 2 consecutive clean reviews:
1. Document the recurring issues in RALPH_REVIEW_BLOCKERS.md
2. List which criteria keep failing
3. Identify if criteria are too strict
4. Output: RALPH_REVIEW_BLOCKED
---
## PROGRESS TRACKING
Every 5 iterations, summarize:
PROGRESS SUMMARY - Iteration [N] ================================ Started: [timestamp] Current: [timestamp] Consecutive clean reviews: [N]/2
Skills Status:
- ralph-prompt-builder: [X/16 criteria passing]
- ralph-prompt-single-task: [X/16 criteria passing]
- ralph-prompt-multi-task: [X/16 criteria passing]
- ralph-prompt-project: [X/16 criteria passing]
- ralph-prompt-research: [X/16 criteria passing]
Improvements made: [total count] Remaining issues: [count]
---
## COMPLETION CONDITIONS
Output RALPH_SKILLS_PERFECTED ONLY when:
- All 5 skills reviewed
- All 16 criteria checked per skill
- Zero recommendations in current review
- Zero recommendations in previous review
- consecutive_clean_reviews >= 2 in state file
- RALPH_SKILLS_VALIDATION_COMPLETE.md created
- All changes committed
---
## SAFETY LIMITS
- Maximum iterations: 100
- Expected completion: 20-40 iterations
- Budget alert: If > 50 iterations, evaluate if criteria are too strict
Usage Instructions
1. Initialize State Files
Before running, create the initial state:
# Create state file
cat > RALPH_REVIEW_STATE.json << 'EOF'
{
"current_iteration": 0,
"consecutive_clean_reviews": 0,
"skills_reviewed": [],
"improvements_made": [],
"last_review_timestamp": "",
"status": "NOT_STARTED"
}
EOF
# Create log file
cat > RALPH_REVIEW_LOG.md << 'EOF'
# Ralph Skills Review Log
## Overview
Self-improving review loop for Ralph Wiggum prompt generator skills.
## Target: Two consecutive clean reviews
---
## Iteration History
EOF2. Run the Loop
/ralph-wiggum:ralph-loop "[THE PROMPT ABOVE]" \
--completion-promise "RALPH_SKILLS_PERFECTED" \
--max-iterations 1003. Monitor Progress
# Check current state
cat RALPH_REVIEW_STATE.json | jq '.'
# See recent activity
tail -30 RALPH_REVIEW_LOG.md
# Check how many clean reviews
cat RALPH_REVIEW_STATE.json | jq '.consecutive_clean_reviews'4. After Completion
Review the outputs:
RALPH_REVIEW_STATE.json- Final stateRALPH_REVIEW_LOG.md- Complete historyREVIEW_FINDINGS.md- Last review detailsRALPH_SKILLS_VALIDATION_COMPLETE.md- Success certificate- Git log - All improvements committed
Why This Works
- State Tracking: JSON state file persists across iterations
- Clear Criteria: 16 specific, measurable review criteria
- Self-Correction: Each iteration reads previous results and fixes issues
- Termination Condition: Two consecutive clean reviews ensures stability
- Evidence-Based: All findings documented, all fixes tracked
- Git Integration: Every improvement committed for auditability
Expected Behavior
Iteration 1-5: Discovery phase
- Identify initial issues across all skills
- Begin fixing critical issues
Iteration 6-15: Improvement phase
- Systematic fixes
- Quality improvements
- Cross-consistency
Iteration 16-25: Stabilization phase
- Fewer issues found
- Polish and edge cases
- Approaching clean reviews
Iteration 26-40: Validation phase
- First clean review achieved
- Verify no regressions
- Second clean review achieved
- Completion
Customization
Stricter Review
Add more criteria to the review framework.
Faster Completion
Reduce to "one clean review" by changing:
consecutive_clean_reviews >= 1Focus on Specific Skills
Modify the target skills list in the prompt.