# Trace: Fix Stuck AI Planner and Enable Live Output

Agent: claude-code | Model: Claude Opus 4.6 | Project: ralph

---

## User

I see this output on my screen, but the plan_PROGRESS.md exists and there is no claude process running. Is the program stuck?

## Assistant

## Assistant

Let me investigate the current state of things.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ps aux | grep -i claude | grep -v grep",
  "description": "Check for running Claude processes"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
jc        940936 20.1  1.6 74712368 521772 pts/3 Sl+  11:32   0:10 claude
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Glob

**Args:**
```json
{
  "pattern": "**/plan_PROGRESS.md"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
No files found
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Read

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
     1→#!/bin/bash
     2→# Ralph - Autonomous AI Development Loop
     3→# Usage: ralph <plan-file> [plan|build] [max-iterations]
     4→#
     5→# Examples:
     6→#   ralph ./my-feature-plan.md           # Build mode (default), runs until RALPH_DONE
     7→#   ralph ./my-feature-plan.md plan      # Plan mode, generates implementation tasks
     8→#   ralph ./my-feature-plan.md build 20  # Build mode, max 20 iterations
     9→#
    10→# Exit conditions:
    11→#   - Plan mode: Exits after 1 iteration (planning complete)
    12→#   - Build mode: "RALPH_DONE" appears in progress file
    13→#   - Max iterations reached (if specified)
    14→#   - Ctrl+C
    15→#
    16→# Progress is tracked in: <plan-name>_PROGRESS.md (in current directory)
    17→
    18→set -euo pipefail
    19→
    20→RALPH_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
    21→
    22→# Load constants
    23→if [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/lib/constants.sh" ]; then
    24→    source "$RALPH_DIR/lib/constants.sh"
    25→fi
    26→
    27→# Load platform utilities for cross-platform support
    28→if [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/lib/platform-utils.sh" ]; then
    29→    source "$RALPH_DIR/lib/platform-utils.sh"
    30→fi
    31→
    32→# Colors (defined early for use in validation messages)
    33→RED='\033[0;31m'
    34→GREEN='\033[0;32m'
    35→YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
    36→BLUE='\033[0;34m'
    37→NC='\033[0m' # No Color
    38→
    39→# Log directory for errors (use platform-appropriate paths)
    40→if command -v get_home_dir &>/dev/null && command -v get_temp_dir &>/dev/null; then
    41→    USER_HOME=$(get_home_dir)
    42→    TEMP_DIR=$(get_temp_dir)
    43→else
    44→    USER_HOME="${HOME}"
    45→    TEMP_DIR="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"
    46→fi
    47→
    48→LOG_DIR="${USER_HOME}/.portableralph/logs"
    49→if ! mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR" 2>/dev/null; then
    50→    echo "Warning: Could not create log directory: $LOG_DIR" >&2
    51→    LOG_DIR="${TEMP_DIR}/ralph_logs"
    52→    mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR" 2>/dev/null || LOG_DIR=""
    53→fi
    54→
    55→# Error logging function
    56→log_error() {
    57→    local timestamp=$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
    58→    local message="$1"
    59→    local logfile="${LOG_DIR}/ralph_$(date '+%Y%m%d').log"
    60→
    61→    # Log to file if LOG_DIR is available
    62→    if [ -n "$LOG_DIR" ] && [ -d "$LOG_DIR" ]; then
    63→        if ! echo "[$timestamp] ERROR: $message" >> "$logfile" 2>/dev/null; then
    64→            # If logging to file fails, at least note it on stderr
    65→            echo "[$timestamp] WARNING: Failed to write to log file: $logfile" >&2
    66→        fi
    67→    fi
    68→
    69→    # Always log to stderr
    70→    echo -e "${RED}Error: $message${NC}" >&2
    71→}
    72→
    73→# Source shared validation library
    74→source "${RALPH_DIR}/lib/validation.sh"
    75→
    76→# The following validation functions are now loaded from lib/validation.sh:
    77→# - validate_webhook_url() / validate_url()
    78→# - validate_numeric()
    79→# - validate_email()
    80→# - validate_file_path() / validate_path()
    81→# - json_escape()
    82→# - mask_token()
    83→
    84→# Just use the library's validate_path function
    85→# Users should be able to use whatever plan files they want
    86→validate_file_path() {
    87→    validate_path "$@"
    88→}
    89→
    90→# Validate config file syntax before sourcing
    91→validate_config() {
    92→    local config_file="$1"
    93→
    94→    # Check if file exists
    95→    if [ ! -f "$config_file" ]; then
    96→        return 0  # File doesn't exist, nothing to validate
    97→    fi
    98→
    99→    # Just check basic bash syntax
   100→    if ! bash -n "$config_file" 2>/dev/null; then
   101→        echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Syntax error in $config_file${NC}" >&2
   102→        echo -e "${YELLOW}Run: bash -n $config_file to see details${NC}" >&2
   103→        return 1
   104→    fi
   105→
   106→    return 0
   107→}
   108→
   109→# Load configuration (use platform-appropriate config location)
   110→RALPH_CONFIG_FILE="${USER_HOME}/.ralph.env"
   111→if [ -f "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE" ] && validate_config "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE"; then
   112→    source "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE"
   113→
   114→    # Decrypt encrypted environment variables BEFORE validation
   115→    if [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/decrypt-env.sh" ]; then
   116→        source "$RALPH_DIR/decrypt-env.sh"
   117→        # Call decrypt_ralph_env directly to allow variable updates
   118→        # Capture any errors but don't pipe the output (which would run in a subshell)
   119→        if ! decrypt_ralph_env; then
   120→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Failed to decrypt some environment variables${NC}" >&2
   121→            echo "Some notification platforms may not work correctly" >&2
   122→        fi
   123→    fi
   124→
   125→    # Validate loaded configuration values (now with decrypted values)
   126→    if [ -n "${RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ]; then
   127→        if ! validate_webhook_url "$RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL" "RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL"; then
   128→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Invalid RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL, disabling Slack notifications${NC}" >&2
   129→            unset RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL
   130→        fi
   131→    fi
   132→
   133→    if [ -n "${RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ]; then
   134→        if ! validate_webhook_url "$RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL" "RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL"; then
   135→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Invalid RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL, disabling Discord notifications${NC}" >&2
   136→            unset RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL
   137→        fi
   138→    fi
   139→
   140→    if [ -n "${RALPH_EMAIL_TO:-}" ]; then
   141→        if ! validate_email "$RALPH_EMAIL_TO" "RALPH_EMAIL_TO"; then
   142→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Invalid RALPH_EMAIL_TO, disabling email notifications${NC}" >&2
   143→            unset RALPH_EMAIL_TO
   144→        fi
   145→    fi
   146→
   147→    if [ -n "${RALPH_EMAIL_FROM:-}" ]; then
   148→        if ! validate_email "$RALPH_EMAIL_FROM" "RALPH_EMAIL_FROM"; then
   149→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Invalid RALPH_EMAIL_FROM, disabling email notifications${NC}" >&2
   150→            unset RALPH_EMAIL_FROM
   151→        fi
   152→    fi
   153→
   154→    if [ -n "${RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY:-}" ]; then
   155→        # Note: Not using 'local' here since we're at top level, not in a function
   156→        _notify_min="${NOTIFY_FREQUENCY_MIN:-1}"
   157→        _notify_max="${NOTIFY_FREQUENCY_MAX:-100}"
   158→        _notify_default="${NOTIFY_FREQUENCY_DEFAULT:-5}"
   159→        if ! validate_numeric "$RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY" "RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY" "$_notify_min" "$_notify_max"; then
   160→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Invalid RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY, using default: ${_notify_default}${NC}" >&2
   161→            export RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY="$_notify_default"
   162→        fi
   163→        unset _notify_min _notify_max _notify_default
   164→    fi
   165→fi
   166→
   167→VERSION="1.7.0"
   168→
   169→# Auto-commit setting (default: true)
   170→# Can be disabled via: ralph config commit off
   171→# Or by adding DO_NOT_COMMIT on its own line in the plan file
   172→RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT="${RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT:-true}"
   173→
   174→# Model setting (default: sonnet)
   175→# Can be set via: export RALPH_MODEL="claude-opus-4-6" in ~/.ralph.env
   176→RALPH_MODEL="${RALPH_MODEL:-sonnet}"
   177→
   178→# Check if plan file contains DO_NOT_COMMIT directive
   179→# Skips content inside ``` code blocks to avoid false positives
   180→should_skip_commit_from_plan() {
   181→    local plan_file="$1"
   182→    [ ! -f "$plan_file" ] && return 1
   183→
   184→    # Use awk to skip code blocks and find DO_NOT_COMMIT on its own line
   185→    # Handles whitespace before/after the directive
   186→    awk '
   187→        /^```/ { in_code = !in_code; next }
   188→        !in_code && /^[[:space:]]*DO_NOT_COMMIT[[:space:]]*$/ { found=1; exit }
   189→        END { exit !found }
   190→    ' "$plan_file"
   191→}
   192→
   193→# Notification helper with retry logic and error logging
   194→notify() {
   195→    local message="$1"
   196→    local emoji="${2:-}"
   197→    local max_retries="${NOTIFY_MAX_RETRIES:-3}"
   198→    local retry_delay="${NOTIFY_RETRY_DELAY:-2}"
   199→    local attempt=1
   200→    local notification_log="${LOG_DIR}/ralph_notifications_$(date '+%Y%m%d').log"
   201→
   202→    # Skip if LOG_DIR is not available (use platform-appropriate null device)
   203→    if [ -z "$LOG_DIR" ] || [ ! -d "$LOG_DIR" ]; then
   204→        if command -v get_null_device &>/dev/null; then
   205→            notification_log="$(get_null_device)"
   206→        else
   207→            notification_log="/dev/null"
   208→        fi
   209→    fi
   210→
   211→    while [ $attempt -le $max_retries ]; do
   212→        local notify_output
   213→        local notify_exit=0
   214→
   215→        # Capture output and exit code
   216→        notify_output=$("$RALPH_DIR/notify.sh" "$message" "$emoji" 2>&1) || notify_exit=$?
   217→
   218→        # Log the output with proper error handling (check for null device)
   219→        local null_dev="/dev/null"
   220→        if command -v get_null_device &>/dev/null; then
   221→            null_dev="$(get_null_device)"
   222→        fi
   223→        if [ "$notification_log" != "$null_dev" ] && [ "$notification_log" != "NUL" ]; then
   224→            if ! echo "[$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] Attempt $attempt: $notify_output" >> "$notification_log" 2>/dev/null; then
   225→                # If logging fails, report to stderr but don't fail the notification
   226→                echo "Warning: Failed to write to notification log: $notification_log" >&2
   227→            fi
   228→        fi
   229→
   230→        if [ $notify_exit -eq 0 ]; then
   231→            return 0
   232→        fi
   233→
   234→        if [ $attempt -lt $max_retries ]; then
   235→            log_error "Notification attempt $attempt/$max_retries failed (exit $notify_exit), retrying in ${retry_delay}s..."
   236→            sleep $retry_delay
   237→            # Exponential backoff
   238→            retry_delay=$((retry_delay * 2))
   239→        else
   240→            local msg_truncate="${MESSAGE_TRUNCATE_LENGTH:-100}"
   241→            log_error "Notification failed after $max_retries attempts (exit $notify_exit): ${message:0:$msg_truncate}..."
   242→        fi
   243→
   244→        attempt=$((attempt + 1))
   245→    done
   246→
   247→    return 1  # Failed after all retries
   248→}
   249→
   250→# Check if any notification platform is configured
   251→notifications_enabled() {
   252→    [ -n "${RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ] || \
   253→    [ -n "${RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ] || \
   254→    ([ -n "${RALPH_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN:-}" ] && [ -n "${RALPH_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID:-}" ]) || \
   255→    [ -n "${RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT:-}" ]
   256→}
   257→
   258→usage() {
   259→    echo -e "${GREEN}PortableRalph${NC} v${VERSION} - Autonomous AI Development Loop"
   260→    echo ""
   261→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Usage:${NC}"
   262→    echo "  ralph <plan-file> [mode] [max-iterations]"
   263→    echo "  ralph update [--check|--list|<version>]"
   264→    echo "  ralph rollback"
   265→    echo "  ralph config <setting>"
   266→    echo "  ralph notify <setup|test>"
   267→    echo "  ralph --help | -h"
   268→    echo "  ralph --version | -v"
   269→    echo ""
   270→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Full path:${NC} ~/ralph/ralph.sh (alias: ralph)"
   271→    echo ""
   272→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Arguments:${NC}"
   273→    echo "  plan-file       Path to your plan/spec file (required)"
   274→    echo "  mode            'plan' or 'build' (default: build)"
   275→    echo "  max-iterations  Maximum loop iterations (default: unlimited)"
   276→    echo ""
   277→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Modes:${NC}"
   278→    echo "  plan   Analyze codebase, create task list (runs once, then exits)"
   279→    echo "  build  Implement tasks one at a time until RALPH_DONE"
   280→    echo ""
   281→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Examples:${NC}"
   282→    echo "  ralph ./feature.md              # Build until done"
   283→    echo "  ralph ./feature.md plan         # Plan only (creates task list, exits)"
   284→    echo "  ralph ./feature.md build 20     # Build, max 20 iterations"
   285→    echo ""
   286→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Exit Conditions:${NC}"
   287→    echo "  - Plan mode: Exits after 1 iteration when task list is created"
   288→    echo "  - Build mode: RALPH_DONE appears in <plan-name>_PROGRESS.md"
   289→    echo "  - Max iterations reached (if specified)"
   290→    echo "  - Ctrl+C"
   291→    echo ""
   292→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Progress File:${NC}"
   293→    echo "  Created as <plan-name>_PROGRESS.md in current directory"
   294→    echo "  This is the only artifact left in your repo"
   295→    echo ""
   296→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Updates:${NC}"
   297→    echo "  ralph update              Update to latest version"
   298→    echo "  ralph update --check      Check for updates without installing"
   299→    echo "  ralph update --list       List all available versions"
   300→    echo "  ralph update <version>    Install specific version (e.g., 1.4.0)"
   301→    echo "  ralph rollback            Rollback to previous version"
   302→    echo ""
   303→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Configuration:${NC}"
   304→    echo "  ralph config commit on      Enable auto-commit (default)"
   305→    echo "  ralph config commit off     Disable auto-commit"
   306→    echo "  ralph config commit status  Show current setting"
   307→    echo ""
   308→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Plan File Directives:${NC}"
   309→    echo "  Add DO_NOT_COMMIT on its own line to disable commits for that plan"
   310→    echo ""
   311→    echo -e "${YELLOW}Notifications (optional):${NC}"
   312→    echo "  Supports Slack, Discord, Telegram, and custom scripts"
   313→    echo "  ralph notify setup    Configure notification platforms"
   314→    echo "  ralph notify test     Send a test notification"
   315→    echo ""
   316→    echo "More info: https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph"
   317→    exit 0
   318→}
   319→
   320→version() {
   321→    echo "PortableRalph v${VERSION}"
   322→    exit 0
   323→}
   324→
   325→# Parse arguments
   326→if [ $# -lt 1 ]; then
   327→    usage
   328→fi
   329→
   330→# Handle help and version flags
   331→if [ "$1" = "--help" ] || [ "$1" = "-h" ] || [ "$1" = "help" ]; then
   332→    usage
   333→fi
   334→
   335→if [ "$1" = "--version" ] || [ "$1" = "-v" ]; then
   336→    version
   337→fi
   338→
   339→if [ "$1" = "--test-notify" ] || [ "$1" = "--test-notifications" ]; then
   340→    "$RALPH_DIR/notify.sh" --test
   341→    exit 0
   342→fi
   343→
   344→# Handle update subcommand
   345→if [ "$1" = "update" ]; then
   346→    exec "$RALPH_DIR/update.sh" "${@:2}"
   347→fi
   348→
   349→# Handle rollback subcommand
   350→if [ "$1" = "rollback" ]; then
   351→    exec "$RALPH_DIR/update.sh" --rollback
   352→fi
   353→
   354→# Handle notify subcommand
   355→if [ "$1" = "notify" ]; then
   356→    case "${2:-}" in
   357→        setup)
   358→            exec "$RALPH_DIR/setup-notifications.sh"
   359→            ;;
   360→        test)
   361→            exec "$RALPH_DIR/notify.sh" --test
   362→            ;;
   363→        "")
   364→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Usage:${NC} ralph notify <command>"
   365→            echo ""
   366→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Commands:${NC}"
   367→            echo "  setup    Configure Slack, Discord, Telegram, or custom notifications"
   368→            echo "  test     Send a test notification to all configured platforms"
   369→            exit 1
   370→            ;;
   371→        *)
   372→            echo -e "${RED}Unknown notify command: $2${NC}"
   373→            echo "Run 'ralph notify' for available commands."
   374→            exit 1
   375→            ;;
   376→    esac
   377→fi
   378→
   379→# Handle config subcommand
   380→if [ "$1" = "config" ]; then
   381→    CONFIG_FILE="$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE"
   382→
   383→    # Helper to set a config value (handles both export and non-export patterns)
   384→    set_config_value() {
   385→        local key="$1"
   386→        local value="$2"
   387→
   388→        # Security: Escape special characters in value for safe sed usage
   389→        # This prevents sed injection by escaping: / \ & newlines and special chars
   390→        local escaped_value
   391→        escaped_value=$(printf '%s\n' "$value" | sed -e 's/[\/&]/\\&/g' -e 's/$/\\/' | tr -d '\n' | sed 's/\\$//')
   392→
   393→        if [ -f "$CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
   394→            # Check if key exists (with or without export)
   395→            if grep -qE "^(export )?${key}=" "$CONFIG_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
   396→                # Update existing (handle both patterns)
   397→                # Use a temporary file for atomic operation
   398→                local temp_file
   399→                temp_file=$(mktemp) || {
   400→                    log_error "Failed to create temp file for config update"
   401→                    return 1
   402→                }
   403→                chmod 600 "$temp_file"
   404→                trap 'rm -f "$temp_file" 2>/dev/null' RETURN
   405→
   406→                # Process the file line by line to avoid sed injection
   407→                while IFS= read -r line || [ -n "$line" ]; do
   408→                    if [[ "$line" =~ ^export\ ${key}= ]] || [[ "$line" =~ ^${key}= ]]; then
   409→                        echo "export ${key}=\"${escaped_value}\""
   410→                    else
   411→                        echo "$line"
   412→                    fi
   413→                done < "$CONFIG_FILE" > "$temp_file"
   414→
   415→                mv "$temp_file" "$CONFIG_FILE"
   416→            else
   417→                # Append to existing file (preserve content)
   418→                echo "" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
   419→                echo "# Auto-commit setting" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
   420→                echo "export ${key}=\"${escaped_value}\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
   421→            fi
   422→        else
   423→            # Create new file
   424→            echo '# PortableRalph Configuration' > "$CONFIG_FILE"
   425→            echo "# Generated on $(date)" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
   426→            echo "" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
   427→            echo "export ${key}=\"${escaped_value}\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
   428→            chmod 600 "$CONFIG_FILE"
   429→        fi
   430→    }
   431→
   432→    case "${2:-}" in
   433→        commit)
   434→            case "${3:-}" in
   435→                on|true|yes|1)
   436→                    set_config_value "RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT" "true"
   437→                    echo -e "${GREEN}Auto-commit enabled${NC}"
   438→                    echo "Ralph will commit after each iteration."
   439→                    ;;
   440→                off|false|no|0)
   441→                    set_config_value "RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT" "false"
   442→                    echo -e "${YELLOW}Auto-commit disabled${NC}"
   443→                    echo "Ralph will NOT commit after each iteration."
   444→                    echo "You can also add DO_NOT_COMMIT on its own line in your plan file."
   445→                    ;;
   446→                status|"")
   447→                    echo -e "${YELLOW}Auto-commit setting:${NC}"
   448→                    if [ "$RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT" = "true" ]; then
   449→                        echo -e "  Current: ${GREEN}enabled${NC} (commits after each iteration)"
   450→                    else
   451→                        echo -e "  Current: ${YELLOW}disabled${NC} (no automatic commits)"
   452→                    fi
   453→                    echo ""
   454→                    echo -e "${YELLOW}Usage:${NC}"
   455→                    echo "  ralph config commit on     Enable auto-commit (default)"
   456→                    echo "  ralph config commit off    Disable auto-commit"
   457→                    echo ""
   458→                    echo -e "${YELLOW}Plan file override:${NC}"
   459→                    echo "  Add DO_NOT_COMMIT on its own line to disable commits for that plan"
   460→                    ;;
   461→                *)
   462→                    echo -e "${RED}Unknown option: $3${NC}"
   463→                    echo "Usage: ralph config commit <on|off|status>"
   464→                    exit 1
   465→                    ;;
   466→            esac
   467→            exit 0
   468→            ;;
   469→        "")
   470→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Usage:${NC} ralph config <setting>"
   471→            echo ""
   472→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Settings:${NC}"
   473→            echo "  commit <on|off|status>    Configure auto-commit behavior"
   474→            exit 1
   475→            ;;
   476→        *)
   477→            echo -e "${RED}Unknown config setting: $2${NC}"
   478→            echo "Run 'ralph config' for available settings."
   479→            exit 1
   480→            ;;
   481→    esac
   482→fi
   483→
   484→PLAN_FILE="$1"
   485→MODE="${2:-build}"
   486→MAX_ITERATIONS="${3:-${MAX_ITERATIONS_DEFAULT:-0}}"
   487→
   488→# Validate plan file path and existence
   489→if ! validate_file_path "$PLAN_FILE" "Plan file"; then
   490→    exit 1
   491→fi
   492→
   493→if [ ! -f "$PLAN_FILE" ]; then
   494→    log_error "Plan file not found: $PLAN_FILE"
   495→    exit 1
   496→fi
   497→
   498→# Validate mode
   499→if [ "$MODE" != "plan" ] && [ "$MODE" != "build" ]; then
   500→    log_error "Mode must be 'plan' or 'build', got: $MODE"
   501→    echo "Run 'ralph --help' for usage information."
   502→    exit 1
   503→fi
   504→
   505→# Validate max iterations
   506→if [ "$MAX_ITERATIONS" != "0" ]; then
   507→    max_iter_min="${MAX_ITERATIONS_MIN:-1}"
   508→    max_iter_max="${MAX_ITERATIONS_MAX:-10000}"
   509→    if ! validate_numeric "$MAX_ITERATIONS" "Max iterations" "$max_iter_min" "$max_iter_max"; then
   510→        exit 1
   511→    fi
   512→fi
   513→
   514→# Derive progress file name from plan file
   515→PLAN_BASENAME=$(basename "$PLAN_FILE" .md)
   516→PROGRESS_FILE="${PLAN_BASENAME}_PROGRESS.md"
   517→PLAN_FILE_ABS=$(realpath "$PLAN_FILE")
   518→
   519→# Select prompt template
   520→if [ "$MODE" = "plan" ]; then
   521→    PROMPT_TEMPLATE="$RALPH_DIR/PROMPT_plan.md"
   522→else
   523→    PROMPT_TEMPLATE="$RALPH_DIR/PROMPT_build.md"
   524→fi
   525→
   526→# Verify prompt template exists
   527→if [ ! -f "$PROMPT_TEMPLATE" ]; then
   528→    echo -e "${RED}Error: Prompt template not found: $PROMPT_TEMPLATE${NC}"
   529→    echo "Run the setup script or create the template manually."
   530→    exit 1
   531→fi
   532→
   533→# Compute commit setting (check env var and plan file)
   534→# DO_NOT_COMMIT in plan file takes precedence for that specific plan
   535→SHOULD_COMMIT="true"
   536→COMMIT_DISABLED_REASON=""
   537→if [ "$RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT" != "true" ]; then
   538→    SHOULD_COMMIT="false"
   539→    COMMIT_DISABLED_REASON="(disabled via config)"
   540→elif should_skip_commit_from_plan "$PLAN_FILE"; then
   541→    SHOULD_COMMIT="false"
   542→    COMMIT_DISABLED_REASON="(DO_NOT_COMMIT in plan)"
   543→fi
   544→
   545→# Print banner
   546→echo ""
   547→echo -e "${BLUE}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   548→echo -e "${GREEN}  RALPH - Autonomous AI Development Loop${NC}"
   549→echo -e "${BLUE}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   550→echo -e "  Plan:      ${YELLOW}$PLAN_FILE${NC}"
   551→echo -e "  Mode:      ${YELLOW}$MODE${NC}"
   552→echo -e "  Progress:  ${YELLOW}$PROGRESS_FILE${NC}"
   553→[ "$MAX_ITERATIONS" -gt 0 ] && echo -e "  Max Iter:  ${YELLOW}$MAX_ITERATIONS${NC}"
   554→echo -e "  Model:     ${YELLOW}$RALPH_MODEL${NC}"
   555→if [ "$SHOULD_COMMIT" = "true" ]; then
   556→    echo -e "  Commit:    ${GREEN}enabled${NC}"
   557→else
   558→    echo -e "  Commit:    ${YELLOW}disabled${NC} ${COMMIT_DISABLED_REASON}"
   559→fi
   560→if notifications_enabled; then
   561→    PLATFORMS=""
   562→    [ -n "${RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ] && PLATFORMS="${PLATFORMS}Slack "
   563→    [ -n "${RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ] && PLATFORMS="${PLATFORMS}Discord "
   564→    [ -n "${RALPH_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN:-}" ] && [ -n "${RALPH_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID:-}" ] && PLATFORMS="${PLATFORMS}Telegram "
   565→    [ -n "${RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT:-}" ] && PLATFORMS="${PLATFORMS}Custom "
   566→    echo -e "  Notify:    ${GREEN}${PLATFORMS}${NC}"
   567→else
   568→    echo -e "  Notify:    ${YELLOW}disabled${NC} (run 'ralph notify setup')"
   569→fi
   570→echo -e "${BLUE}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   571→echo ""
   572→echo -e "${YELLOW}Exit conditions:${NC}"
   573→if [ "$MODE" = "plan" ]; then
   574→    echo "  - Planning completes when task list is created (Status: IN_PROGRESS)"
   575→    echo "  - Plan mode runs once then exits automatically"
   576→else
   577→    echo "  - RALPH_DONE in $PROGRESS_FILE signals all tasks complete (set by AI)"
   578→fi
   579→echo "  - Press Ctrl+C to stop manually"
   580→echo ""
   581→
   582→# Send start notification to Slack
   583→REPO_NAME=$(basename "$(pwd)")
   584→notify ":rocket: *Ralph Started*\n\`\`\`Plan: $PLAN_BASENAME\nMode: $MODE\nRepo: $REPO_NAME\`\`\`" ":rocket:"
   585→
   586→# Initialize progress file if it doesn't exist
   587→if [ ! -f "$PROGRESS_FILE" ]; then
   588→    echo "# Progress: $PLAN_BASENAME" > "$PROGRESS_FILE"
   589→    echo "" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
   590→    echo "Started: $(date)" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
   591→    echo "" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
   592→    echo "## Status" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
   593→    echo "" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
   594→    echo "IN_PROGRESS" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
   595→    echo "" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
   596→    echo "## Tasks Completed" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
   597→    echo "" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
   598→fi
   599→
   600→ITERATION=0
   601→
   602→# Check for completion
   603→# Uses -x to match whole lines only, preventing false positives from
   604→# instructional text like "DO NOT set RALPH_DONE" in the progress file
   605→is_done() {
   606→    if [ -f "$PROGRESS_FILE" ]; then
   607→        grep -qx "RALPH_DONE" "$PROGRESS_FILE" 2>/dev/null && return 0
   608→    fi
   609→    return 1
   610→}
   611→
   612→# ============================================================================
   613→# CONCURRENCY PROTECTION (Fix for GitHub Issue #1)
   614→# ============================================================================
   615→# Prevent multiple Ralph instances from running on the same plan file
   616→# This fixes API Error 400 due to tool use race conditions
   617→
   618→# Generate lock file path based on plan file (unique per plan)
   619→PLAN_HASH=$(echo "$PLAN_FILE_ABS" | md5sum 2>/dev/null | cut -d' ' -f1 || echo "$PLAN_BASENAME")
   620→LOCK_FILE="${TEMP_DIR:-/tmp}/ralph_${PLAN_HASH}.lock"
   621→
   622→# Cleanup function for graceful exit
   623→cleanup_lock() {
   624→    if [ -n "${LOCK_FILE:-}" ]; then
   625→        release_lock "$LOCK_FILE" 2>/dev/null || true
   626→    fi
   627→}
   628→
   629→# Set up trap to release lock on exit (normal or error)
   630→trap cleanup_lock EXIT INT TERM
   631→
   632→# Acquire lock before starting the main loop
   633→if ! acquire_lock "$LOCK_FILE"; then
   634→    echo -e "${RED}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   635→    echo -e "${RED}  ERROR: Another Ralph instance is already running this plan${NC}"
   636→    echo -e "${RED}  Plan: $PLAN_FILE${NC}"
   637→    echo -e "${RED}  Lock: $LOCK_FILE${NC}"
   638→    echo -e "${RED}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   639→    echo ""
   640→    echo -e "${YELLOW}To force a new instance, remove the lock file:${NC}"
   641→    echo -e "  rm -f $LOCK_FILE"
   642→    exit 1
   643→fi
   644→
   645→echo -e "${GREEN}Lock acquired: $LOCK_FILE${NC}"
   646→
   647→# Main loop
   648→while true; do
   649→    # Check exit conditions
   650→    if is_done; then
   651→        echo ""
   652→        echo -e "${GREEN}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   653→        echo -e "${GREEN}  RALPH_DONE - Work complete!${NC}"
   654→        echo -e "${GREEN}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   655→        notify ":white_check_mark: *Ralph Complete!*\n\`\`\`Plan: $PLAN_BASENAME\nIterations: $ITERATION\nRepo: $REPO_NAME\`\`\`" ":white_check_mark:"
   656→        break
   657→    fi
   658→
   659→    if [ "$MAX_ITERATIONS" -gt 0 ] && [ "$ITERATION" -ge "$MAX_ITERATIONS" ]; then
   660→        echo ""
   661→        echo -e "${YELLOW}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   662→        echo -e "${YELLOW}  Max iterations reached: $MAX_ITERATIONS${NC}"
   663→        echo -e "${YELLOW}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   664→        notify ":warning: *Ralph Stopped*\n\`\`\`Plan: $PLAN_BASENAME\nReason: Max iterations reached ($MAX_ITERATIONS)\nRepo: $REPO_NAME\`\`\`" ":warning:"
   665→        break
   666→    fi
   667→
   668→    ITERATION=$((ITERATION + 1))
   669→    echo ""
   670→    echo -e "${BLUE}══════════════════ ITERATION $ITERATION ══════════════════${NC}"
   671→    echo ""
   672→
   673→    # Build the prompt with substitutions (safely escape for sed to prevent injection)
   674→    # Escape special sed characters: & \ / newlines
   675→    escape_sed() {
   676→        local str="$1"
   677→        # Escape backslashes first, then forward slashes, then ampersands
   678→        str="${str//\\/\\\\}"
   679→        str="${str//\//\\/}"
   680→        str="${str//&/\\&}"
   681→        printf '%s' "$str"
   682→    }
   683→
   684→    # Variables for sed escaping (not using local since we're in main loop, not a function)
   685→    safe_plan_file=$(escape_sed "$PLAN_FILE_ABS")
   686→    safe_progress_file=$(escape_sed "$PROGRESS_FILE")
   687→    safe_plan_name=$(escape_sed "$PLAN_BASENAME")
   688→    safe_should_commit=$(escape_sed "$SHOULD_COMMIT")
   689→
   690→    PROMPT=$(cat "$PROMPT_TEMPLATE" | \
   691→        sed "s|\${PLAN_FILE}|$safe_plan_file|g" | \
   692→        sed "s|\${PROGRESS_FILE}|$safe_progress_file|g" | \
   693→        sed "s|\${PLAN_NAME}|$safe_plan_name|g" | \
   694→        sed "s|\${AUTO_COMMIT}|$safe_should_commit|g")
   695→
   696→    # Run Claude with retry logic (configurable attempts with exponential backoff)
   697→    max_claude_retries="${CLAUDE_MAX_RETRIES:-3}"
   698→    claude_retry_delay="${CLAUDE_RETRY_DELAY:-5}"
   699→    claude_attempt=1
   700→    claude_success=false
   701→    claude_exit_code=0
   702→    claude_errors=""
   703→    error_detected=false
   704→    error_type="unknown"
   705→
   706→    while [ $claude_attempt -le $max_claude_retries ]; do
   707→        if [ $claude_attempt -gt 1 ]; then
   708→            echo -e "${YELLOW}Retrying Claude CLI (attempt $claude_attempt/$max_claude_retries) in ${claude_retry_delay}s...${NC}"
   709→            sleep $claude_retry_delay
   710→        fi
   711→
   712→        # Reset for this attempt
   713→        claude_exit_code=0
   714→        error_detected=false
   715→        error_type="unknown"
   716→        claude_output_file=$(mktemp) || {
   717→            log_error "Failed to create temp file for Claude output"
   718→            exit 1
   719→        }
   720→        claude_error_file=$(mktemp) || {
   721→            rm -f "$claude_output_file"
   722→            log_error "Failed to create temp file for Claude errors"
   723→            exit 1
   724→        }
   725→        chmod 600 "$claude_output_file" "$claude_error_file"
   726→
   727→        # Run Claude
   728→        echo "$PROMPT" | claude -p \
   729→            --dangerously-skip-permissions \
   730→            --model "$RALPH_MODEL" \
   731→            --verbose > "$claude_output_file" 2>"$claude_error_file" || claude_exit_code=$?
   732→
   733→        # Display output on first attempt or final retry
   734→        if [ $claude_attempt -eq 1 ] || [ $claude_attempt -eq $max_claude_retries ]; then
   735→            if [ -f "$claude_output_file" ]; then
   736→                cat "$claude_output_file"
   737→            fi
   738→        fi
   739→
   740→        # Capture any error output
   741→        claude_errors=""
   742→        if [ -f "$claude_error_file" ]; then
   743→            claude_errors=$(cat "$claude_error_file" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
   744→        fi
   745→
   746→        # Check for known error patterns even if exit code is 0
   747→        if [ $claude_exit_code -ne 0 ]; then
   748→            error_detected=true
   749→            case $claude_exit_code in
   750→                1)   error_type="general error" ;;
   751→                2)   error_type="CLI usage error" ;;
   752→                130) error_type="interrupted by user (Ctrl+C)" ;;
   753→                *)   error_type="exit code $claude_exit_code" ;;
   754→            esac
   755→        fi
   756→
   757→        # Check error output for known patterns
   758→        if [ -n "$claude_errors" ]; then
   759→            if echo "$claude_errors" | grep -qi "authentication\|unauthorized\|api.*key"; then
   760→                error_detected=true
   761→                error_type="authentication failure"
   762→            elif echo "$claude_errors" | grep -qi "rate.*limit\|too.*many.*requests"; then
   763→                error_detected=true
   764→                error_type="rate limit exceeded"
   765→            elif echo "$claude_errors" | grep -qi "network\|connection\|timeout"; then
   766→                error_detected=true
   767→                error_type="network error"
   768→            elif echo "$claude_errors" | grep -qi "not.*found\|command.*not.*found"; then
   769→                error_detected=true
   770→                error_type="Claude CLI not found or not in PATH"
   771→            # GitHub Issue #1: Detect API 400 errors from tool use concurrency
   772→            elif echo "$claude_errors" | grep -qi "400\|bad.*request\|tool.*use\|concurrency"; then
   773→                error_detected=true
   774→                error_type="API 400 error (tool use concurrency)"
   775→            fi
   776→        fi
   777→
   778→        # Clean up temp files
   779→        rm -f "$claude_output_file" "$claude_error_file"
   780→
   781→        # Check if we succeeded
   782→        if [ "$error_detected" = false ]; then
   783→            claude_success=true
   784→            break
   785→        fi
   786→
   787→        # Log the attempt error
   788→        log_error "Claude CLI error at iteration $ITERATION (attempt $claude_attempt/$max_claude_retries): $error_type"
   789→        if [ -n "$claude_errors" ]; then
   790→            err_truncate="${ERROR_DETAILS_TRUNCATE_LENGTH:-500}"
   791→            log_error "Error details: ${claude_errors:0:$err_truncate}"
   792→        fi
   793→
   794→        # For non-retryable errors, don't retry
   795→        if [[ "$error_type" =~ "authentication"|"CLI usage error"|"interrupted by user"|"not found" ]]; then
   796→            echo -e "${RED}Non-retryable error detected: $error_type${NC}"
   797→            break
   798→        fi
   799→
   800→        # Increment retry counter and increase backoff with jitter
   801→        claude_attempt=$((claude_attempt + 1))
   802→        if [ $claude_attempt -le $max_claude_retries ]; then
   803→            # Exponential backoff: 5s, 10s, 20s with random jitter (0-2s)
   804→            # Jitter prevents "thundering herd" when multiple instances retry simultaneously
   805→            # This is a key fix for GitHub Issue #1 (concurrency issues)
   806→            jitter=$((RANDOM % 3))
   807→            claude_retry_delay=$(( (claude_retry_delay * 2) + jitter ))
   808→        fi
   809→    done
   810→
   811→    # If all retries failed, stop iterations
   812→    if [ "$claude_success" = false ]; then
   813→        echo -e "${RED}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   814→        echo -e "${RED}  Claude CLI Error (after $claude_attempt attempts): $error_type${NC}"
   815→        echo -e "${RED}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   816→
   817→        # Check if this is a transient error that might benefit from manual retry
   818→        # API 400 (tool use concurrency) is now retryable with proper locking
   819→        if [[ "$error_type" =~ "rate limit"|"network"|"timeout"|"API 400" ]]; then
   820→            echo -e "${YELLOW}This appears to be a transient error.${NC}"
   821→            echo -e "${YELLOW}You may want to retry in a few minutes.${NC}"
   822→        fi
   823→
   824→        # Send error notification and log
   825→        log_error "Stopping Ralph due to Claude CLI failure at iteration $ITERATION after $claude_attempt attempts"
   826→        notify ":x: *Ralph Error*\n\`\`\`Plan: $PLAN_BASENAME\nIteration: $ITERATION\nError: $error_type (after $claude_attempt retries)\nRepo: $REPO_NAME\`\`\`" ":x:"
   827→        exit $claude_exit_code
   828→    fi
   829→
   830→    echo ""
   831→    echo -e "${GREEN}Iteration $ITERATION complete${NC}"
   832→
   833→    # Plan mode: exit after one iteration
   834→    if [ "$MODE" = "plan" ]; then
   835→        echo ""
   836→        echo -e "${GREEN}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   837→        echo -e "${GREEN}  Planning complete! Task list created in $PROGRESS_FILE${NC}"
   838→        echo -e "${GREEN}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
   839→        echo ""
   840→        echo -e "Next step: Run ${YELLOW}ralph $PLAN_FILE build${NC} to implement tasks"
   841→        notify ":clipboard: *Ralph Planning Complete!*\n\`\`\`Plan: $PLAN_BASENAME\nTask list created in: $PROGRESS_FILE\nRepo: $REPO_NAME\`\`\`" ":clipboard:"
   842→        break
   843→    fi
   844→
   845→    # Send iteration notification (configurable frequency via RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY)
   846→    notify_default="${NOTIFY_FREQUENCY_DEFAULT:-5}"
   847→    NOTIFY_FREQ="${RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY:-$notify_default}"
   848→    # Validate notification frequency
   849→    notify_min="${NOTIFY_FREQUENCY_MIN:-1}"
   850→    notify_max="${NOTIFY_FREQUENCY_MAX:-100}"
   851→    if ! validate_numeric "$NOTIFY_FREQ" "RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY" "$notify_min" "$notify_max"; then
   852→        NOTIFY_FREQ="$notify_default"
   853→        log_error "Invalid RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY, using default: $notify_default"
   854→    fi
   855→    if [ "$ITERATION" -eq 1 ] || [ $((ITERATION % NOTIFY_FREQ)) -eq 0 ]; then
   856→        notify ":gear: *Ralph Progress*: Iteration $ITERATION completed\n\`Plan: $PLAN_BASENAME\`" ":gear:"
   857→    fi
   858→
   859→    # Small delay between iterations
   860→    iter_delay="${ITERATION_DELAY:-2}"
   861→    sleep "$iter_delay"
   862→done
   863→
   864→echo ""
   865→echo "Total iterations: $ITERATION"
   866→echo "Progress file: $PROGRESS_FILE"
   867→
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

I don't see any `plan_PROGRESS.md` file in the repo. Let me look more broadly and check for lock files.

## Assistant

### Tool: Glob

**Args:**
```json
{
  "pattern": "**/*PROGRESS*"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/shadow_PROGRESS.md
/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/test_PROGRESS.md
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ls /tmp/ralph_*.lock 2>/dev/null; echo \"---\"; ls /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/*PROGRESS* 2>/dev/null; echo \"---\"; ls /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/*PROGRESS* 2>/dev/null",
  "description": "Check for Ralph lock files and progress files"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (error):
```
The user doesn't want to proceed with this tool use. The tool use was rejected (eg. if it was a file edit, the new_string was NOT written to the file). STOP what you are doing and wait for the user to tell you how to proceed.
```

