ralph-github-start-loop

Original：🇺🇸 English
Translated
1 scripts

Runs autonomous loop fetching stories from GitHub Issues. Implements and closes issues as done. Triggers on "loop through my PRDs", "work on my issues", "start the autonomous loop", "implement my PRDs", or requests to work through GitHub issues autonomously.

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Sourcerichtabor/agent-skills
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NPX Install

npx skill4agent add richtabor/agent-skills ralph-github-start-loop

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
github-automationprd-managementissue-handlinggh-cligit-workflow

SKILL.md Content

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Loop GitHub Issues

Run the autonomous loop to execute features from GitHub Issues.

Usage

/loop-github-issues              # Interactive: shows available PRDs and asks which to run
/loop-github-issues --all        # Run all available PRDs (no prompt)
/loop-github-issues auth-flow    # Run PRDs matching search term
/loop-github-issues 25           # Run with 25 iterations per PRD
/loop-github-issues --all 25     # Run all PRDs with 25 iterations each
When running non-interactively (background mode), 
--all
is auto-enabled.

Prerequisites

  • gh
    CLI authenticated
  • PRD issues created via 
    /ralph-github-create-issues
    (reads from 
    .claude/plans/
    or 
    prds/
    )
Note: Assume gh extensions are installed. Do NOT try to install them.

Process

  1. Check prerequisites (
    gh auth status
    )
  2. Run the script directly - it handles PRD selection and filtering:
bash
~/.claude/skills/loop-github-issues/loop-github-issues.sh [iterations] [prd-search-term] [--all]
Use 
run_in_background: true
to prevent timeout.
Monitoring progress:
  • Local status: 
    cat /tmp/ralph-status-{repo}-{prd-number}.txt
  • GitHub: Comments are posted to the PRD issue as stories complete
Important: Don't list PRDs separately before running - the script shows available PRDs (excluding those with open PRs) and handles selection.

What It Does

  1. Lists open PRD issues (identified by 
    prd
    label) that don't already have open PRs
  2. Prompts user to select which PRD(s) to work on (or auto-selects in background mode)
  3. For each selected PRD:
    • Assigns issue to current user (shows as in progress)
    • Creates git worktree at 
      ../{repo}-{feature}/
    • For each iteration:
      • Passes all open sub-issues to the agent
      • Agent picks the logical next story based on dependencies
      • Implements the story
      • Commits: 
        feat: Story Title (closes #XXX)
      • Closes sub-issue with link to commit
    • When all sub-issues closed, creates PR (parent PRD closes on merge)
    • Cleans up worktree

Differences from 
/ralph

Aspect
/ralph
(JSON)
/loop-github-issues
(GitHub)
Story source
prds/*.json
GitHub Issues
Status tracking
passes: true/false
Issue open/closed
Dependencies
dependsOn
array		Native GitHub blocking
CompletionUpdate JSONClose issue
PRD doneAll stories passAll sub-issues closed

Dependencies

Ralph-issues checks GitHub's native blocking relationships. PRDs with open blocking issues are skipped.
The script queries the 
blockedBy
field via GraphQL to determine if a PRD is ready to start.

Issue Conventions

Finding PRD Issues

bash
gh issue list --label prd --state open --json number,title,body

Finding Story Sub-Issues

Uses the 
gh-sub-issue
extension:
bash
gh sub-issue list <parent-number> --state open --json number,title,body

Closing Issues

On story completion:
bash
gh issue close 101 --comment "Implemented in https://github.com/owner/repo/commit/abc123"
Parent PRD issues close automatically when the PR is merged (via 
Closes #XX
in PR body).

Branch Naming

Uses conventional prefixes parsed from the PRD issue body:
  • feature/<name>
    for enhancements
  • bugfix/<name>
    for bug fixes

Notes

  • Run multiple Ralph instances in parallel on independent PRDs (separate terminals)
  • Each works in its own worktree, no conflicts
  • Commits include 
    closes #XXX
    to auto-close issues on merge