## User

[Request interrupted by user for tool use]

## User

Look in ~/src/mage

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ls ~/src/mage/*PROGRESS* 2>/dev/null",
  "description": "Check for progress files in ~/src/mage"
}
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ls /tmp/ralph_*.lock 2>/dev/null",
  "description": "Check for Ralph lock files"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/plan_PROGRESS.md
```

## Assistant

**Result** (error):
```
Exit code 2
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Read

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/plan_PROGRESS.md"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
     1→# Progress: plan
     2→
     3→Started: Sun Feb 15 11:12:55 AM EST 2026
     4→
     5→## Status
     6→
     7→IN_PROGRESS
     8→
     9→## Task List
    10→
    11→### Critical Engine Features (High Priority)
    12→- [ ] Implement replacement effect pipeline for damage prevention and death replacement
    13→- [ ] Add planeswalker system with loyalty abilities and attack redirection
    14→- [ ] Complete spell/permanent copy system (spell copy on stack, enter-as-copy)
    15→- [ ] Implement Saga enchantments with lore counters and chapter abilities
    16→- [ ] Add cost modification system for cost reduction effects
    17→- [ ] Implement additional combat phases functionality
    18→
    19→### Set-Specific Mechanics
    20→- [ ] Implement Earthbend mechanic for TLA set (top-N selection, land to hand)
    21→- [ ] Implement Renew/Endure mechanics for TDM set (counter-based death replacement)
    22→
    23→### Custom Effect Cleanup
    24→- [ ] Replace generic ETB stubs with typed effects (~79 cards)
    25→- [ ] Replace generic activated ability stubs with typed effects (~67 cards)
    26→- [ ] Replace attack/combat trigger stubs with typed effects (~45 cards)
    27→- [ ] Replace cast/spell trigger stubs with typed effects (~47 cards)
    28→- [ ] Replace remaining conditional complex effects with typed variants
    29→
    30→### Testing & Validation
    31→- [ ] Add comprehensive tests for each new engine feature
    32→- [ ] Validate ECL set functionality with new engine features
    33→- [ ] Run regression tests to ensure no functionality breaks
    34→
    35→## Tasks Completed
    36→
    37→
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ps aux | grep -E 'ralph|claude' | grep -v grep",
  "description": "Check for running Ralph or Claude processes"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
jc        940763  0.0  0.0   8016  4096 pts/0    S+   11:31   0:00 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh plan.md plan
jc        940792  0.0  0.0   8016  2316 pts/0    S+   11:31   0:00 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh plan.md plan
jc        940793 99.9  0.0   9004  5116 pts/0    R+   11:31   2:16 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/notify.sh :rocket: *Ralph Started*\n```Plan: plan\nMode: plan\nRepo: mage``` :rocket:
jc        940936 26.1  1.4 74712368 467332 pts/3 Rl+  11:32   0:23 claude
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

Found the problem. Ralph **is** running (PID 940763), but it's stuck on `notify.sh` (PID 940793) which is consuming 99.9% CPU and has been spinning for over 2 minutes trying to send the startup notification. It never gets past the "Ralph Started" notify call, so Claude is never invoked for the plan.

Let me check what's wrong with notify.sh.

## Assistant

### Tool: Read

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/notify.sh"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
     1→#!/bin/bash
     2→# notify.sh - Multi-platform notifications for Ralph
     3→# Supports: Slack, Discord, Telegram, Email, and Custom scripts
     4→#
     5→# Configuration (via environment variables):
     6→#
     7→#   SLACK:
     8→#     RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL  - Slack incoming webhook URL
     9→#     RALPH_SLACK_CHANNEL      - Override default channel (optional)
    10→#     RALPH_SLACK_USERNAME     - Bot username (default: "Ralph")
    11→#     RALPH_SLACK_ICON_EMOJI   - Bot icon (default: ":robot_face:")
    12→#
    13→#   DISCORD:
    14→#     RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL - Discord webhook URL
    15→#     RALPH_DISCORD_USERNAME    - Bot username (default: "Ralph")
    16→#     RALPH_DISCORD_AVATAR_URL  - Bot avatar URL (optional)
    17→#
    18→#   TELEGRAM:
    19→#     RALPH_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN - Telegram bot token (from @BotFather)
    20→#     RALPH_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID   - Chat/group/channel ID to send to
    21→#
    22→#   EMAIL:
    23→#     RALPH_EMAIL_TO           - Recipient email address(es) (comma-separated)
    24→#     RALPH_EMAIL_FROM         - Sender email address
    25→#     RALPH_EMAIL_SUBJECT      - Email subject prefix (default: "Ralph Notification")
    26→#
    27→#     SMTP Configuration (Traditional):
    28→#     RALPH_SMTP_HOST          - SMTP server hostname
    29→#     RALPH_SMTP_PORT          - SMTP server port (default: 587)
    30→#     RALPH_SMTP_USER          - SMTP username
    31→#     RALPH_SMTP_PASSWORD      - SMTP password
    32→#     RALPH_SMTP_TLS           - Use TLS (true/false, default: true)
    33→#
    34→#     SendGrid API (Alternative to SMTP):
    35→#     RALPH_SENDGRID_API_KEY   - SendGrid API key
    36→#
    37→#     AWS SES (Alternative to SMTP):
    38→#     RALPH_AWS_SES_REGION     - AWS region (e.g., us-east-1)
    39→#     RALPH_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID  - AWS access key
    40→#     RALPH_AWS_SECRET_KEY     - AWS secret key
    41→#
    42→#     Email Options:
    43→#     RALPH_EMAIL_HTML         - Send HTML emails (true/false, default: true)
    44→#     RALPH_EMAIL_BATCH_DELAY  - Seconds to wait before sending batched emails (default: 300)
    45→#     RALPH_EMAIL_BATCH_MAX    - Maximum notifications per batch (default: 10)
    46→#
    47→#   CUSTOM:
    48→#     RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT - Path to custom notification script
    49→#                                  Script receives message as $1
    50→#                                  Use this for proprietary integrations
    51→#                                  (database bridges, internal APIs, etc.)
    52→#
    53→#   BEHAVIOR:
    54→#     RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY     - How often to send progress notifications
    55→#                                  5 = every 5th iteration (default)
    56→#                                  1 = every iteration
    57→#
    58→# Usage:
    59→#   ./notify.sh "Your message here"
    60→#   ./notify.sh --test              # Send test notification to all configured platforms
    61→#
    62→# Messages are sent to ALL configured platforms. If none are configured, exits silently.
    63→
    64→set -euo pipefail
    65→
    66→RALPH_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
    67→
    68→# Load constants
    69→if [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/lib/constants.sh" ]; then
    70→    source "$RALPH_DIR/lib/constants.sh"
    71→fi
    72→
    73→# Load platform utilities for cross-platform support
    74→if [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/lib/platform-utils.sh" ]; then
    75→    source "$RALPH_DIR/lib/platform-utils.sh"
    76→fi
    77→
    78→# Load and decrypt environment variables
    79→if [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/decrypt-env.sh" ]; then
    80→    source "$RALPH_DIR/decrypt-env.sh"
    81→    # Call decrypt_ralph_env directly to allow variable updates
    82→    # Don't pipe the output which would run in a subshell
    83→    if ! decrypt_ralph_env; then
    84→        # Only show warning in test mode, otherwise notifications might spam
    85→        if [ "${1:-}" = "--test" ]; then
    86→            echo "Warning: Failed to decrypt some environment variables" >&2
    87→            echo "Some notification platforms may not work" >&2
    88→        fi
    89→    fi
    90→fi
    91→
    92→# ============================================
    93→# SECURITY FUNCTIONS
    94→# ============================================
    95→
    96→# Source shared validation library
    97→source "${RALPH_DIR}/lib/validation.sh"
    98→
    99→# All validation functions are now loaded from lib/validation.sh:
   100→# - json_escape()
   101→# - mask_token()
   102→# - validate_webhook_url() / validate_url()
   103→# - validate_email()
   104→# - validate_numeric()
   105→# - validate_path()
   106→
   107→# Rate limiting: track notification timestamps (use platform-appropriate temp dir)
   108→if command -v get_temp_dir &>/dev/null; then
   109→    TEMP_DIR=$(get_temp_dir)
   110→else
   111→    TEMP_DIR="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"
   112→fi
   113→RATE_LIMIT_FILE="${TEMP_DIR}/ralph_notify_rate_limit_$$"
   114→# Use RATE_LIMIT_MAX from constants.sh if available, otherwise default to 60
   115→# Note: Don't reassign if already readonly from constants.sh
   116→if [ -z "${RATE_LIMIT_MAX:-}" ]; then
   117→    RATE_LIMIT_MAX=60  # Max notifications per minute
   118→fi
   119→
   120→check_rate_limit() {
   121→    local now
   122→    now=$(date +%s)
   123→    local rate_window="${RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW:-60}"
   124→
   125→    # Clean up old entries (older than rate limit window)
   126→    if [ -f "$RATE_LIMIT_FILE" ]; then
   127→        if awk -v cutoff="$((now - rate_window))" '$1 > cutoff' "$RATE_LIMIT_FILE" > "${RATE_LIMIT_FILE}.tmp" 2>/dev/null; then
   128→            if ! mv "${RATE_LIMIT_FILE}.tmp" "$RATE_LIMIT_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
   129→                # If mv fails, cleanup temp file
   130→                rm -f "${RATE_LIMIT_FILE}.tmp" 2>/dev/null
   131→            fi
   132→        else
   133→            # If awk fails, remove temp file if it exists
   134→            rm -f "${RATE_LIMIT_FILE}.tmp" 2>/dev/null
   135→        fi
   136→    fi
   137→
   138→    # Count recent notifications
   139→    local count=0
   140→    if [ -f "$RATE_LIMIT_FILE" ]; then
   141→        count=$(wc -l < "$RATE_LIMIT_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
   142→    fi
   143→
   144→    if [ "$count" -ge "$RATE_LIMIT_MAX" ]; then
   145→        return 1  # Rate limit exceeded
   146→    fi
   147→
   148→    # Record this notification (if we can't write, rate limiting is disabled)
   149→    if ! echo "$now" >> "$RATE_LIMIT_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
   150→        # If we can't write to rate limit file, continue anyway
   151→        # This prevents notification failures due to file system issues
   152→        return 0
   153→    fi
   154→    return 0
   155→}
   156→
   157→# Check for test mode
   158→if [ "${1:-}" = "--test" ]; then
   159→    TEST_MODE=true
   160→    MESSAGE="Test notification from Ralph"
   161→else
   162→    TEST_MODE=false
   163→    MESSAGE="${1:-}"
   164→fi
   165→
   166→# Exit if no message provided
   167→if [ -z "$MESSAGE" ]; then
   168→    exit 0
   169→fi
   170→
   171→# Convert literal \n to actual newlines
   172→MESSAGE=$(printf '%b' "$MESSAGE")
   173→
   174→# Track if any notification was sent
   175→SENT_ANY=false
   176→
   177→# ============================================
   178→# SLACK
   179→# ============================================
   180→send_slack() {
   181→    local msg="$1"
   182→
   183→    if [ -z "${RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ]; then
   184→        return 0
   185→    fi
   186→
   187→    # Validate webhook URL
   188→    if ! validate_webhook_url "$RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL"; then
   189→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Slack: FAILED (invalid webhook URL)"
   190→        return 1
   191→    fi
   192→
   193→    local username="${RALPH_SLACK_USERNAME:-Ralph}"
   194→    local icon_emoji="${RALPH_SLACK_ICON_EMOJI:-:robot_face:}"
   195→    local channel="${RALPH_SLACK_CHANNEL:-}"
   196→
   197→    local payload
   198→    if command -v jq &> /dev/null; then
   199→        payload=$(jq -n \
   200→            --arg text "$msg" \
   201→            --arg username "$username" \
   202→            --arg icon_emoji "$icon_emoji" \
   203→            --arg channel "$channel" \
   204→            '{
   205→                text: $text,
   206→                username: $username,
   207→                icon_emoji: $icon_emoji
   208→            } + (if $channel != "" then {channel: $channel} else {} end)')
   209→    else
   210→        # Use safe JSON escaping function (no sed)
   211→        local escaped_msg
   212→        local escaped_username
   213→        local escaped_icon
   214→        local escaped_channel
   215→        escaped_msg=$(json_escape "$msg")
   216→        escaped_username=$(json_escape "$username")
   217→        escaped_icon=$(json_escape "$icon_emoji")
   218→        escaped_channel=$(json_escape "$channel")
   219→
   220→        if [ -n "$channel" ]; then
   221→            payload="{\"text\":\"$escaped_msg\",\"username\":\"$escaped_username\",\"icon_emoji\":\"$escaped_icon\",\"channel\":\"$escaped_channel\"}"
   222→        else
   223→            payload="{\"text\":\"$escaped_msg\",\"username\":\"$escaped_username\",\"icon_emoji\":\"$escaped_icon\"}"
   224→        fi
   225→    fi
   226→
   227→    # Send with timeout and error handling
   228→    local http_code
   229→    local max_time="${HTTP_MAX_TIME:-10}"
   230→    local connect_timeout="${HTTP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT:-5}"
   231→    http_code=$(curl -s -w "%{http_code}" -o /dev/null \
   232→        -X POST \
   233→        -H 'Content-type: application/json' \
   234→        --max-time "$max_time" \
   235→        --connect-timeout "$connect_timeout" \
   236→        --data "$payload" \
   237→        "$RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL" 2>&1)
   238→    local curl_exit=$?
   239→
   240→    local success_min="${HTTP_STATUS_SUCCESS_MIN:-200}"
   241→    local success_max="${HTTP_STATUS_SUCCESS_MAX:-300}"
   242→    if [ $curl_exit -eq 0 ] && [ "$http_code" -ge "$success_min" ] && [ "$http_code" -lt "$success_max" ]; then
   243→        SENT_ANY=true
   244→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Slack: sent"
   245→        return 0
   246→    else
   247→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Slack: FAILED (HTTP $http_code, exit $curl_exit)"
   248→        return 1
   249→    fi
   250→}
   251→
   252→# ============================================
   253→# DISCORD
   254→# ============================================
   255→send_discord() {
   256→    local msg="$1"
   257→
   258→    if [ -z "${RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ]; then
   259→        return 0
   260→    fi
   261→
   262→    # Validate webhook URL
   263→    if ! validate_webhook_url "$RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL"; then
   264→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Discord: FAILED (invalid webhook URL)"
   265→        return 1
   266→    fi
   267→
   268→    local username="${RALPH_DISCORD_USERNAME:-Ralph}"
   269→    local avatar_url="${RALPH_DISCORD_AVATAR_URL:-}"
   270→
   271→    # Convert Slack-style formatting to Discord markdown safely
   272→    # Avoid sed for user input - use bash substitution
   273→    local discord_msg="$msg"
   274→    # Replace *text* with **text** for Discord bold
   275→    while [[ "$discord_msg" =~ \*([^*]+)\* ]]; do
   276→        discord_msg="${discord_msg/\*${BASH_REMATCH[1]}\*/**${BASH_REMATCH[1]}**}"
   277→    done
   278→
   279→    local payload
   280→    if command -v jq &> /dev/null; then
   281→        payload=$(jq -n \
   282→            --arg content "$discord_msg" \
   283→            --arg username "$username" \
   284→            --arg avatar_url "$avatar_url" \
   285→            '{
   286→                content: $content,
   287→                username: $username
   288→            } + (if $avatar_url != "" then {avatar_url: $avatar_url} else {} end)')
   289→    else
   290→        # Use safe JSON escaping function
   291→        local escaped_msg
   292→        local escaped_username
   293→        local escaped_avatar
   294→        escaped_msg=$(json_escape "$discord_msg")
   295→        escaped_username=$(json_escape "$username")
   296→        escaped_avatar=$(json_escape "$avatar_url")
   297→
   298→        if [ -n "$avatar_url" ]; then
   299→            payload="{\"content\":\"$escaped_msg\",\"username\":\"$escaped_username\",\"avatar_url\":\"$escaped_avatar\"}"
   300→        else
   301→            payload="{\"content\":\"$escaped_msg\",\"username\":\"$escaped_username\"}"
   302→        fi
   303→    fi
   304→
   305→    # Send with timeout and error handling
   306→    local http_code
   307→    local max_time="${HTTP_MAX_TIME:-10}"
   308→    local connect_timeout="${HTTP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT:-5}"
   309→    http_code=$(curl -s -w "%{http_code}" -o /dev/null \
   310→        -X POST \
   311→        -H 'Content-type: application/json' \
   312→        --max-time "$max_time" \
   313→        --connect-timeout "$connect_timeout" \
   314→        --data "$payload" \
   315→        "$RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL" 2>&1)
   316→    local curl_exit=$?
   317→
   318→    local success_min="${HTTP_STATUS_SUCCESS_MIN:-200}"
   319→    local success_max="${HTTP_STATUS_SUCCESS_MAX:-300}"
   320→    if [ $curl_exit -eq 0 ] && [ "$http_code" -ge "$success_min" ] && [ "$http_code" -lt "$success_max" ]; then
   321→        SENT_ANY=true
   322→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Discord: sent"
   323→        return 0
   324→    else
   325→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Discord: FAILED (HTTP $http_code, exit $curl_exit)"
   326→        return 1
   327→    fi
   328→}
   329→
   330→# ============================================
   331→# TELEGRAM
   332→# ============================================
   333→send_telegram() {
   334→    local msg="$1"
   335→
   336→    if [ -z "${RALPH_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN:-}" ] || [ -z "${RALPH_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID:-}" ]; then
   337→        return 0
   338→    fi
   339→
   340→    # Convert Slack-style emoji codes to Unicode (avoid sed on user input)
   341→    local telegram_msg="$msg"
   342→    telegram_msg="${telegram_msg//:rocket:/🚀}"
   343→    telegram_msg="${telegram_msg//:white_check_mark:/✅}"
   344→    telegram_msg="${telegram_msg//:warning:/⚠️}"
   345→    telegram_msg="${telegram_msg//:gear:/⚙️}"
   346→    telegram_msg="${telegram_msg//:robot_face:/🤖}"
   347→    telegram_msg="${telegram_msg//:x:/❌}"
   348→    telegram_msg="${telegram_msg//:clipboard:/📋}"
   349→
   350→    # Escape special characters for Telegram MarkdownV2 using bash
   351→    # Characters that need escaping: _ * [ ] ( ) ~ ` > # + - = | { } . !
   352→    # Keep * for bold, escape others
   353→    local escaped_msg="$telegram_msg"
   354→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//\\/\\\\}"
   355→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//./\\.}"
   356→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//!/\\!}"
   357→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//-/\\-}"
   358→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//=/\\=}"
   359→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//|/\\|}"
   360→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//\{/\\{}"
   361→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//\}/\\}}"
   362→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//(/\\(}"
   363→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//)/\\)}"
   364→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//\[/\\[}"
   365→    escaped_msg="${escaped_msg//\]/\\]}"
   366→
   367→    # Construct API URL with masked token for logs
   368→    local api_url="https://api.telegram.org/bot${RALPH_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}/sendMessage"
   369→    local masked_url="https://api.telegram.org/bot$(mask_token "$RALPH_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN")/sendMessage"
   370→
   371→    local payload
   372→    if command -v jq &> /dev/null; then
   373→        payload=$(jq -n \
   374→            --arg chat_id "$RALPH_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID" \
   375→            --arg text "$escaped_msg" \
   376→            '{
   377→                chat_id: $chat_id,
   378→                text: $text,
   379→                parse_mode: "MarkdownV2"
   380→            }')
   381→    else
   382→        # Use safe JSON escaping function
   383→        local json_escaped_msg
   384→        local json_escaped_chat
   385→        json_escaped_msg=$(json_escape "$escaped_msg")
   386→        json_escaped_chat=$(json_escape "$RALPH_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID")
   387→        payload="{\"chat_id\":\"$json_escaped_chat\",\"text\":\"$json_escaped_msg\",\"parse_mode\":\"MarkdownV2\"}"
   388→    fi
   389→
   390→    # Send with timeout and error handling (never log actual token)
   391→    local http_code
   392→    local error_output
   393→    local max_time="${HTTP_MAX_TIME:-10}"
   394→    local connect_timeout="${HTTP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT:-5}"
   395→    error_output=$(mktemp) || {
   396→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Telegram: FAILED (temp file creation failed)"
   397→        return 1
   398→    }
   399→    trap 'rm -f "$error_output" 2>/dev/null' RETURN
   400→
   401→    http_code=$(curl -s -w "%{http_code}" -o /dev/null \
   402→        -X POST \
   403→        -H 'Content-type: application/json' \
   404→        --max-time "$max_time" \
   405→        --connect-timeout "$connect_timeout" \
   406→        --data "$payload" \
   407→        "$api_url" 2>"$error_output")
   408→    local curl_exit=$?
   409→
   410→    # Clean up temp file
   411→    rm -f "$error_output"
   412→
   413→    local success_min="${HTTP_STATUS_SUCCESS_MIN:-200}"
   414→    local success_max="${HTTP_STATUS_SUCCESS_MAX:-300}"
   415→    if [ $curl_exit -eq 0 ] && [ "$http_code" -ge "$success_min" ] && [ "$http_code" -lt "$success_max" ]; then
   416→        SENT_ANY=true
   417→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Telegram: sent"
   418→        return 0
   419→    else
   420→        # Never expose the actual token in error messages
   421→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Telegram: FAILED (HTTP $http_code, exit $curl_exit, URL: $masked_url)"
   422→        return 1
   423→    fi
   424→}
   425→
   426→# ============================================
   427→# EMAIL
   428→# ============================================
   429→# Supports three delivery methods:
   430→#   1. SMTP (traditional mail servers)
   431→#   2. SendGrid API (cloud service)
   432→#   3. AWS SES (Amazon Simple Email Service)
   433→#
   434→# Features:
   435→#   - HTML and plain text emails
   436→#   - Event batching to reduce spam
   437→#   - Multiple recipients
   438→#   - Template-based formatting
   439→
   440→# Email batching state (use platform-appropriate temp dir)
   441→EMAIL_BATCH_DIR="${TEMP_DIR}/ralph_email_batch"
   442→EMAIL_BATCH_FILE="$EMAIL_BATCH_DIR/pending.txt"
   443→EMAIL_BATCH_LOCK="$EMAIL_BATCH_DIR/batch.lock"
   444→
   445→# Initialize email batch directory
   446→init_email_batch() {
   447→    mkdir -p "$EMAIL_BATCH_DIR"
   448→    chmod 700 "$EMAIL_BATCH_DIR"
   449→}
   450→
   451→# Check if we should batch this notification
   452→should_batch_email() {
   453→    local batch_delay="${RALPH_EMAIL_BATCH_DELAY:-${EMAIL_BATCH_DELAY_DEFAULT:-300}}"
   454→
   455→    # Batching disabled if delay is 0
   456→    if [ "$batch_delay" -eq 0 ]; then
   457→        return 1  # Don't batch
   458→    fi
   459→
   460→    # Check if this is a high-priority message (errors, warnings)
   461→    if echo "$1" | grep -qiE "(error|failed|critical|warning)"; then
   462→        return 1  # Don't batch critical messages
   463→    fi
   464→
   465→    return 0  # Batch this message
   466→}
   467→
   468→# Add message to batch queue
   469→add_to_batch() {
   470→    local msg="$1"
   471→    local timestamp
   472→    timestamp=$(date +%s)
   473→
   474→    init_email_batch
   475→
   476→    # Acquire lock
   477→    local lock_acquired=false
   478→    local lock_retries="${EMAIL_BATCH_LOCK_RETRIES:-10}"
   479→    local lock_delay="${EMAIL_BATCH_LOCK_DELAY:-0.1}"
   480→    for i in $(seq 1 "$lock_retries"); do
   481→        if mkdir "$EMAIL_BATCH_LOCK" 2>/dev/null; then
   482→            lock_acquired=true
   483→            break
   484→        fi
   485→        sleep "$lock_delay"
   486→    done
   487→
   488→    if [ "$lock_acquired" = false ]; then
   489→        return 1
   490→    fi
   491→
   492→    # Add to batch file
   493→    if ! echo "${timestamp}|${msg}" >> "$EMAIL_BATCH_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
   494→        # Release lock before returning
   495→        rmdir "$EMAIL_BATCH_LOCK" 2>/dev/null
   496→        return 1
   497→    fi
   498→
   499→    # Release lock
   500→    if ! rmdir "$EMAIL_BATCH_LOCK" 2>/dev/null; then
   501→        # Lock directory removal failed, but message was added
   502→        # This is not critical, the lock will be handled on next attempt
   503→        :
   504→    fi
   505→
   506→    # Check if we should send now
   507→    check_and_send_batch
   508→}
   509→
   510→# Check if batch should be sent
   511→check_and_send_batch() {
   512→    local batch_delay="${RALPH_EMAIL_BATCH_DELAY:-${EMAIL_BATCH_DELAY_DEFAULT:-300}}"
   513→    local batch_max="${RALPH_EMAIL_BATCH_MAX:-${EMAIL_BATCH_MAX_DEFAULT:-10}}"
   514→    local now
   515→    now=$(date +%s)
   516→
   517→    if [ ! -f "$EMAIL_BATCH_FILE" ]; then
   518→        return 0
   519→    fi
   520→
   521→    local count
   522→    count=$(wc -l < "$EMAIL_BATCH_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
   523→
   524→    if [ "$count" -eq 0 ]; then
   525→        return 0
   526→    fi
   527→
   528→    # Get oldest message timestamp
   529→    local oldest
   530→    oldest=$(head -n1 "$EMAIL_BATCH_FILE" | cut -d'|' -f1)
   531→
   532→    local age=$((now - oldest))
   533→
   534→    # Send if batch is old enough OR full enough
   535→    if [ "$age" -ge "$batch_delay" ] || [ "$count" -ge "$batch_max" ]; then
   536→        send_batched_email
   537→    fi
   538→}
   539→
   540→# Send batched emails
   541→send_batched_email() {
   542→    if [ ! -f "$EMAIL_BATCH_FILE" ]; then
   543→        return 0
   544→    fi
   545→
   546→    # Acquire lock
   547→    if ! mkdir "$EMAIL_BATCH_LOCK" 2>/dev/null; then
   548→        return 1
   549→    fi
   550→
   551→    # Read and clear batch file
   552→    local batch_content
   553→    if ! batch_content=$(cat "$EMAIL_BATCH_FILE" 2>/dev/null); then
   554→        # Failed to read batch file
   555→        rmdir "$EMAIL_BATCH_LOCK" 2>/dev/null
   556→        return 1
   557→    fi
   558→
   559→    if ! : > "$EMAIL_BATCH_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
   560→        # Failed to clear batch file, but we have the content
   561→        # Continue processing, file will be cleared next time
   562→        :
   563→    fi
   564→
   565→    # Release lock
   566→    if ! rmdir "$EMAIL_BATCH_LOCK" 2>/dev/null; then
   567→        # Lock removal failed, but we have the batch content
   568→        # This is not critical, continue processing
   569→        :
   570→    fi
   571→
   572→    if [ -z "$batch_content" ]; then
   573→        return 0
   574→    fi
   575→
   576→    # Format batched messages
   577→    local batch_count
   578→    batch_count=$(echo "$batch_content" | wc -l)
   579→
   580→    local batched_msgs=""
   581→    while IFS='|' read -r timestamp msg; do
   582→        local msg_time
   583→        msg_time=$(date -d "@$timestamp" "+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S" 2>/dev/null || date -r "$timestamp" "+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S" 2>/dev/null || echo "$timestamp")
   584→        batched_msgs="${batched_msgs}[${msg_time}] ${msg}\n\n"
   585→    done <<< "$batch_content"
   586→
   587→    # Send as a single email with batched content
   588→    local combined_msg="Batched notifications (${batch_count} messages):\n\n${batched_msgs}"
   589→    send_email_direct "$combined_msg" "info" "$batch_count"
   590→}
   591→
   592→# Escape HTML special characters to prevent XSS
   593→html_escape() {
   594→    local str="$1"
   595→    str="${str//&/&amp;}"
   596→    str="${str//</&lt;}"
   597→    str="${str//>/&gt;}"
   598→    str="${str//\"/&quot;}"
   599→    str="${str//\'/&#x27;}"
   600→    printf '%s' "$str"
   601→}
   602→
   603→# Remove template sections without using sed
   604→remove_template_section() {
   605→    local content="$1"
   606→    local start_tag="$2"
   607→    local end_tag="$3"
   608→
   609→    # Use bash pattern matching to remove sections
   610→    while [[ "$content" =~ (.*)"$start_tag"[^}]*"$end_tag"(.*) ]]; do
   611→        content="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"
   612→    done
   613→
   614→    printf '%s' "$content"
   615→}
   616→
   617→# Render email template
   618→render_email_template() {
   619→    local template_file="$1"
   620→    local message="$2"
   621→    local type="${3:-info}"
   622→    local batch_count="${4:-0}"
   623→
   624→    local timestamp
   625→    timestamp=$(date "+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %Z")
   626→
   627→    local hostname
   628→    hostname=$(hostname)
   629→
   630→    local project="${RALPH_PROJECT_NAME:-}"
   631→
   632→    # Determine type label
   633→    local type_label="Information"
   634→    case "$type" in
   635→        success) type_label="Success" ;;
   636→        warning) type_label="Warning" ;;
   637→        error) type_label="Error" ;;
   638→        progress) type_label="Progress Update" ;;
   639→    esac
   640→
   641→    # Read template
   642→    local content
   643→    content=$(cat "$template_file")
   644→
   645→    # Escape message for HTML if template is HTML
   646→    local escaped_message="$message"
   647→    if [[ "$template_file" == *.html ]]; then
   648→        escaped_message=$(html_escape "$message")
   649→    fi
   650→
   651→    # Replace variables using bash substitution (no sed)
   652→    content="${content//\{\{MESSAGE\}\}/$escaped_message}"
   653→    content="${content//\{\{TYPE\}\}/$type}"
   654→    content="${content//\{\{TYPE_LABEL\}\}/$type_label}"
   655→    content="${content//\{\{TIMESTAMP\}\}/$timestamp}"
   656→    content="${content//\{\{HOSTNAME\}\}/$hostname}"
   657→    content="${content//\{\{PROJECT\}\}/$project}"
   658→    content="${content//\{\{BATCH_COUNT\}\}/$batch_count}"
   659→
   660→    # Handle conditional sections without sed
   661→    if [ -n "$project" ]; then
   662→        content="${content//\{\{#HAS_PROJECT\}\}/}"
   663→        content="${content//\{\{\/HAS_PROJECT\}\}/}"
   664→    else
   665→        # Remove project sections using bash pattern matching
   666→        content=$(remove_template_section "$content" "{{#HAS_PROJECT}}" "{{/HAS_PROJECT}}")
   667→    fi
   668→
   669→    if [ "$batch_count" -gt 0 ]; then
   670→        content="${content//\{\{#HAS_BATCHED\}\}/}"
   671→        content="${content//\{\{\/HAS_BATCHED\}\}/}"
   672→    else
   673→        # Remove batched sections using bash pattern matching
   674→        content=$(remove_template_section "$content" "{{#HAS_BATCHED}}" "{{/HAS_BATCHED}}")
   675→    fi
   676→
   677→    echo "$content"
   678→}
   679→
   680→# Send email via SMTP
   681→send_email_smtp() {
   682→    local to="$1"
   683→    local subject="$2"
   684→    local body="$3"
   685→    local is_html="${4:-false}"
   686→
   687→    local smtp_host="${RALPH_SMTP_HOST}"
   688→    local smtp_port="${RALPH_SMTP_PORT:-587}"
   689→    local smtp_user="${RALPH_SMTP_USER}"
   690→    local smtp_pass="${RALPH_SMTP_PASSWORD}"
   691→    local smtp_tls="${RALPH_SMTP_TLS:-true}"
   692→    local from="${RALPH_EMAIL_FROM}"
   693→
   694→    # Check if we have required SMTP credentials
   695→    if [ -z "$smtp_host" ] || [ -z "$smtp_user" ] || [ -z "$smtp_pass" ]; then
   696→        return 1
   697→    fi
   698→
   699→    # Create email message
   700→    local content_type="text/plain; charset=UTF-8"
   701→    if [ "$is_html" = true ]; then
   702→        content_type="text/html; charset=UTF-8"
   703→    fi
   704→
   705→    local email_file
   706→    email_file=$(mktemp) || {
   707→        return 1
   708→    }
   709→    chmod 600 "$email_file"
   710→    trap 'rm -f "$email_file" 2>/dev/null' RETURN
   711→
   712→    cat > "$email_file" << EOF
   713→From: $from
   714→To: $to
   715→Subject: $subject
   716→MIME-Version: 1.0
   717→Content-Type: $content_type
   718→
   719→$body
   720→EOF
   721→
   722→    # Send using curl with SMTP
   723→    local smtp_url="smtp://${smtp_host}:${smtp_port}"
   724→    local smtp_opts=""
   725→
   726→    if [ "$smtp_tls" = true ]; then
   727→        smtp_opts="--ssl-reqd"
   728→    fi
   729→
   730→    local result=0
   731→    local smtp_timeout="${HTTP_SMTP_TIMEOUT:-30}"
   732→    curl -s --url "$smtp_url" \
   733→        $smtp_opts \
   734→        --mail-from "$from" \
   735→        --mail-rcpt "$to" \
   736→        --user "${smtp_user}:${smtp_pass}" \
   737→        --upload-file "$email_file" \
   738→        --max-time "$smtp_timeout" 2>&1 > /dev/null || result=$?
   739→
   740→    rm -f "$email_file"
   741→    return $result
   742→}
   743→
   744→# Send email via SendGrid API
   745→send_email_sendgrid() {
   746→    local to="$1"
   747→    local subject="$2"
   748→    local body="$3"
   749→    local is_html="${4:-false}"
   750→
   751→    local api_key="${RALPH_SENDGRID_API_KEY}"
   752→    local from="${RALPH_EMAIL_FROM}"
   753→
   754→    if [ -z "$api_key" ]; then
   755→        return 1
   756→    fi
   757→
   758→    # Build JSON payload
   759→    local content_type="text/plain"
   760→    if [ "$is_html" = true ]; then
   761→        content_type="text/html"
   762→    fi
   763→
   764→    local payload
   765→    if command -v jq &> /dev/null; then
   766→        payload=$(jq -n \
   767→            --arg from "$from" \
   768→            --arg to "$to" \
   769→            --arg subject "$subject" \
   770→            --arg body "$body" \
   771→            --arg content_type "$content_type" \
   772→            '{
   773→                personalizations: [{to: [{email: $to}]}],
   774→                from: {email: $from},
   775→                subject: $subject,
   776→                content: [{type: $content_type, value: $body}]
   777→            }')
   778→    else
   779→        local escaped_body
   780→        escaped_body=$(json_escape "$body")
   781→        local escaped_subject
   782→        escaped_subject=$(json_escape "$subject")
   783→        payload="{\"personalizations\":[{\"to\":[{\"email\":\"$to\"}]}],\"from\":{\"email\":\"$from\"},\"subject\":\"$escaped_subject\",\"content\":[{\"type\":\"$content_type\",\"value\":\"$escaped_body\"}]}"
   784→    fi
   785→
   786→    # Send via SendGrid API
   787→    local http_code
   788→    local smtp_timeout="${HTTP_SMTP_TIMEOUT:-30}"
   789→    http_code=$(curl -s -w "%{http_code}" -o /dev/null \
   790→        -X POST \
   791→        "https://api.sendgrid.com/v3/mail/send" \
   792→        -H "Authorization: Bearer $api_key" \
   793→        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
   794→        --data "$payload" \
   795→        --max-time "$smtp_timeout" 2>&1)
   796→
   797→    local success_min="${HTTP_STATUS_SUCCESS_MIN:-200}"
   798→    local success_max="${HTTP_STATUS_SUCCESS_MAX:-300}"
   799→    if [ "$http_code" -ge "$success_min" ] && [ "$http_code" -lt "$success_max" ]; then
   800→        return 0
   801→    else
   802→        return 1
   803→    fi
   804→}
   805→
   806→# Send email via AWS SES
   807→send_email_ses() {
   808→    local to="$1"
   809→    local subject="$2"
   810→    local body="$3"
   811→    local is_html="${4:-false}"
   812→
   813→    local region="${RALPH_AWS_SES_REGION}"
   814→    local access_key="${RALPH_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID}"
   815→    local secret_key="${RALPH_AWS_SECRET_KEY}"
   816→    local from="${RALPH_EMAIL_FROM}"
   817→
   818→    if [ -z "$region" ] || [ -z "$access_key" ] || [ -z "$secret_key" ]; then
   819→        return 1
   820→    fi
   821→
   822→    # Check if AWS CLI is available
   823→    if ! command -v aws &> /dev/null; then
   824→        return 1
   825→    fi
   826→
   827→    # Escape quotes in body and subject
   828→    local escaped_body
   829→    local escaped_subject
   830→    escaped_body="${body//\"/\\\"}"
   831→    escaped_subject="${subject//\"/\\\"}"
   832→
   833→    # Determine message format
   834→    local message_arg
   835→    if [ "$is_html" = true ]; then
   836→        message_arg="Body={Html={Data=\"$escaped_body\",Charset=utf-8}}"
   837→    else
   838→        message_arg="Body={Text={Data=\"$escaped_body\",Charset=utf-8}}"
   839→    fi
   840→
   841→    # Send via AWS CLI
   842→    AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="$access_key" \
   843→    AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="$secret_key" \
   844→    AWS_DEFAULT_REGION="$region" \
   845→    aws ses send-email \
   846→        --from "$from" \
   847→        --destination "ToAddresses=$to" \
   848→        --message "Subject={Data=\"$escaped_subject\",Charset=utf-8},$message_arg" \
   849→        --region "$region" \
   850→        --output json > /dev/null 2>&1
   851→
   852→    return $?
   853→}
   854→
   855→# Main email sending function
   856→send_email_direct() {
   857→    local msg="$1"
   858→    local type="${2:-info}"
   859→    local batch_count="${3:-0}"
   860→
   861→    local to="${RALPH_EMAIL_TO}"
   862→    local from="${RALPH_EMAIL_FROM}"
   863→    local subject_prefix="${RALPH_EMAIL_SUBJECT:-Ralph Notification}"
   864→    local use_html="${RALPH_EMAIL_HTML:-true}"
   865→
   866→    # Check required config
   867→    if [ -z "$to" ] || [ -z "$from" ]; then
   868→        return 0  # Not configured, skip silently
   869→    fi
   870→
   871→    # Validate email addresses
   872→    if ! validate_email "$to"; then
   873→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Email: FAILED (invalid recipient email address)"
   874→        return 1
   875→    fi
   876→
   877→    if ! validate_email "$from"; then
   878→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Email: FAILED (invalid sender email address)"
   879→        return 1
   880→    fi
   881→
   882→    # Determine subject based on message type
   883→    local subject="$subject_prefix"
   884→    case "$type" in
   885→        success) subject="$subject_prefix - Success" ;;
   886→        warning) subject="$subject_prefix - Warning" ;;
   887→        error) subject="$subject_prefix - Error" ;;
   888→        progress) subject="$subject_prefix - Progress Update" ;;
   889→    esac
   890→
   891→    if [ "$batch_count" -gt 0 ]; then
   892→        subject="$subject_prefix - Batch Update ($batch_count notifications)"
   893→    fi
   894→
   895→    # Prepare email body
   896→    local html_body=""
   897→    local text_body=""
   898→
   899→    if [ "$use_html" = true ] && [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/templates/email-notification.html" ]; then
   900→        html_body=$(render_email_template "$RALPH_DIR/templates/email-notification.html" "$msg" "$type" "$batch_count")
   901→    fi
   902→
   903→    if [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/templates/email-notification.txt" ]; then
   904→        text_body=$(render_email_template "$RALPH_DIR/templates/email-notification.txt" "$msg" "$type" "$batch_count")
   905→    else
   906→        # Fallback to plain message
   907→        text_body="$msg"
   908→    fi
   909→
   910→    # Try sending methods in order of preference
   911→    local sent=false
   912→
   913→    # 1. Try SendGrid (fastest, most reliable cloud option)
   914→    if [ -n "${RALPH_SENDGRID_API_KEY:-}" ]; then
   915→        if [ "$use_html" = true ] && [ -n "$html_body" ]; then
   916→            if send_email_sendgrid "$to" "$subject" "$html_body" true; then
   917→                sent=true
   918→            fi
   919→        else
   920→            if send_email_sendgrid "$to" "$subject" "$text_body" false; then
   921→                sent=true
   922→            fi
   923→        fi
   924→    fi
   925→
   926→    # 2. Try AWS SES
   927→    if [ "$sent" = false ] && [ -n "${RALPH_AWS_SES_REGION:-}" ]; then
   928→        if [ "$use_html" = true ] && [ -n "$html_body" ]; then
   929→            if send_email_ses "$to" "$subject" "$html_body" true; then
   930→                sent=true
   931→            fi
   932→        else
   933→            if send_email_ses "$to" "$subject" "$text_body" false; then
   934→                sent=true
   935→            fi
   936→        fi
   937→    fi
   938→
   939→    # 3. Try SMTP
   940→    if [ "$sent" = false ] && [ -n "${RALPH_SMTP_HOST:-}" ]; then
   941→        if [ "$use_html" = true ] && [ -n "$html_body" ]; then
   942→            if send_email_smtp "$to" "$subject" "$html_body" true; then
   943→                sent=true
   944→            fi
   945→        else
   946→            if send_email_smtp "$to" "$subject" "$text_body" false; then
   947→                sent=true
   948→            fi
   949→        fi
   950→    fi
   951→
   952→    if [ "$sent" = true ]; then
   953→        return 0
   954→    else
   955→        return 1
   956→    fi
   957→}
   958→
   959→# Public send_email function (with batching logic)
   960→send_email() {
   961→    local msg="$1"
   962→
   963→    if [ -z "${RALPH_EMAIL_TO:-}" ]; then
   964→        return 0
   965→    fi
   966→
   967→    # Determine message type from content
   968→    local msg_type="info"
   969→    if echo "$msg" | grep -qiE "(error|failed|critical)"; then
   970→        msg_type="error"
   971→    elif echo "$msg" | grep -qiE "warning"; then
   972→        msg_type="warning"
   973→    elif echo "$msg" | grep -qiE "(success|completed|done)"; then
   974→        msg_type="success"
   975→    elif echo "$msg" | grep -qiE "(progress|running|processing)"; then
   976→        msg_type="progress"
   977→    fi
   978→
   979→    # Check if we should batch this message
   980→    if should_batch_email "$msg"; then
   981→        add_to_batch "$msg"
   982→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Email: queued for batch"
   983→        SENT_ANY=true
   984→        return 0
   985→    fi
   986→
   987→    # Send immediately
   988→    if send_email_direct "$msg" "$msg_type"; then
   989→        SENT_ANY=true
   990→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Email: sent"
   991→        return 0
   992→    else
   993→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Email: FAILED"
   994→        return 1
   995→    fi
   996→}
   997→
   998→# ============================================
   999→# CUSTOM SCRIPT
  1000→# ============================================
  1001→# For proprietary integrations (database bridges, internal APIs, etc.)
  1002→# Your script receives the message as $1 and handles delivery however you need.
  1003→#
  1004→# Example use cases:
  1005→#   - Database-to-Slack bridge (insert into DB, separate service posts to Slack)
  1006→#   - Internal company notification API
  1007→#   - SMS gateway
  1008→#   - Email relay
  1009→#
  1010→# Example script (my-notify.sh):
  1011→#   #!/bin/bash
  1012→#   MESSAGE="$1"
  1013→#   curl -X POST -d "message=$MESSAGE" https://internal.api/notify
  1014→#
  1015→send_custom() {
  1016→    local msg="$1"
  1017→
  1018→    if [ -z "${RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT:-}" ]; then
  1019→        return 0
  1020→    fi
  1021→
  1022→    # Security: Validate script path
  1023→    # Must be absolute path, no traversal, and owned by user/root
  1024→    if [[ ! "$RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT" =~ ^/ ]]; then
  1025→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: FAILED (script must be absolute path)"
  1026→        return 1
  1027→    fi
  1028→
  1029→    if [[ "$RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT" =~ \.\. ]]; then
  1030→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: FAILED (path traversal detected)"
  1031→        return 1
  1032→    fi
  1033→
  1034→    # Verify script exists and is executable
  1035→    if [ ! -f "$RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT" ]; then
  1036→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: FAILED (script not found)"
  1037→        return 1
  1038→    fi
  1039→
  1040→    if [ ! -x "$RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT" ]; then
  1041→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: FAILED (script not executable)"
  1042→        return 1
  1043→    fi
  1044→
  1045→    # Check script ownership (must be owned by current user or root)
  1046→    local script_owner
  1047→    script_owner=$(stat -c '%U' "$RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT" 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
  1048→    if [ "$script_owner" != "$USER" ] && [ "$script_owner" != "root" ]; then
  1049→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: FAILED (script not owned by user or root)"
  1050→        return 1
  1051→    fi
  1052→
  1053→    # Security: Check file permissions - should not be world-writable
  1054→    local perms
  1055→    perms=$(stat -c '%a' "$RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT" 2>/dev/null)
  1056→    if [[ "${perms: -1}" =~ [2367] ]]; then
  1057→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: FAILED (script is world-writable)"
  1058→        return 1
  1059→    fi
  1060→
  1061→    # Security: Scan script for suspicious content
  1062→    local suspicious_patterns=(
  1063→        'rm -rf /'
  1064→        'dd if='
  1065→        'mkfs\.'
  1066→        '>/dev/sd'
  1067→        'curl.*\|.*sh'
  1068→        'wget.*\|.*sh'
  1069→        'eval.*\$'
  1070→        'base64 -d.*\|.*sh'
  1071→        'nc -e'
  1072→        '/dev/tcp/'
  1073→    )
  1074→
  1075→    for pattern in "${suspicious_patterns[@]}"; do
  1076→        if grep -qE "$pattern" "$RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT" 2>/dev/null; then
  1077→            $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: FAILED (suspicious content detected: $pattern)"
  1078→            return 1
  1079→        fi
  1080→    done
  1081→
  1082→    # Security: For root-owned scripts, require user confirmation
  1083→    if [ "$script_owner" = "root" ]; then
  1084→        # Check if we've already confirmed this script (cache confirmation)
  1085→        local script_hash
  1086→        script_hash=$(sha256sum "$RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT" 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $1}')
  1087→        # Use platform-appropriate home directory
  1088→        if command -v get_home_dir &>/dev/null; then
  1089→            local user_home=$(get_home_dir)
  1090→        else
  1091→            local user_home="${HOME}"
  1092→        fi
  1093→        local confirm_file="${user_home}/.ralph_custom_script_confirmed"
  1094→
  1095→        if [ ! -f "$confirm_file" ] || ! grep -q "^${script_hash}$" "$confirm_file" 2>/dev/null; then
  1096→            # Interactive confirmation required
  1097→            if [ -t 0 ]; then
  1098→                echo ""
  1099→                echo "WARNING: Custom notification script is owned by root:"
  1100→                echo "  Path: $RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT"
  1101→                echo "  Owner: $script_owner"
  1102→                echo ""
  1103→                read -p "Do you want to execute this script? (yes/no): " -r confirm
  1104→                echo ""
  1105→
  1106→                if [[ ! "$confirm" =~ ^[Yy][Ee][Ss]$ ]]; then
  1107→                    $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: SKIPPED (user declined root-owned script)"
  1108→                    return 1
  1109→                fi
  1110→
  1111→                # Cache confirmation for this script version
  1112→                mkdir -p "$(dirname "$confirm_file")"
  1113→                echo "$script_hash" >> "$confirm_file"
  1114→            else
  1115→                # Non-interactive mode: refuse to run root-owned scripts without prior confirmation
  1116→                $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: FAILED (root-owned script requires interactive confirmation)"
  1117→                return 1
  1118→            fi
  1119→        fi
  1120→    fi
  1121→
  1122→    # Strip Slack-style emoji codes for cleaner output (avoid sed on user input)
  1123→    local clean_msg="$msg"
  1124→    clean_msg="${clean_msg//:rocket:/🚀}"
  1125→    clean_msg="${clean_msg//:white_check_mark:/✅}"
  1126→    clean_msg="${clean_msg//:warning:/⚠️}"
  1127→    clean_msg="${clean_msg//:gear:/⚙️}"
  1128→    clean_msg="${clean_msg//:robot_face:/🤖}"
  1129→    clean_msg="${clean_msg//:x:/❌}"
  1130→    clean_msg="${clean_msg//:clipboard:/📋}"
  1131→
  1132→    # Execute script with timeout and capture exit code
  1133→    local exit_code=0
  1134→    local script_timeout="${CUSTOM_SCRIPT_TIMEOUT:-30}"
  1135→    timeout "$script_timeout" "$RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT" "$clean_msg" > /dev/null 2>&1 || exit_code=$?
  1136→
  1137→    if [ $exit_code -eq 0 ]; then
  1138→        SENT_ANY=true
  1139→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: sent"
  1140→        return 0
  1141→    elif [ $exit_code -eq 124 ]; then
  1142→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: FAILED (timeout after ${script_timeout}s)"
  1143→        return 1
  1144→    else
  1145→        $TEST_MODE && echo "  Custom: FAILED (exit code $exit_code)"
  1146→        return 1
  1147→    fi
  1148→}
  1149→
  1150→# ============================================
  1151→# MAIN
  1152→# ============================================
  1153→
  1154→if $TEST_MODE; then
  1155→    echo "Testing Ralph notifications..."
  1156→    echo ""
  1157→    echo "Configured platforms:"
  1158→    if [ -n "${RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ]; then
  1159→        if validate_webhook_url "$RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL"; then
  1160→            echo "  - Slack: configured (valid)"
  1161→        else
  1162→            echo "  - Slack: configured (INVALID URL - must use HTTP or HTTPS)"
  1163→        fi
  1164→    else
  1165→        echo "  - Slack: not configured"
  1166→    fi
  1167→
  1168→    if [ -n "${RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ]; then
  1169→        if validate_webhook_url "$RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL"; then
  1170→            echo "  - Discord: configured (valid)"
  1171→        else
  1172→            echo "  - Discord: configured (INVALID URL - must use HTTP or HTTPS)"
  1173→        fi
  1174→    else
  1175→        echo "  - Discord: not configured"
  1176→    fi
  1177→
  1178→    if [ -n "${RALPH_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN:-}" ] && [ -n "${RALPH_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID:-}" ]; then
  1179→        echo "  - Telegram: configured (token: $(mask_token "${RALPH_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}"))"
  1180→    else
  1181→        echo "  - Telegram: not configured"
  1182→    fi
  1183→
  1184→    # Email configuration check
  1185→    if [ -n "${RALPH_EMAIL_TO:-}" ] && [ -n "${RALPH_EMAIL_FROM:-}" ]; then
  1186→        local email_method="unknown"
  1187→        if [ -n "${RALPH_SENDGRID_API_KEY:-}" ]; then
  1188→            email_method="SendGrid API"
  1189→        elif [ -n "${RALPH_AWS_SES_REGION:-}" ]; then
  1190→            email_method="AWS SES"
  1191→        elif [ -n "${RALPH_SMTP_HOST:-}" ]; then
  1192→            email_method="SMTP ($RALPH_SMTP_HOST)"
  1193→        fi
  1194→        echo "  - Email: configured (to: $RALPH_EMAIL_TO, method: $email_method)"
  1195→    else
  1196→        echo "  - Email: not configured"
  1197→    fi
  1198→
  1199→    if [ -n "${RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT:-}" ]; then
  1200→        echo "  - Custom: configured ($RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT)"
  1201→    else
  1202→        echo "  - Custom: not configured"
  1203→    fi
  1204→    echo ""
  1205→    echo "Sending test message..."
  1206→fi
  1207→
  1208→# Check rate limit (skip in test mode)
  1209→if ! $TEST_MODE; then
  1210→    if ! check_rate_limit; then
  1211→        echo "Rate limit exceeded (max $RATE_LIMIT_MAX notifications per minute)" >&2
  1212→        exit 1
  1213→    fi
  1214→fi
  1215→
  1216→# Track errors for better reporting
  1217→declare -A SEND_ERRORS=()
  1218→
  1219→# Send to all configured platforms with individual error tracking
  1220→if ! send_slack "$MESSAGE"; then
  1221→    SEND_ERRORS[slack]="failed"
  1222→fi
  1223→
  1224→if ! send_discord "$MESSAGE"; then
  1225→    SEND_ERRORS[discord]="failed"
  1226→fi
  1227→
  1228→if ! send_telegram "$MESSAGE"; then
  1229→    SEND_ERRORS[telegram]="failed"
  1230→fi
  1231→
  1232→if ! send_email "$MESSAGE"; then
  1233→    SEND_ERRORS[email]="failed"
  1234→fi
  1235→
  1236→if ! send_custom "$MESSAGE"; then
  1237→    SEND_ERRORS[custom]="failed"
  1238→fi
  1239→
  1240→# Cleanup rate limit file on exit
  1241→trap "rm -f '$RATE_LIMIT_FILE' 2>/dev/null || true" EXIT
  1242→
  1243→if $TEST_MODE; then
  1244→    echo ""
  1245→    if $SENT_ANY; then
  1246→        echo "Test complete! Check your notification channels."
  1247→        # Check if SEND_ERRORS has any elements
  1248→        if [ ${#SEND_ERRORS[@]} -gt 0 ] 2>/dev/null; then
  1249→            echo ""
  1250→            echo "Note: Some platforms failed to send. Check configuration."
  1251→        fi
  1252→    else
  1253→        echo "No notifications sent. Configure at least one platform."
  1254→        echo "Run: ralph notify setup"
  1255→    fi
  1256→fi
  1257→
  1258→# Note: We exit 0 even if notifications fail to avoid blocking the main script.
  1259→# The main ralph.sh script should continue even if notifications are down.
  1260→# Errors are logged but don't cause a fatal exit.
  1261→
  1262→exit 0
  1263→
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

**Yes, it's stuck.** The `notify.sh` process (PID 940793) is stuck in an infinite loop at 99.9% CPU. It never gets to launch Claude.

The bug is in `notify.sh` line 275-277 — the Discord formatting conversion:

```bash
while [[ "$discord_msg" =~ \*([^*]+)\* ]]; do
    discord_msg="${discord_msg/\*${BASH_REMATCH[1]}\*/**${BASH_REMATCH[1]}**}"
done
```

The message `*Ralph Started*` gets converted to `**Ralph Started**`, but `**Ralph Started**` still matches the regex `\*([^*]+)\*` (the inner `*Ralph Started*` portion matches), so it grows to `***Ralph Started***`, then `****Ralph Started****`, etc. — forever.

You need to kill the stuck processes to unstick things:

```
kill 940793   (the stuck notify.sh)
```

Would you like me to fix the infinite loop bug in `notify.sh`?

## User

yes

## Assistant

## Assistant

### Tool: Edit

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/notify.sh",
  "new_string": "    # Convert Slack-style *bold* to Discord **bold** in a single left-to-right pass\n    # (A while loop replacing *x* with **x** loops forever since **x** still matches *x*)\n    local discord_msg=\"\"\n    local remaining=\"$msg\"\n    while [[ \"$remaining\" =~ ^([^*]*)\\*([^*]+)\\*(.*) ]]; do\n        discord_msg+=\"${BASH_REMATCH[1]}**${BASH_REMATCH[2]}**\"\n        remaining=\"${BASH_REMATCH[3]}\"\n    done\n    discord_msg+=\"$remaining\"",
  "old_string": "    # Convert Slack-style formatting to Discord markdown safely\n    # Avoid sed for user input - use bash substitution\n    local discord_msg=\"$msg\"\n    # Replace *text* with **text** for Discord bold\n    while [[ \"$discord_msg\" =~ \\*([^*]+)\\* ]]; do\n        discord_msg=\"${discord_msg/\\*${BASH_REMATCH[1]}\\*/**${BASH_REMATCH[1]}**}\"\n    done",
  "replace_all": false
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
The file /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/notify.sh has been updated successfully.
```

## Assistant

Now let me kill the stuck process so you can re-run Ralph.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "kill 940793 2>/dev/null; echo \"exit: $?\"",
  "description": "Kill the stuck notify.sh process"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
exit: 0
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ps aux | grep -E 'ralph|notify' | grep -v grep",
  "description": "Verify stuck processes are gone"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
jc        940763  0.0  0.0   8016  4096 pts/0    S+   11:31   0:00 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh plan.md plan
jc        942595  0.0  0.0   8016  2328 pts/0    S+   11:35   0:00 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh plan.md plan
jc        942596  0.0  0.0   8416  4608 pts/0    S+   11:35   0:00 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/notify.sh :rocket: *Ralph Started*\n```Plan: plan\nMode: plan\nRepo: mage``` :rocket:
jc        942607  0.0  0.0   8416  2936 pts/0    S+   11:35   0:00 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/notify.sh :rocket: *Ralph Started*\n```Plan: plan\nMode: plan\nRepo: mage``` :rocket:
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

The old process died and Ralph restarted automatically. The new `notify.sh` processes (942596, 942607) are at 0.0% CPU and sleeping normally — the fix is working. Let me verify they finish cleanly.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "sleep 3 && ps aux | grep -E 'ralph|notify|claude' | grep -v grep",
  "description": "Check processes after a few seconds"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
jc        940936 31.1  1.4 74754588 459728 pts/3 Sl+  11:32   0:57 claude
jc        942971  0.2  0.0   8016  4096 pts/0    S+   11:35   0:00 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh plan.md plan
jc        943048 42.2  0.7 32924628 238484 pts/0 Sl+  11:35   0:01 claude
```

## Assistant

Fixed. The notify.sh processes completed successfully and Ralph has now launched Claude (PID 943048) to do the actual planning work. 

**The bug:** The `while` loop replacing `*bold*` with `**bold**` was infinite because the output `**bold**` still contains a `*bold*` match. **The fix:** Single-pass left-to-right processing that consumes matched portions so already-converted text is never re-examined.

## User

I am running now and it says the following but seems stucK: jc@Gizmo:~/src/mage$ RALPH_MODEL=claude-opus-4-6 ralph plan.md plan

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
  RALPH - Autonomous AI Development Loop
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
  Plan:      plan.md
  Mode:      plan
  Progress:  plan_PROGRESS.md
  Model:     claude-opus-4-6
  Commit:    enabled
  Notify:    Discord
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Exit conditions:
  - Planning completes when task list is created (Status: IN_PROGRESS)
  - Plan mode runs once then exits automatically
  - Press Ctrl+C to stop manually

Lock acquired: /tmp/ralph_9b32b1156d685b82ade4dd4698c62e4d.lock

══════════════════ ITERATION 1 ══════════════════


## Assistant

## Assistant

Let me check if Claude is actually running or if it's stuck somewhere else.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ps aux | grep -E 'ralph|claude|notify' | grep -v grep",
  "description": "Check for running processes"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
jc        942971  0.0  0.0   8016  4096 pts/0    S+   11:35   0:00 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh plan.md plan
jc        943048  5.1  0.7 32924992 251608 pts/0 Sl+  11:35   0:10 claude
jc        947567 22.9  1.5 74724916 502584 pts/3 Rl+  11:38   0:08 claude --resume 235c0930-25a5-44a6-89ae-9d083697547e
```

## Assistant

It's not stuck. Claude (PID 943048) is actively running — it's just that Ralph redirects all Claude output to a temp file (`> "$claude_output_file" 2>"$claude_error_file"` on line 731 of `ralph.sh`), so you won't see anything on screen until the iteration finishes.

With `claude-opus-4-6` doing a planning pass on a full codebase, it can take several minutes. The process is at 5.1% CPU and using ~250MB memory, which looks like normal active work.

Just give it time — when Claude finishes, Ralph will dump the output and print "Iteration 1 complete".

## User

Is there any content in the temp file?

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ls -la /tmp/tmp.* 2>/dev/null | tail -20",
  "description": "Find recent temp files"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
-rw------- 1 jc jc 0 Feb 15 11:35 /tmp/tmp.kaPSwDEaDM
-rw------- 1 jc jc 0 Feb 15 11:35 /tmp/tmp.nyJpBNqVZi
```

## Assistant

Both temp files are 0 bytes. That's expected — Claude is piped with `> "$claude_output_file"`, so output only gets written once Claude finishes (the shell buffers stdout to files). The process is still running and hasn't produced its final output yet.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ps aux | grep 943048 | grep -v grep",
  "description": "Check if Claude process is still active"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
jc        943048  4.9  0.8 32924060 260604 pts/0 Sl+  11:35   0:12 claude
```

## Assistant

Still actively running (memory grew from 251MB to 260MB, CPU time from 10s to 12s). It's working — just hasn't finished yet.

## User

I'm used to seeing incremental output while claude is working and thinking. Would we be able to modify this program to have that happen?

## Assistant

## Assistant

Yes — the current code redirects all stdout to a temp file and only `cat`s it after Claude finishes. We just need to use `tee` to stream to the terminal while still capturing to the file.

## Assistant

### Tool: Read

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh",
  "limit": 15,
  "offset": 726
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
   726→
   727→        # Run Claude
   728→        echo "$PROMPT" | claude -p \
   729→            --dangerously-skip-permissions \
   730→            --model "$RALPH_MODEL" \
   731→            --verbose > "$claude_output_file" 2>"$claude_error_file" || claude_exit_code=$?
   732→
   733→        # Display output on first attempt or final retry
   734→        if [ $claude_attempt -eq 1 ] || [ $claude_attempt -eq $max_claude_retries ]; then
   735→            if [ -f "$claude_output_file" ]; then
   736→                cat "$claude_output_file"
   737→            fi
   738→        fi
   739→
   740→        # Capture any error output
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Edit

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh",
  "new_string": "        # Run Claude (stream output to terminal via tee while capturing to file)\n        echo \"$PROMPT\" | claude -p \\\n            --dangerously-skip-permissions \\\n            --model \"$RALPH_MODEL\" \\\n            --verbose 2>\"$claude_error_file\" | tee \"$claude_output_file\" || claude_exit_code=$?",
  "old_string": "        # Run Claude\n        echo \"$PROMPT\" | claude -p \\\n            --dangerously-skip-permissions \\\n            --model \"$RALPH_MODEL\" \\\n            --verbose > \"$claude_output_file\" 2>\"$claude_error_file\" || claude_exit_code=$?\n\n        # Display output on first attempt or final retry\n        if [ $claude_attempt -eq 1 ] || [ $claude_attempt -eq $max_claude_retries ]; then\n            if [ -f \"$claude_output_file\" ]; then\n                cat \"$claude_output_file\"\n            fi\n        fi",
  "replace_all": false
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
The file /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh has been updated successfully.
```

## Assistant

Done. The change pipes Claude's stdout through `tee`, which sends it to both the terminal (so you see it live) and the temp file (so error detection still works). Stderr still goes to the error file for retry logic.

You'll see the streaming output next time you run Ralph. The current run will finish with the old behavior since it's already in progress.

## User

Should I let it finish or restart it so I can see it working?

## Assistant

Let it finish — it's already been running a few minutes and planning mode is a single iteration. Restarting would just lose that work and start over. You'll see the streaming output on your next `ralph` run.

## User

Let's commit our changes

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git status",
  "description": "Show working tree status"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
On branch master
Your branch is up to date with 'origin/master'.

Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git restore <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
	modified:   notify.sh
	modified:   ralph.sh
	modified:   setup-notifications.sh

no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git diff",
  "description": "Show staged and unstaged changes"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
diff --git a/notify.sh b/notify.sh
index 1b6b8b8..c89a767 100755
--- a/notify.sh
+++ b/notify.sh
@@ -78,9 +78,9 @@ fi
 # Load and decrypt environment variables
 if [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/decrypt-env.sh" ]; then
     source "$RALPH_DIR/decrypt-env.sh"
-    if ! decrypt_ralph_env 2>&1 | grep -q "^Error:"; then
-        : # Decryption succeeded or no encrypted values
-    else
+    # Call decrypt_ralph_env directly to allow variable updates
+    # Don't pipe the output which would run in a subshell
+    if ! decrypt_ralph_env; then
         # Only show warning in test mode, otherwise notifications might spam
         if [ "${1:-}" = "--test" ]; then
             echo "Warning: Failed to decrypt some environment variables" >&2
@@ -268,13 +268,15 @@ send_discord() {
     local username="${RALPH_DISCORD_USERNAME:-Ralph}"
     local avatar_url="${RALPH_DISCORD_AVATAR_URL:-}"
 
-    # Convert Slack-style formatting to Discord markdown safely
-    # Avoid sed for user input - use bash substitution
-    local discord_msg="$msg"
-    # Replace *text* with **text** for Discord bold
-    while [[ "$discord_msg" =~ \*([^*]+)\* ]]; do
-        discord_msg="${discord_msg/\*${BASH_REMATCH[1]}\*/**${BASH_REMATCH[1]}**}"
+    # Convert Slack-style *bold* to Discord **bold** in a single left-to-right pass
+    # (A while loop replacing *x* with **x** loops forever since **x** still matches *x*)
+    local discord_msg=""
+    local remaining="$msg"
+    while [[ "$remaining" =~ ^([^*]*)\*([^*]+)\*(.*) ]]; do
+        discord_msg+="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}**${BASH_REMATCH[2]}**"
+        remaining="${BASH_REMATCH[3]}"
     done
+    discord_msg+="$remaining"
 
     local payload
     if command -v jq &> /dev/null; then
@@ -1214,7 +1216,7 @@ if ! $TEST_MODE; then
 fi
 
 # Track errors for better reporting
-declare -A SEND_ERRORS
+declare -A SEND_ERRORS=()
 
 # Send to all configured platforms with individual error tracking
 if ! send_slack "$MESSAGE"; then
@@ -1244,7 +1246,8 @@ if $TEST_MODE; then
     echo ""
     if $SENT_ANY; then
         echo "Test complete! Check your notification channels."
-        if [ ${#SEND_ERRORS[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+        # Check if SEND_ERRORS has any elements
+        if [ ${#SEND_ERRORS[@]} -gt 0 ] 2>/dev/null; then
             echo ""
             echo "Note: Some platforms failed to send. Check configuration."
         fi
diff --git a/ralph.sh b/ralph.sh
index 9230776..7c901f2 100755
--- a/ralph.sh
+++ b/ralph.sh
@@ -111,7 +111,18 @@ RALPH_CONFIG_FILE="${USER_HOME}/.ralph.env"
 if [ -f "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE" ] && validate_config "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE"; then
     source "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE"
 
-    # Validate loaded configuration values
+    # Decrypt encrypted environment variables BEFORE validation
+    if [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/decrypt-env.sh" ]; then
+        source "$RALPH_DIR/decrypt-env.sh"
+        # Call decrypt_ralph_env directly to allow variable updates
+        # Capture any errors but don't pipe the output (which would run in a subshell)
+        if ! decrypt_ralph_env; then
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Failed to decrypt some environment variables${NC}" >&2
+            echo "Some notification platforms may not work correctly" >&2
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    # Validate loaded configuration values (now with decrypted values)
     if [ -n "${RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL:-}" ]; then
         if ! validate_webhook_url "$RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL" "RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL"; then
             echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Invalid RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL, disabling Slack notifications${NC}" >&2
@@ -153,17 +164,6 @@ if [ -f "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE" ] && validate_config "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE"; then
     fi
 fi
 
-# Decrypt encrypted environment variables
-if [ -f "$RALPH_DIR/decrypt-env.sh" ]; then
-    source "$RALPH_DIR/decrypt-env.sh"
-    if ! decrypt_ralph_env 2>&1 | grep -q "^Error:"; then
-        : # Decryption succeeded or no encrypted values
-    else
-        echo -e "${YELLOW}Warning: Failed to decrypt some environment variables${NC}" >&2
-        echo "Run 'ralph notify setup' if you have notification issues" >&2
-    fi
-fi
-
 VERSION="1.7.0"
 
 # Auto-commit setting (default: true)
@@ -171,6 +171,10 @@ VERSION="1.7.0"
 # Or by adding DO_NOT_COMMIT on its own line in the plan file
 RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT="${RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT:-true}"
 
+# Model setting (default: sonnet)
+# Can be set via: export RALPH_MODEL="claude-opus-4-6" in ~/.ralph.env
+RALPH_MODEL="${RALPH_MODEL:-sonnet}"
+
 # Check if plan file contains DO_NOT_COMMIT directive
 # Skips content inside ``` code blocks to avoid false positives
 should_skip_commit_from_plan() {
@@ -547,6 +551,7 @@ echo -e "  Plan:      ${YELLOW}$PLAN_FILE${NC}"
 echo -e "  Mode:      ${YELLOW}$MODE${NC}"
 echo -e "  Progress:  ${YELLOW}$PROGRESS_FILE${NC}"
 [ "$MAX_ITERATIONS" -gt 0 ] && echo -e "  Max Iter:  ${YELLOW}$MAX_ITERATIONS${NC}"
+echo -e "  Model:     ${YELLOW}$RALPH_MODEL${NC}"
 if [ "$SHOULD_COMMIT" = "true" ]; then
     echo -e "  Commit:    ${GREEN}enabled${NC}"
 else
@@ -719,18 +724,11 @@ while true; do
         }
         chmod 600 "$claude_output_file" "$claude_error_file"
 
-        # Run Claude
+        # Run Claude (stream output to terminal via tee while capturing to file)
         echo "$PROMPT" | claude -p \
             --dangerously-skip-permissions \
-            --model sonnet \
-            --verbose > "$claude_output_file" 2>"$claude_error_file" || claude_exit_code=$?
-
-        # Display output on first attempt or final retry
-        if [ $claude_attempt -eq 1 ] || [ $claude_attempt -eq $max_claude_retries ]; then
-            if [ -f "$claude_output_file" ]; then
-                cat "$claude_output_file"
-            fi
-        fi
+            --model "$RALPH_MODEL" \
+            --verbose 2>"$claude_error_file" | tee "$claude_output_file" || claude_exit_code=$?
 
         # Capture any error output
         claude_errors=""
diff --git a/setup-notifications.sh b/setup-notifications.sh
index c0ed2f1..eee303f 100755
--- a/setup-notifications.sh
+++ b/setup-notifications.sh
@@ -580,7 +580,6 @@ echo "" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
 
 if [ -n "$SLACK_URL" ]; then
     echo "# Slack" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
-    local encrypted_slack
     encrypted_slack=$(encrypt_value "$SLACK_URL")
     echo "export RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL=\"$encrypted_slack\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
     echo "" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
@@ -588,7 +587,6 @@ fi
 
 if [ -n "$DISCORD_URL" ]; then
     echo "# Discord" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
-    local encrypted_discord
     encrypted_discord=$(encrypt_value "$DISCORD_URL")
     echo "export RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL=\"$encrypted_discord\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
     echo "" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
@@ -596,8 +594,6 @@ fi
 
 if [ -n "$TELEGRAM_TOKEN" ]; then
     echo "# Telegram" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
-    local encrypted_token
-    local encrypted_chat
     encrypted_token=$(encrypt_value "$TELEGRAM_TOKEN")
     encrypted_chat=$(encrypt_value "$TELEGRAM_CHAT")
     echo "export RALPH_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=\"$encrypted_token\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
@@ -611,7 +607,7 @@ if [ -n "$EMAIL_TO" ]; then
     echo "export RALPH_EMAIL_FROM=\"$EMAIL_FROM\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
 
     if [ "$EMAIL_METHOD" = "smtp" ]; then
-        local encrypted_pass
+        encrypted_pass
         encrypted_pass=$(encrypt_value "$SMTP_PASS")
         echo "export RALPH_SMTP_HOST=\"$SMTP_HOST\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
         echo "export RALPH_SMTP_PORT=\"$SMTP_PORT\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
@@ -619,11 +615,11 @@ if [ -n "$EMAIL_TO" ]; then
         echo "export RALPH_SMTP_PASSWORD=\"$encrypted_pass\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
         echo "export RALPH_SMTP_TLS=\"true\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
     elif [ "$EMAIL_METHOD" = "sendgrid" ]; then
-        local encrypted_key
+        encrypted_key
         encrypted_key=$(encrypt_value "$SENDGRID_KEY")
         echo "export RALPH_SENDGRID_API_KEY=\"$encrypted_key\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
     elif [ "$EMAIL_METHOD" = "ses" ]; then
-        local encrypted_secret
+        encrypted_secret
         encrypted_secret=$(encrypt_value "$AWS_SECRET")
         echo "export RALPH_AWS_SES_REGION=\"$AWS_REGION\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
         echo "export RALPH_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=\"$AWS_KEY\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
@@ -632,8 +628,8 @@ if [ -n "$EMAIL_TO" ]; then
 
     # Email options
     echo "export RALPH_EMAIL_HTML=\"true\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
-    local batch_delay="${EMAIL_BATCH_DELAY_DEFAULT:-300}"
-    local batch_max="${EMAIL_BATCH_MAX_DEFAULT:-10}"
+    batch_delay="${EMAIL_BATCH_DELAY_DEFAULT:-300}"
+    batch_max="${EMAIL_BATCH_MAX_DEFAULT:-10}"
     echo "export RALPH_EMAIL_BATCH_DELAY=\"$batch_delay\"  # $(($batch_delay / 60)) minutes" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
     echo "export RALPH_EMAIL_BATCH_MAX=\"$batch_max\"" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
     echo "" >> "$CONFIG_FILE"
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git log --oneline -5",
  "description": "Show recent commit messages"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
e529f84 Remove unnecessary security theater
cfdc9e7 doc: Add test verification evidence - all 10 suites confirmed passing
41fe489 fix: SSRF protection - properly reject localhost URLs
99e2d3e Fix: Remove 'local' keyword outside function (bash error)
d1078e5 Fix all test failures - 10/10 suites passing
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git add notify.sh ralph.sh setup-notifications.sh",
  "description": "Stage modified files"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
(empty result)
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git commit -m \"$(cat <<'EOF'\nFix infinite loop in Discord notification and stream Claude output\n\n- Fix notify.sh Discord bold conversion (*x* -> **x**) that looped\n  forever because the output still matched the input regex pattern.\n  Replace with single-pass left-to-right processing.\n- Stream Claude output to terminal in real-time via tee instead of\n  buffering to a temp file and displaying after completion.\n- Make model configurable via RALPH_MODEL env var (was hardcoded to sonnet).\n- Move decrypt-env before config validation so decrypted values get validated.\n- Fix 'local' keyword used outside functions in setup-notifications.sh.\n\nCo-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>\nEOF\n)\"",
  "description": "Commit all changes"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
[master 6a520a1] Fix infinite loop in Discord notification and stream Claude output
 3 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git status",
  "description": "Verify clean working tree"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
On branch master
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/master' by 1 commit.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

nothing to commit, working tree clean
```

## Assistant

Committed as `6a520a1`. Working tree is clean. One commit ahead of origin if you want to push.

## User

Can you put up a PR for this change?

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git log master --oneline -5",
  "description": "Check commit history"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
6a520a1 Fix infinite loop in Discord notification and stream Claude output
e529f84 Remove unnecessary security theater
cfdc9e7 doc: Add test verification evidence - all 10 suites confirmed passing
41fe489 fix: SSRF protection - properly reject localhost URLs
99e2d3e Fix: Remove 'local' keyword outside function (bash error)
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git remote -v",
  "description": "Check remote configuration"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
origin	https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph.git (fetch)
origin	https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph.git (push)
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git diff origin/master...HEAD --stat",
  "description": "Check what will be in the PR"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
 notify.sh              | 25 ++++++++++++++-----------
 ralph.sh               | 42 ++++++++++++++++++++----------------------
 setup-notifications.sh | 14 +++++---------
 3 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

I'll create a branch and push it for the PR.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git checkout -b fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming",
  "description": "Create feature branch"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
Switched to a new branch 'fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming'
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git push -u origin fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming",
  "description": "Push branch to remote"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (error):
```
Exit code 128
fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No such device or address
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "gh auth status 2>&1",
  "description": "Check GitHub CLI auth status"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
github.com
  ✓ Logged in to github.com account thebigjc (/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/.config/gh/hosts.yml)
  - Active account: true
  - Git operations protocol: ssh
  - Token: gho_************************************
  - Token scopes: 'admin:public_key', 'gist', 'read:org', 'repo'
```

## Assistant

Git is configured for SSH but the remote uses HTTPS. Let me fix that.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git remote set-url origin git@github.com:aaron777collins/portableralph.git && git push -u origin fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming",
  "description": "Switch to SSH remote and push"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (error):
```
Exit code 128
ERROR: Permission to aaron777collins/portableralph.git denied to thebigjc.
fatal: Could not read from remote repository.

Please make sure you have the correct access rights
and the repository exists.
```

## Assistant

You don't have push access to `aaron777collins/portableralph`. Let me fork it and push there instead.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "gh repo fork aaron777collins/portableralph --remote-name fork 2>&1",
  "description": "Fork the repo"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
https://github.com/thebigjc/portableralph
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git push -u fork fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming",
  "description": "Push branch to fork"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (error):
```
Exit code 128
fatal: 'fork' does not appear to be a git repository
fatal: Could not read from remote repository.

Please make sure you have the correct access rights
and the repository exists.
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git remote -v",
  "description": "Check remotes"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
origin	git@github.com:aaron777collins/portableralph.git (fetch)
origin	git@github.com:aaron777collins/portableralph.git (push)
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git remote add fork git@github.com:thebigjc/portableralph.git && git push -u fork fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming",
  "description": "Add fork remote and push"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
branch 'fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming' set up to track 'fork/fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming'.
remote: 
remote: Create a pull request for 'fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming' on GitHub by visiting:        
remote:      https://github.com/thebigjc/portableralph/pull/new/fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming        
remote: 
To github.com:thebigjc/portableralph.git
 * [new branch]      fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming -> fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "gh pr create --repo aaron777collins/portableralph --head thebigjc:fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming --base master --title \"Fix infinite loop in Discord notification and stream Claude output\" --body \"$(cat <<'EOF'\n## Summary\n- **Fix infinite loop in `notify.sh`**: The Discord bold formatting conversion (`*text*` → `**text**`) used a `while` loop where the output still matched the input regex, causing 100% CPU spin forever. Replaced with single-pass left-to-right string processing.\n- **Stream Claude output in real-time**: Changed `ralph.sh` to pipe Claude's stdout through `tee` instead of buffering to a temp file, so users see incremental output while Claude works.\n- **Make model configurable**: Use `$RALPH_MODEL` env var instead of hardcoded `sonnet`.\n- **Fix decrypt ordering**: Move `decrypt-env` before config validation so decrypted values are validated.\n- **Fix `local` outside functions**: Remove invalid `local` keywords in `setup-notifications.sh`.\n\n## Test plan\n- [ ] Run `ralph notify test` with Discord configured — verify notification sends without hanging\n- [ ] Run `ralph plan.md plan` — verify Claude output streams to terminal in real-time\n- [ ] Run with `RALPH_MODEL=claude-opus-4-6 ralph plan.md plan` — verify model override works\n- [ ] Run `ralph notify setup` — verify setup completes without bash errors\n\n🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)\nEOF\n)\"",
  "description": "Create PR against upstream repo"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/pull/4
```

## Assistant

PR created: https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/pull/4

## User

Could you update the README for the new model parameter we added, and add it to the PR?

## Assistant

### Tool: Glob

**Args:**
```json
{
  "pattern": "README*"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/README.md
/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/tests/README.md
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Read

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/README.md"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
     1→# PortableRalph
     2→
     3→[![Deploy Documentation](https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/actions/workflows/docs.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/actions/workflows/docs.yml)
     4→
     5→An autonomous AI development loop that works in **any repo**.
     6→
     7→[**View Documentation →**](https://aaron777collins.github.io/portableralph/)
     8→
     9→```bash
    10→ralph ./feature-plan.md
    11→```
    12→
    13→Ralph reads your plan, breaks it into tasks, and implements them one by one until done.
    14→
    15→## Quick Start
    16→
    17→### Linux / macOS
    18→
    19→**One-liner install:**
    20→```bash
    21→curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/master/install.sh | bash
    22→```
    23→
    24→**Or manual:**
    25→```bash
    26→git clone https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph.git ~/ralph
    27→chmod +x ~/ralph/*.sh
    28→```
    29→
    30→**Run:**
    31→```bash
    32→ralph ./my-plan.md
    33→```
    34→
    35→### Windows
    36→
    37→**PowerShell install:**
    38→```powershell
    39→irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/master/install.ps1 | iex
    40→```
    41→
    42→**Or manual:**
    43→```powershell
    44→git clone https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph.git $env:USERPROFILE\ralph
    45→```
    46→
    47→**Run (PowerShell):**
    48→```powershell
    49→ralph .\my-plan.md
    50→```
    51→
    52→**Run (Command Prompt):**
    53→```cmd
    54→launcher.bat ralph .\my-plan.md
    55→```
    56→
    57→**Note:** Windows users can use either PowerShell (`.ps1` scripts) or Git Bash (`.sh` scripts). The launcher scripts (`launcher.sh` and `launcher.bat`) automatically detect your environment and run the appropriate script version.
    58→
    59→## How It Works
    60→
    61→```
    62→ Your Plan          Ralph Loop              Progress File
    63→┌──────────┐      ┌─────────────┐         ┌─────────────┐
    64→│ feature  │      │ 1. Read     │         │ - [x] Done  │
    65→│   .md    │ ───► │ 2. Pick task│ ◄─────► │ - [ ] Todo  │
    66→│          │      │ 3. Implement│         │ - [ ] Todo  │
    67→└──────────┘      │ 4. Commit   │         │             │
    68→                  │ 5. Repeat   │         │ RALPH_DONE  │
    69→                  └─────────────┘         └─────────────┘
    70→```
    71→
    72→1. **You write** a plan file describing what to build
    73→2. **Ralph breaks it** into discrete tasks (plan mode exits here)
    74→3. **Each iteration**: pick one task → implement → validate → commit
    75→4. **Loop exits** when `RALPH_DONE` appears in progress file (build mode)
    76→
    77→## Usage
    78→
    79→### Unix/Linux/macOS
    80→```bash
    81→ralph <plan-file> [mode] [max-iterations]
    82→ralph notify <setup|test>
    83→```
    84→
    85→### Windows (PowerShell)
    86→```powershell
    87→ralph <plan-file> [mode] [max-iterations]
    88→ralph notify <setup|test>
    89→```
    90→
    91→### Windows (Command Prompt)
    92→```cmd
    93→launcher.bat ralph <plan-file> [mode] [max-iterations]
    94→launcher.bat notify <setup|test>
    95→```
    96→
    97→| Mode | Description |
    98→|------|-------------|
    99→| `build` | Implement tasks until RALPH_DONE (default) |
   100→| `plan` | Analyze and create task list, then exit (runs once) |
   101→
   102→### Examples
   103→
   104→**Unix/Linux/macOS:**
   105→```bash
   106→ralph ./feature.md           # Build until done
   107→ralph ./feature.md plan      # Plan only (creates task list, exits)
   108→ralph ./feature.md build 20  # Build, max 20 iterations
   109→```
   110→
   111→**Windows (PowerShell):**
   112→```powershell
   113→ralph .\feature.md           # Build until done
   114→ralph .\feature.md plan      # Plan only (creates task list, exits)
   115→ralph .\feature.md build 20  # Build, max 20 iterations
   116→```
   117→
   118→## Plan File Format
   119→
   120→```markdown
   121→# Feature: User Authentication
   122→
   123→## Goal
   124→Add JWT-based authentication to the API.
   125→
   126→## Requirements
   127→- Login endpoint returns JWT token
   128→- Middleware validates tokens on protected routes
   129→- Tokens expire after 24 hours
   130→
   131→## Acceptance Criteria
   132→- POST /auth/login with valid credentials returns token
   133→- Protected endpoints return 401 without valid token
   134→```
   135→
   136→See [Writing Effective Plans](https://aaron777collins.github.io/portableralph/writing-plans/) for more examples.
   137→
   138→## Notifications
   139→
   140→Get notified on Slack, Discord, Telegram, Email, or custom integrations:
   141→
   142→```bash
   143→ralph notify setup  # Interactive setup wizard
   144→ralph notify test   # Test your config
   145→```
   146→
   147→### Supported Platforms
   148→
   149→- **Slack** - Webhook integration
   150→- **Discord** - Webhook integration
   151→- **Telegram** - Bot API
   152→- **Email** - SMTP, SendGrid, or AWS SES
   153→- **Custom** - Your own notification scripts
   154→
   155→### Email Setup
   156→
   157→Ralph supports multiple email delivery methods:
   158→
   159→#### SMTP (Gmail, Outlook, etc.)
   160→
   161→```bash
   162→export RALPH_EMAIL_TO="you@example.com"
   163→export RALPH_EMAIL_FROM="ralph@example.com"
   164→export RALPH_EMAIL_SMTP_SERVER="smtp.gmail.com"
   165→export RALPH_EMAIL_PORT="587"
   166→export RALPH_EMAIL_USER="your-email@gmail.com"
   167→export RALPH_EMAIL_PASS="your-app-password"
   168→```
   169→
   170→**Gmail users:** Use an [App Password](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833), not your regular password.
   171→
   172→#### SendGrid API
   173→
   174→```bash
   175→export RALPH_EMAIL_TO="you@example.com"
   176→export RALPH_EMAIL_FROM="ralph@example.com"
   177→export RALPH_SENDGRID_API_KEY="SG.your-api-key"
   178→```
   179→
   180→#### AWS SES
   181→
   182→```bash
   183→export RALPH_EMAIL_TO="you@example.com"
   184→export RALPH_EMAIL_FROM="ralph@example.com"
   185→export RALPH_AWS_SES_REGION="us-east-1"
   186→export RALPH_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your-access-key"
   187→export RALPH_AWS_SECRET_KEY="your-secret-key"
   188→```
   189→
   190→### Email Features
   191→
   192→- **HTML Templates** - Beautiful, responsive email layouts
   193→- **Text Fallback** - Plain text version for all emails
   194→- **Smart Batching** - Reduces email spam by batching progress updates
   195→- **Priority Handling** - Errors and warnings always send immediately
   196→- **Multiple Recipients** - Comma-separated email addresses
   197→
   198→Configure batching behavior:
   199→
   200→```bash
   201→export RALPH_EMAIL_BATCH_DELAY="300"  # Wait 5 minutes before sending batch
   202→export RALPH_EMAIL_BATCH_MAX="10"     # Send when 10 notifications queued
   203→export RALPH_EMAIL_HTML="true"        # Use HTML templates (default)
   204→```
   205→
   206→Set `RALPH_EMAIL_BATCH_DELAY="0"` to disable batching and send every notification immediately.
   207→
   208→### Notification Frequency
   209→
   210→Control how often you receive progress notifications by setting `RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY` in `~/.ralph.env`:
   211→
   212→```bash
   213→# Send notification every 5 iterations (default)
   214→export RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY=5
   215→
   216→# Send notification every iteration
   217→export RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY=1
   218→
   219→# Send notification every 10 iterations
   220→export RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY=10
   221→```
   222→
   223→Ralph always sends notifications for:
   224→- Start
   225→- Completion
   226→- Errors
   227→- First iteration
   228→
   229→See [Notifications Guide](https://aaron777collins.github.io/portableralph/notifications/) for setup details.
   230→
   231→## Documentation
   232→
   233→| Document | Description |
   234→|----------|-------------|
   235→| [Usage Guide](https://aaron777collins.github.io/portableralph/usage/) | Complete command reference |
   236→| [Writing Plans](https://aaron777collins.github.io/portableralph/writing-plans/) | How to write effective plans |
   237→| [Notifications](https://aaron777collins.github.io/portableralph/notifications/) | Slack, Discord, Telegram setup |
   238→| [How It Works](https://aaron777collins.github.io/portableralph/how-it-works/) | Technical architecture |
   239→| [Testing Guide](TESTING.md) | Comprehensive testing documentation |
   240→
   241→## Testing
   242→
   243→Ralph includes a comprehensive test suite with 150+ automated tests covering all platforms:
   244→
   245→**Unix/Linux/macOS:**
   246→```bash
   247→cd ~/ralph/tests
   248→./run-all-tests.sh
   249→```
   250→
   251→**Windows (PowerShell):**
   252→```powershell
   253→cd ~\ralph\tests
   254→.\run-all-tests.ps1
   255→```
   256→
   257→**Test Options:**
   258→```bash
   259→# Run specific test categories
   260→./run-all-tests.sh --unit-only
   261→./run-all-tests.sh --integration-only
   262→./run-all-tests.sh --security-only
   263→
   264→# Verbose output
   265→./run-all-tests.sh --verbose
   266→
   267→# Stop on first failure
   268→./run-all-tests.sh --stop-on-failure
   269→```
   270→
   271→See [TESTING.md](TESTING.md) for complete testing documentation including:
   272→- Test structure and organization
   273→- Writing new tests
   274→- Platform-specific testing
   275→- CI/CD integration
   276→- Troubleshooting
   277→
   278→## Updating
   279→
   280→Ralph includes a self-update system:
   281→
   282→```bash
   283→# Update to latest version
   284→ralph update
   285→
   286→# Check for updates
   287→ralph update --check
   288→
   289→# List all versions
   290→ralph update --list
   291→
   292→# Install specific version
   293→ralph update 1.5.0
   294→
   295→# Rollback to previous version
   296→ralph rollback
   297→```
   298→
   299→## Requirements
   300→
   301→### All Platforms
   302→- [Claude Code CLI](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/get-started) installed and authenticated
   303→- Git (optional, for auto-commits)
   304→
   305→### Unix/Linux/macOS
   306→- Bash shell (usually pre-installed)
   307→
   308→### Windows
   309→- **Option 1 (Recommended):** PowerShell 5.1+ (pre-installed on Windows 10/11)
   310→- **Option 2:** Git for Windows (includes Git Bash)
   311→- **Option 3:** WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
   312→
   313→**Note:** PowerShell scripts (`.ps1`) are fully native on Windows and require no additional installation. Bash scripts (`.sh`) require Git Bash or WSL.
   314→
   315→## Files
   316→
   317→```
   318→~/ralph/
   319→├── ralph.sh               # Main loop (Bash)
   320→├── ralph.ps1              # Main loop (PowerShell)
   321→├── update.sh              # Self-update system (Bash)
   322→├── update.ps1             # Self-update system (PowerShell)
   323→├── notify.sh              # Notification dispatcher (Bash)
   324→├── notify.ps1             # Notification dispatcher (PowerShell)
   325→├── setup-notifications.sh # Setup wizard (Bash)
   326→├── setup-notifications.ps1 # Setup wizard (PowerShell)
   327→├── launcher.sh            # Auto-detect launcher (Unix)
   328→├── launcher.bat           # Auto-detect launcher (Windows)
   329→├── lib/
   330→│   ├── platform-utils.sh  # Cross-platform utilities (Bash)
   331→│   ├── platform-utils.ps1 # Cross-platform utilities (PowerShell)
   332→│   ├── process-mgmt.sh    # Process management (Bash)
   333→│   └── process-mgmt.ps1   # Process management (PowerShell)
   334→├── PROMPT_plan.md         # Plan mode instructions
   335→├── PROMPT_build.md        # Build mode instructions
   336→├── CHANGELOG.md           # Version history
   337→├── .env.example           # Config template
   338→├── .gitattributes         # Line ending configuration
   339→└── docs/                  # Documentation
   340→```
   341→
   342→### Cross-Platform Support
   343→
   344→PortableRalph provides both Bash (`.sh`) and PowerShell (`.ps1`) versions of all scripts:
   345→
   346→- **Unix/Linux/macOS:** Use `.sh` scripts directly
   347→- **Windows (PowerShell):** Use `.ps1` scripts or the `ralph` command (if added to PATH)
   348→- **Windows (Git Bash):** Use `.sh` scripts
   349→- **Windows (WSL):** Use `.sh` scripts
   350→- **Auto-detection:** Use `launcher.sh` or `launcher.bat` to automatically select the right script for your environment
   351→
   352→The `.gitattributes` file ensures proper line endings across platforms (LF for `.sh`, CRLF for `.ps1` and `.bat`).
   353→
   354→## Windows Support
   355→
   356→PortableRalph is fully cross-platform with native Windows support:
   357→
   358→### Installation Options
   359→
   360→1. **PowerShell (Recommended):** Native Windows support, no dependencies
   361→   ```powershell
   362→   irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/master/install.ps1 | iex
   363→   ```
   364→
   365→2. **Git Bash:** Use Bash scripts on Windows
   366→   ```bash
   367→   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/master/install.sh | bash
   368→   ```
   369→
   370→3. **WSL:** Run Linux version in Windows Subsystem for Linux
   371→
   372→### Path Handling
   373→
   374→PortableRalph automatically handles Windows and Unix path conventions:
   375→- **Windows:** `C:\Users\name\project` or `C:/Users/name/project`
   376→- **Unix:** `/home/name/project`
   377→- **WSL:** `/mnt/c/Users/name/project` (automatically converted)
   378→
   379→### Process Management
   380→
   381→Windows-specific process management utilities are provided in `lib/process-mgmt.ps1`:
   382→- `Start-BackgroundProcess` - Equivalent to `nohup`
   383→- `Stop-ProcessSafe` - Equivalent to `kill`
   384→- `Get-ProcessList` - Equivalent to `ps`
   385→- `Find-ProcessByPattern` - Equivalent to `pgrep`
   386→- `Stop-ProcessByPattern` - Equivalent to `pkill`
   387→
   388→### Configuration
   389→
   390→Configuration file location:
   391→- **Windows:** `%USERPROFILE%\.ralph.env` (e.g., `C:\Users\YourName\.ralph.env`)
   392→- **Unix:** `~/.ralph.env` (e.g., `/home/yourname/.ralph.env`)
   393→
   394→### Troubleshooting
   395→
   396→**PowerShell Execution Policy:**
   397→If you see "running scripts is disabled", run PowerShell as Administrator and execute:
   398→```powershell
   399→Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
   400→```
   401→
   402→**Line Endings:**
   403→The `.gitattributes` file ensures correct line endings. If you manually edit files:
   404→- `.sh` files must use LF (Unix) line endings
   405→- `.ps1` and `.bat` files must use CRLF (Windows) line endings
   406→
   407→## For AI Agents
   408→
   409→Invoke Ralph from another AI agent:
   410→
   411→**Unix/Linux/macOS:**
   412→```bash
   413→# Plan first (analyzes codebase, creates task list, exits after 1 iteration)
   414→ralph /absolute/path/to/plan.md plan
   415→
   416→# Then build (implements tasks one by one until completion)
   417→ralph /absolute/path/to/plan.md build
   418→```
   419→
   420→**Windows (PowerShell):**
   421→```powershell
   422→# Plan first
   423→ralph C:\absolute\path\to\plan.md plan
   424→
   425→# Then build
   426→ralph C:\absolute\path\to\plan.md build
   427→```
   428→
   429→**Important:**
   430→- Plan mode runs once then exits automatically (sets status to `IN_PROGRESS`)
   431→- Build mode loops until all tasks are complete, then writes `RALPH_DONE` on its own line in the Status section
   432→- Only build mode should ever write the completion marker
   433→- The marker must be on its own line to be detected (not inline with other text)
   434→
   435→## License
   436→
   437→MIT
   438→
   439→---
   440→
   441→Based on [The Ralph Playbook](https://github.com/ghuntley/how-to-ralph-wiggum) by [@GeoffreyHuntley](https://x.com/GeoffreyHuntley).
   442→
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

I'll add a Configuration section documenting the model parameter. The natural place is after the Usage/Examples section and before Plan File Format.

## Assistant

### Tool: Edit

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/README.md",
  "new_string": "## Configuration\n\nRalph is configured via `~/.ralph.env`. Available settings:\n\n```bash\n# Claude model to use (default: sonnet)\nexport RALPH_MODEL=\"sonnet\"\n# Other options: claude-opus-4-6, claude-haiku-4-5-20251001, etc.\n\n# Auto-commit after each iteration (default: true)\nexport RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT=\"true\"\n```\n\nYou can also override the model per-run via environment variable:\n\n```bash\nRALPH_MODEL=claude-opus-4-6 ralph ./plan.md\n```\n\nOr use the config command for auto-commit:\n\n```bash\nralph config commit off   # Disable auto-commit\nralph config commit on    # Enable auto-commit\n```\n\n## Plan File Format",
  "old_string": "## Plan File Format",
  "replace_all": false
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
The file /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/README.md has been updated successfully.
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git add README.md && git commit -m \"$(cat <<'EOF'\ndoc: Add Configuration section with RALPH_MODEL to README\n\nCo-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>\nEOF\n)\"",
  "description": "Commit README update"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
[fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming bd9afbb] doc: Add Configuration section with RALPH_MODEL to README
 1 file changed, 26 insertions(+)
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git push fork fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming",
  "description": "Push to update the PR"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
To github.com:thebigjc/portableralph.git
   6a520a1..bd9afbb  fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming -> fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming
```

## Assistant

Done. The PR at https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/pull/4 now includes the README update with a new Configuration section documenting `RALPH_MODEL` and `RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT`.

## User

Do we think our non-streaming version is still running?

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ps aux | grep -E 'ralph|claude' | grep -v grep | grep -v 'resume'",
  "description": "Check for Ralph's Claude process"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
jc        942971  0.0  0.0   8016  4096 pts/0    S+   11:35   0:00 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh plan.md plan
jc        943048  3.6  0.7 32937848 257292 pts/0 Sl+  11:35   0:25 claude
```

## Assistant

Yep, still running. Ralph (942971) and its Claude process (943048) are both alive. Claude has accumulated 25s of CPU time and is using ~257MB memory — still actively working on the plan.

## User

I restarted it and I don't see any incremental output

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ps aux | grep -E 'ralph|claude' | grep -v grep | grep -v 'resume'",
  "description": "Check current processes"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
jc        966865  0.0  0.0   8016  4096 pts/0    S+   11:47   0:00 /bin/bash /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh plan.md plan
jc        966935  8.2  0.7 32923896 245028 pts/0 Sl+  11:47   0:05 claude
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "claude -p --help 2>&1 | head -30",
  "description": "Check claude -p output behavior"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
Error: Claude Code cannot be launched inside another Claude Code session.
Nested sessions share runtime resources and will crash all active sessions.
To bypass this check, unset the CLAUDECODE environment variable.
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "CLAUDECODE= claude --help 2>&1 | grep -A3 '\\-p\\b\\|--print\\|output-format\\|--verbose'",
  "description": "Check claude CLI flags for output behavior"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
Claude Code - starts an interactive session by default, use -p/--print for
non-interactive output

Arguments:
--
  --fallback-model <model>                          Enable automatic fallback to specified model when default model is overloaded (only works with --print)
  --file <specs...>                                 File resources to download at startup. Format: file_id:relative_path (e.g., --file file_abc:doc.txt file_def:img.png)
  --fork-session                                    When resuming, create a new session ID instead of reusing the original (use with --resume or --continue)
  --from-pr [value]                                 Resume a session linked to a PR by PR number/URL, or open interactive picker with optional search term
--
  --include-partial-messages                        Include partial message chunks as they arrive (only works with --print and --output-format=stream-json)
  --input-format <format>                           Input format (only works with --print): "text" (default), or "stream-json" (realtime streaming input) (choices: "text", "stream-json")
  --json-schema <schema>                            JSON Schema for structured output validation. Example: {"type":"object","properties":{"name":{"type":"string"}},"required":["name"]}
  --max-budget-usd <amount>                         Maximum dollar amount to spend on API calls (only works with --print)
  --mcp-config <configs...>                         Load MCP servers from JSON files or strings (space-separated)
  --mcp-debug                                       [DEPRECATED. Use --debug instead] Enable MCP debug mode (shows MCP server errors)
  --model <model>                                   Model for the current session. Provide an alias for the latest model (e.g. 'sonnet' or 'opus') or a model's full name (e.g. 'claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929').
--
  --no-session-persistence                          Disable session persistence - sessions will not be saved to disk and cannot be resumed (only works with --print)
  --output-format <format>                          Output format (only works with --print): "text" (default), "json" (single result), or "stream-json" (realtime streaming) (choices: "text", "json", "stream-json")
  --permission-mode <mode>                          Permission mode to use for the session (choices: "acceptEdits", "bypassPermissions", "default", "delegate", "dontAsk", "plan")
  --plugin-dir <paths...>                           Load plugins from directories for this session only (repeatable)
  -p, --print                                       Print response and exit (useful for pipes). Note: The workspace trust dialog is skipped when Claude is run with the -p mode. Only use this flag in directories you trust.
  --replay-user-messages                            Re-emit user messages from stdin back on stdout for acknowledgment (only works with --input-format=stream-json and --output-format=stream-json)
  -r, --resume [value]                              Resume a conversation by session ID, or open interactive picker with optional search term
  --session-id <uuid>                               Use a specific session ID for the conversation (must be a valid UUID)
  --setting-sources <sources>                       Comma-separated list of setting sources to load (user, project, local).
--
  --verbose                                         Override verbose mode setting from config
  -v, --version                                     Output the version number

Commands:
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

The problem is that `claude -p` in text mode likely buffers all output until completion — `tee` can't stream what isn't being written yet. Let me check.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "ls -la /tmp/tmp.* 2>/dev/null",
  "description": "Check if temp output file is growing"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
-rw------- 1 jc jc 0 Feb 15 11:47 /tmp/tmp.7O3FTnyOKs
-rw------- 1 jc jc 0 Feb 15 11:47 /tmp/tmp.84SWxaMSiO
```

## Assistant

Still 0 bytes — confirms `claude -p` buffers everything until done. `tee` has nothing to stream.

The CLI has `--output-format stream-json` which does stream in real-time, but it outputs JSON chunks, not plain text. We'd need to parse them. Let me check what the JSON stream looks like.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "CLAUDECODE= echo \"Say hello in one word\" | claude -p --output-format stream-json 2>/dev/null | head -20",
  "description": "Check stream-json output format"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
(empty result)
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "CLAUDECODE=\"\" bash -c 'echo \"Say hello in one word\" | claude -p --output-format stream-json 2>/dev/null | head -20'",
  "description": "Check stream-json output format"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
(empty result)
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "CLAUDECODE=\"\" bash -c 'echo \"Say hello in one word\" | claude -p --output-format stream-json 2>/tmp/claude_stderr.txt | cat > /tmp/claude_stream_test.txt; echo \"exit: $?\"'",
  "description": "Capture stream-json output to file",
  "timeout": 30000
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
exit: 0
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Read

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/tmp/claude_stream_test.txt"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
<system-reminder>Warning: the file exists but is shorter than the provided offset (1). The file has 1 lines.</system-reminder>
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "cat /tmp/claude_stream_test.txt; echo \"---\"; cat /tmp/claude_stderr.txt",
  "description": "Check both output files"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
---
Error: When using --print, --output-format=stream-json requires --verbose
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "CLAUDECODE=\"\" bash -c 'echo \"Say hello in one word\" | claude -p --output-format stream-json --verbose 2>/dev/null > /tmp/claude_stream_test.txt; echo \"exit: $?\"'",
  "description": "Test stream-json with --verbose",
  "timeout": 30000
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
exit: 0
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Read

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/tmp/claude_stream_test.txt"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
     1→{"type":"system","subtype":"hook_started","hook_id":"3de75132-8bc3-4996-980b-c95f71e69e7c","hook_name":"SessionStart:startup","hook_event":"SessionStart","uuid":"46e6e14d-e902-41b0-afaf-fe35fba0edeb","session_id":"1c40121b-53ca-430e-9d33-977a880c555f"}
     2→{"type":"system","subtype":"hook_response","hook_id":"3de75132-8bc3-4996-980b-c95f71e69e7c","hook_name":"SessionStart:startup","hook_event":"SessionStart","output":"{\n  \"hookSpecificOutput\": {\n    \"hookEventName\": \"SessionStart\",\n    \"additionalContext\": \"<EXTREMELY_IMPORTANT>\\nYou have superpowers.\\n\\n**Below is the full content of your 'superpowers:using-superpowers' skill - your introduction to using skills. For all other skills, use the 'Skill' tool:**\\n\\n---\\nname: using-superpowers\\ndescription: Use when starting any conversation - establishes how to find and use skills, requiring Skill tool invocation before ANY response including clarifying questions\\n---\\n\\n<EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>\\nIf you think there is even a 1% chance a skill might apply to what you are doing, you ABSOLUTELY MUST invoke the skill.\\n\\nIF A SKILL APPLIES TO YOUR TASK, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. YOU MUST USE IT.\\n\\nThis is not negotiable. This is not optional. You cannot rationalize your way out of this.\\n</EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>\\n\\n## How to Access Skills\\n\\n**In Claude Code:** Use the `Skill` tool. When you invoke a skill, its content is loaded and presented to you—follow it directly. Never use the Read tool on skill files.\\n\\n**In other environments:** Check your platform's documentation for how skills are loaded.\\n\\n# Using Skills\\n\\n## The Rule\\n\\n**Invoke relevant or requested skills BEFORE any response or action.** Even a 1% chance a skill might apply means that you should invoke the skill to check. If an invoked skill turns out to be wrong for the situation, you don't need to use it.\\n\\n```dot\\ndigraph skill_flow {\\n    \\\"User message received\\\" [shape=doublecircle];\\n    \\\"About to EnterPlanMode?\\\" [shape=doublecircle];\\n    \\\"Already brainstormed?\\\" [shape=diamond];\\n    \\\"Invoke brainstorming skill\\\" [shape=box];\\n    \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\" [shape=diamond];\\n    \\\"Invoke Skill tool\\\" [shape=box];\\n    \\\"Announce: 'Using [skill] to [purpose]'\\\" [shape=box];\\n    \\\"Has checklist?\\\" [shape=diamond];\\n    \\\"Create TodoWrite todo per item\\\" [shape=box];\\n    \\\"Follow skill exactly\\\" [shape=box];\\n    \\\"Respond (including clarifications)\\\" [shape=doublecircle];\\n\\n    \\\"About to EnterPlanMode?\\\" -> \\\"Already brainstormed?\\\";\\n    \\\"Already brainstormed?\\\" -> \\\"Invoke brainstorming skill\\\" [label=\\\"no\\\"];\\n    \\\"Already brainstormed?\\\" -> \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\" [label=\\\"yes\\\"];\\n    \\\"Invoke brainstorming skill\\\" -> \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\";\\n\\n    \\\"User message received\\\" -> \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\";\\n    \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\" -> \\\"Invoke Skill tool\\\" [label=\\\"yes, even 1%\\\"];\\n    \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\" -> \\\"Respond (including clarifications)\\\" [label=\\\"definitely not\\\"];\\n    \\\"Invoke Skill tool\\\" -> \\\"Announce: 'Using [skill] to [purpose]'\\\";\\n    \\\"Announce: 'Using [skill] to [purpose]'\\\" -> \\\"Has checklist?\\\";\\n    \\\"Has checklist?\\\" -> \\\"Create TodoWrite todo per item\\\" [label=\\\"yes\\\"];\\n    \\\"Has checklist?\\\" -> \\\"Follow skill exactly\\\" [label=\\\"no\\\"];\\n    \\\"Create TodoWrite todo per item\\\" -> \\\"Follow skill exactly\\\";\\n}\\n```\\n\\n## Red Flags\\n\\nThese thoughts mean STOP—you're rationalizing:\\n\\n| Thought | Reality |\\n|---------|---------|\\n| \\\"This is just a simple question\\\" | Questions are tasks. Check for skills. |\\n| \\\"I need more context first\\\" | Skill check comes BEFORE clarifying questions. |\\n| \\\"Let me explore the codebase first\\\" | Skills tell you HOW to explore. Check first. |\\n| \\\"I can check git/files quickly\\\" | Files lack conversation context. Check for skills. |\\n| \\\"Let me gather information first\\\" | Skills tell you HOW to gather information. |\\n| \\\"This doesn't need a formal skill\\\" | If a skill exists, use it. |\\n| \\\"I remember this skill\\\" | Skills evolve. Read current version. |\\n| \\\"This doesn't count as a task\\\" | Action = task. Check for skills. |\\n| \\\"The skill is overkill\\\" | Simple things become complex. Use it. |\\n| \\\"I'll just do this one thing first\\\" | Check BEFORE doing anything. |\\n| \\\"This feels productive\\\" | Undisciplined action wastes time. Skills prevent this. |\\n| \\\"I know what that means\\\" | Knowing the concept ≠ using the skill. Invoke it. |\\n\\n## Skill Priority\\n\\nWhen multiple skills could apply, use this order:\\n\\n1. **Process skills first** (brainstorming, debugging) - these determine HOW to approach the task\\n2. **Implementation skills second** (frontend-design, mcp-builder) - these guide execution\\n\\n\\\"Let's build X\\\" → brainstorming first, then implementation skills.\\n\\\"Fix this bug\\\" → debugging first, then domain-specific skills.\\n\\n## Skill Types\\n\\n**Rigid** (TDD, debugging): Follow exactly. Don't adapt away discipline.\\n\\n**Flexible** (patterns): Adapt principles to context.\\n\\nThe skill itself tells you which.\\n\\n## User Instructions\\n\\nInstructions say WHAT, not HOW. \\\"Add X\\\" or \\\"Fix Y\\\" doesn't mean skip workflows.\\n\\n\\n</EXTREMELY_IMPORTANT>\"\n  }\n}\n","stdout":"{\n  \"hookSpecificOutput\": {\n    \"hookEventName\": \"SessionStart\",\n    \"additionalContext\": \"<EXTREMELY_IMPORTANT>\\nYou have superpowers.\\n\\n**Below is the full content of your 'superpowers:using-superpowers' skill - your introduction to using skills. For all other skills, use the 'Skill' tool:**\\n\\n---\\nname: using-superpowers\\ndescription: Use when starting any conversation - establishes how to find and use skills, requiring Skill tool invocation before ANY response including clarifying questions\\n---\\n\\n<EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>\\nIf you think there is even a 1% chance a skill might apply to what you are doing, you ABSOLUTELY MUST invoke the skill.\\n\\nIF A SKILL APPLIES TO YOUR TASK, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. YOU MUST USE IT.\\n\\nThis is not negotiable. This is not optional. You cannot rationalize your way out of this.\\n</EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>\\n\\n## How to Access Skills\\n\\n**In Claude Code:** Use the `Skill` tool. When you invoke a skill, its content is loaded and presented to you—follow it directly. Never use the Read tool on skill files.\\n\\n**In other environments:** Check your platform's documentation for how skills are loaded.\\n\\n# Using Skills\\n\\n## The Rule\\n\\n**Invoke relevant or requested skills BEFORE any response or action.** Even a 1% chance a skill might apply means that you should invoke the skill to check. If an invoked skill turns out to be wrong for the situation, you don't need to use it.\\n\\n```dot\\ndigraph skill_flow {\\n    \\\"User message received\\\" [shape=doublecircle];\\n    \\\"About to EnterPlanMode?\\\" [shape=doublecircle];\\n    \\\"Already brainstormed?\\\" [shape=diamond];\\n    \\\"Invoke brainstorming skill\\\" [shape=box];\\n    \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\" [shape=diamond];\\n    \\\"Invoke Skill tool\\\" [shape=box];\\n    \\\"Announce: 'Using [skill] to [purpose]'\\\" [shape=box];\\n    \\\"Has checklist?\\\" [shape=diamond];\\n    \\\"Create TodoWrite todo per item\\\" [shape=box];\\n    \\\"Follow skill exactly\\\" [shape=box];\\n    \\\"Respond (including clarifications)\\\" [shape=doublecircle];\\n\\n    \\\"About to EnterPlanMode?\\\" -> \\\"Already brainstormed?\\\";\\n    \\\"Already brainstormed?\\\" -> \\\"Invoke brainstorming skill\\\" [label=\\\"no\\\"];\\n    \\\"Already brainstormed?\\\" -> \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\" [label=\\\"yes\\\"];\\n    \\\"Invoke brainstorming skill\\\" -> \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\";\\n\\n    \\\"User message received\\\" -> \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\";\\n    \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\" -> \\\"Invoke Skill tool\\\" [label=\\\"yes, even 1%\\\"];\\n    \\\"Might any skill apply?\\\" -> \\\"Respond (including clarifications)\\\" [label=\\\"definitely not\\\"];\\n    \\\"Invoke Skill tool\\\" -> \\\"Announce: 'Using [skill] to [purpose]'\\\";\\n    \\\"Announce: 'Using [skill] to [purpose]'\\\" -> \\\"Has checklist?\\\";\\n    \\\"Has checklist?\\\" -> \\\"Create TodoWrite todo per item\\\" [label=\\\"yes\\\"];\\n    \\\"Has checklist?\\\" -> \\\"Follow skill exactly\\\" [label=\\\"no\\\"];\\n    \\\"Create TodoWrite todo per item\\\" -> \\\"Follow skill exactly\\\";\\n}\\n```\\n\\n## Red Flags\\n\\nThese thoughts mean STOP—you're rationalizing:\\n\\n| Thought | Reality |\\n|---------|---------|\\n| \\\"This is just a simple question\\\" | Questions are tasks. Check for skills. |\\n| \\\"I need more context first\\\" | Skill check comes BEFORE clarifying questions. |\\n| \\\"Let me explore the codebase first\\\" | Skills tell you HOW to explore. Check first. |\\n| \\\"I can check git/files quickly\\\" | Files lack conversation context. Check for skills. |\\n| \\\"Let me gather information first\\\" | Skills tell you HOW to gather information. |\\n| \\\"This doesn't need a formal skill\\\" | If a skill exists, use it. |\\n| \\\"I remember this skill\\\" | Skills evolve. Read current version. |\\n| \\\"This doesn't count as a task\\\" | Action = task. Check for skills. |\\n| \\\"The skill is overkill\\\" | Simple things become complex. Use it. |\\n| \\\"I'll just do this one thing first\\\" | Check BEFORE doing anything. |\\n| \\\"This feels productive\\\" | Undisciplined action wastes time. Skills prevent this. |\\n| \\\"I know what that means\\\" | Knowing the concept ≠ using the skill. Invoke it. |\\n\\n## Skill Priority\\n\\nWhen multiple skills could apply, use this order:\\n\\n1. **Process skills first** (brainstorming, debugging) - these determine HOW to approach the task\\n2. **Implementation skills second** (frontend-design, mcp-builder) - these guide execution\\n\\n\\\"Let's build X\\\" → brainstorming first, then implementation skills.\\n\\\"Fix this bug\\\" → debugging first, then domain-specific skills.\\n\\n## Skill Types\\n\\n**Rigid** (TDD, debugging): Follow exactly. Don't adapt away discipline.\\n\\n**Flexible** (patterns): Adapt principles to context.\\n\\nThe skill itself tells you which.\\n\\n## User Instructions\\n\\nInstructions say WHAT, not HOW. \\\"Add X\\\" or \\\"Fix Y\\\" doesn't mean skip workflows.\\n\\n\\n</EXTREMELY_IMPORTANT>\"\n  }\n}\n","stderr":"","exit_code":0,"outcome":"success","uuid":"24e533b4-b7bb-4033-99d0-7d60888f51d3","session_id":"1c40121b-53ca-430e-9d33-977a880c555f"}
     3→{"type":"system","subtype":"init","cwd":"/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph","session_id":"1c40121b-53ca-430e-9d33-977a880c555f","tools":["Task","TaskOutput","Bash","Glob","Grep","ExitPlanMode","Read","Edit","Write","NotebookEdit","WebFetch","TodoWrite","WebSearch","TaskStop","AskUserQuestion","Skill","EnterPlanMode","ToolSearch"],"mcp_servers":[],"model":"claude-opus-4-6","permissionMode":"default","slash_commands":["keybindings-help","debug","ralph-loop:cancel-ralph","ralph-loop:help","ralph-loop:ralph-loop","superpowers:brainstorm","superpowers:execute-plan","superpowers:write-plan","claude-md-management:revise-claude-md","superpowers:brainstorming","superpowers:dispatching-parallel-agents","superpowers:executing-plans","superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch","superpowers:receiving-code-review","superpowers:requesting-code-review","superpowers:subagent-driven-development","superpowers:systematic-debugging","superpowers:test-driven-development","superpowers:using-git-worktrees","superpowers:using-superpowers","superpowers:verification-before-completion","superpowers:writing-plans","superpowers:writing-skills","claude-md-management:claude-md-improver","compact","context","cost","init","pr-comments","release-notes","review","security-review","insights"],"apiKeySource":"none","claude_code_version":"2.1.42","output_style":"default","agents":["Bash","general-purpose","statusline-setup","Explore","Plan","claude-code-guide","code-simplifier:code-simplifier","superpowers:code-reviewer"],"skills":["keybindings-help","debug","superpowers:brainstorm","superpowers:execute-plan","superpowers:write-plan","superpowers:brainstorming","superpowers:dispatching-parallel-agents","superpowers:executing-plans","superpowers:finishing-a-development-branch","superpowers:receiving-code-review","superpowers:requesting-code-review","superpowers:subagent-driven-development","superpowers:systematic-debugging","superpowers:test-driven-development","superpowers:using-git-worktrees","superpowers:using-superpowers","superpowers:verification-before-completion","superpowers:writing-plans","superpowers:writing-skills","claude-md-management:claude-md-improver"],"plugins":[{"name":"rust-analyzer-lsp","path":"/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/rust-analyzer-lsp/1.0.0"},{"name":"ralph-loop","path":"/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/ralph-loop/2cd88e7947b7"},{"name":"code-simplifier","path":"/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/code-simplifier/1.0.0"},{"name":"superpowers","path":"/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/superpowers/4.3.0"},{"name":"claude-md-management","path":"/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/claude-md-management/1.0.0"}],"uuid":"b28a4b4b-1818-4849-8c91-5cc519399a81","fast_mode_state":"off"}
     4→{"type":"assistant","message":{"model":"claude-opus-4-6","id":"msg_01VupgKpGsaBQLju3QeAi6yU","type":"message","role":"assistant","content":[{"type":"text","text":"Hello!"}],"stop_reason":null,"stop_sequence":null,"usage":{"input_tokens":2,"cache_creation_input_tokens":21805,"cache_read_input_tokens":0,"cache_creation":{"ephemeral_5m_input_tokens":0,"ephemeral_1h_input_tokens":21805},"output_tokens":1,"service_tier":"standard","inference_geo":"not_available"},"context_management":null},"parent_tool_use_id":null,"session_id":"1c40121b-53ca-430e-9d33-977a880c555f","uuid":"177715e9-f21b-4552-8179-cfa51f3de77a"}
     5→{"type":"result","subtype":"success","is_error":false,"duration_ms":2725,"duration_api_ms":2677,"num_turns":1,"result":"Hello!","stop_reason":null,"session_id":"1c40121b-53ca-430e-9d33-977a880c555f","total_cost_usd":0.13641625000000002,"usage":{"input_tokens":2,"cache_creation_input_tokens":21805,"cache_read_input_tokens":0,"output_tokens":5,"server_tool_use":{"web_search_requests":0,"web_fetch_requests":0},"service_tier":"standard","cache_creation":{"ephemeral_1h_input_tokens":21805,"ephemeral_5m_input_tokens":0},"inference_geo":"","iterations":[],"speed":"standard"},"modelUsage":{"claude-opus-4-6":{"inputTokens":2,"outputTokens":5,"cacheReadInputTokens":0,"cacheCreationInputTokens":21805,"webSearchRequests":0,"costUSD":0.13641625000000002,"contextWindow":200000,"maxOutputTokens":32000}},"permission_denials":[],"uuid":"eee4be38-1d33-4af4-873b-9a7d77bbb053"}
     6→
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

Right — `claude -p` with text output buffers everything until completion. The `tee` has nothing to stream.

The fix is to use `--output-format stream-json`, which emits JSON lines in real-time as Claude works, then filter through `jq` to display the text content. Let me update the implementation.

## Assistant

### Tool: Read

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh",
  "limit": 10,
  "offset": 724
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
   724→        }
   725→        chmod 600 "$claude_output_file" "$claude_error_file"
   726→
   727→        # Run Claude (stream output to terminal via tee while capturing to file)
   728→        echo "$PROMPT" | claude -p \
   729→            --dangerously-skip-permissions \
   730→            --model "$RALPH_MODEL" \
   731→            --verbose 2>"$claude_error_file" | tee "$claude_output_file" || claude_exit_code=$?
   732→
   733→        # Capture any error output
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Edit

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh",
  "new_string": "        # Run Claude with streaming output\n        if command -v jq &>/dev/null; then\n            # Stream JSON events, display text content in real-time\n            echo \"$PROMPT\" | claude -p \\\n                --dangerously-skip-permissions \\\n                --model \"$RALPH_MODEL\" \\\n                --verbose \\\n                --output-format stream-json 2>\"$claude_error_file\" | \\\n                tee \"$claude_output_file\" | \\\n                jq --unbuffered -r '\n                    select(.type == \"assistant\") |\n                    .message.content[]? |\n                    select(.type == \"text\") |\n                    .text // empty\n                ' || claude_exit_code=$?\n        else\n            # No jq available: capture output, no streaming display\n            echo \"$PROMPT\" | claude -p \\\n                --dangerously-skip-permissions \\\n                --model \"$RALPH_MODEL\" \\\n                --verbose 2>\"$claude_error_file\" > \"$claude_output_file\" || claude_exit_code=$?\n        fi",
  "old_string": "        # Run Claude (stream output to terminal via tee while capturing to file)\n        echo \"$PROMPT\" | claude -p \\\n            --dangerously-skip-permissions \\\n            --model \"$RALPH_MODEL\" \\\n            --verbose 2>\"$claude_error_file\" | tee \"$claude_output_file\" || claude_exit_code=$?",
  "replace_all": false
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
The file /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh has been updated successfully.
```

## Assistant

Now let me verify the error detection code still works — it uses stderr and exit code, not stdout, so it should be fine.

## Assistant

### Tool: Read

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh",
  "limit": 25,
  "offset": 741
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
   741→                ' || claude_exit_code=$?
   742→        else
   743→            # No jq available: capture output, no streaming display
   744→            echo "$PROMPT" | claude -p \
   745→                --dangerously-skip-permissions \
   746→                --model "$RALPH_MODEL" \
   747→                --verbose 2>"$claude_error_file" > "$claude_output_file" || claude_exit_code=$?
   748→        fi
   749→
   750→        # Capture any error output
   751→        claude_errors=""
   752→        if [ -f "$claude_error_file" ]; then
   753→            claude_errors=$(cat "$claude_error_file" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
   754→        fi
   755→
   756→        # Check for known error patterns even if exit code is 0
   757→        if [ $claude_exit_code -ne 0 ]; then
   758→            error_detected=true
   759→            case $claude_exit_code in
   760→                1)   error_type="general error" ;;
   761→                2)   error_type="CLI usage error" ;;
   762→                130) error_type="interrupted by user (Ctrl+C)" ;;
   763→                *)   error_type="exit code $claude_exit_code" ;;
   764→            esac
   765→        fi
```

## Assistant

Good — error detection uses `claude_error_file` (stderr) and exit code only, unaffected by the format change.

Let me also verify `jq` is available on the system.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "command -v jq && jq --version",
  "description": "Check if jq is available"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
/usr/bin/jq
jq-1.7
```

## Assistant

Good. Now let me amend this into the PR.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git add ralph.sh && git commit -m \"$(cat <<'EOF'\nfix: Use stream-json for real-time Claude output streaming\n\nclaude -p with text output buffers everything until completion, so\ntee had nothing to stream. Switch to --output-format stream-json\nwhich emits JSON events in real-time, then pipe through jq to\nextract and display text content as Claude works. Falls back to\nbuffered output if jq is not available.\n\nCo-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>\nEOF\n)\"",
  "description": "Commit streaming fix"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
[fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming c953b6b] fix: Use stream-json for real-time Claude output streaming
 1 file changed, 22 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git push fork fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming",
  "description": "Push to update PR"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
To github.com:thebigjc/portableralph.git
   bd9afbb..c953b6b  fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming -> fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming
```

## Assistant

Pushed. The PR now uses `--output-format stream-json` which emits JSON lines in real-time as Claude works, piped through `jq` to display just the text content. If `jq` isn't installed, it falls back to buffered output.

You can test it on your next Ralph run — kill the current one and restart if you want to see it now.

## User

The streaming seems to be working - but there is very sporadic output. Are we filtering the JSON in some way?  RALPH - Autonomous AI Development Loop
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
  Plan:      plan.md
  Mode:      plan
  Progress:  plan_PROGRESS.md
  Model:     claude-opus-4-6
  Commit:    enabled
  Notify:    Discord
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Exit conditions:
  - Planning completes when task list is created (Status: IN_PROGRESS)
  - Plan mode runs once then exits automatically
  - Press Ctrl+C to stop manually

Lock acquired: /tmp/ralph_9b32b1156d685b82ade4dd4698c62e4d.lock

══════════════════ ITERATION 1 ══════════════════



I'll start by reading the plan file and progress file, then explore the codebase to understand what exists.
Now let me read the ROADMAP.md and explore the Rust codebase structure in parallel.


## Assistant

## Assistant

Yes — the `jq` filter only shows text from assistant messages, so you see nothing while Claude is reading files, searching code, etc. (which is most of the work during planning). Let me update the filter to also show tool activity.

## Assistant

### Tool: Read

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh",
  "limit": 20,
  "offset": 727
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
   727→        # Run Claude with streaming output
   728→        if command -v jq &>/dev/null; then
   729→            # Stream JSON events, display text content in real-time
   730→            echo "$PROMPT" | claude -p \
   731→                --dangerously-skip-permissions \
   732→                --model "$RALPH_MODEL" \
   733→                --verbose \
   734→                --output-format stream-json 2>"$claude_error_file" | \
   735→                tee "$claude_output_file" | \
   736→                jq --unbuffered -r '
   737→                    select(.type == "assistant") |
   738→                    .message.content[]? |
   739→                    select(.type == "text") |
   740→                    .text // empty
   741→                ' || claude_exit_code=$?
   742→        else
   743→            # No jq available: capture output, no streaming display
   744→            echo "$PROMPT" | claude -p \
   745→                --dangerously-skip-permissions \
   746→                --model "$RALPH_MODEL" \
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Edit

**Args:**
```json
{
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh",
  "new_string": "                jq --unbuffered -r '\n                    select(.type == \"assistant\") |\n                    .message.content[]? |\n                    if .type == \"text\" then .text\n                    elif .type == \"tool_use\" then\n                        \"  \\u001b[0;34m→ \" + .name +\n                        (if .input.file_path then \": \" + .input.file_path\n                         elif .input.pattern then \" /\" + .input.pattern + \"/\"\n                         elif .input.command then \": \" + (.input.command | .[0:80])\n                         elif .input.prompt then \": \" + (.input.prompt | .[0:80])\n                         else \"\" end) + \"\\u001b[0m\"\n                    else empty end\n                ' || claude_exit_code=$?",
  "old_string": "                jq --unbuffered -r '\n                    select(.type == \"assistant\") |\n                    .message.content[]? |\n                    select(.type == \"text\") |\n                    .text // empty\n                ' || claude_exit_code=$?",
  "replace_all": false
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
The file /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh has been updated successfully.
```

## Assistant

Now you'll see tool activity in blue between the text output, like:

```
I'll explore the codebase structure.
  → Read: /path/to/src/main.rs
  → Grep /some_pattern/
  → Bash: cargo test
Now let me analyze the results...
```

Want to restart Ralph to test it, or should I commit and push to the PR first?

## User

That's much better Lock acquired: /tmp/ralph_9b32b1156d685b82ade4dd4698c62e4d.lock

══════════════════ ITERATION 1 ══════════════════



I'll start by reading the plan file and progress file, then explore the codebase to understand what exists.
Now let me read the ROADMAP.md and explore the Rust codebase structure in parallel.
^CError: Claude CLI error at iteration 1 (attempt 1/3): interrupted by user (Ctrl+C)
Non-retryable error detected: interrupted by user (Ctrl+C)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
  Claude CLI Error (after 1 attempts): interrupted by user (Ctrl+C)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Error: Stopping Ralph due to Claude CLI failure at iteration 1 after 1 attempts
jc@Gizmo:~/src/mage$ RALPH_MODEL=claude-opus-4-6 ralph plan.md plan

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
  RALPH - Autonomous AI Development Loop
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
  Plan:      plan.md
  Mode:      plan
  Progress:  plan_PROGRESS.md
  Model:     claude-opus-4-6
  Commit:    enabled
  Notify:    Discord
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Exit conditions:
  - Planning completes when task list is created (Status: IN_PROGRESS)
  - Plan mode runs once then exits automatically
  - Press Ctrl+C to stop manually

Lock acquired: /tmp/ralph_9b32b1156d685b82ade4dd4698c62e4d.lock

══════════════════ ITERATION 1 ══════════════════



I'll start by reading the plan and progress files, then explore the codebase to understand what exists.
  → Read: /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/plan.md
  → Read: /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/plan_PROGRESS.md
Now let me read the ROADMAP and explore the codebase structure to understand what exists and what's needed.
  → Task: Read the file /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/ROADMAP.md in its entirety
  → Task: I need to understand the current state of the ECL (Eclogue) set implementation.
  → Task: I need to understand the current engine capabilities and test coverage. Do the f
  → Task: Search across all card set files in /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-
  → Read: /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/ROADMAP.md
  → Read: /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-cards/src/sets/ecl.rs
  → Read: /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-engine/src/abilities.rs
  → Bash: ls -la /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-engine/src/
  → Bash: find /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-cards/src/sets -name "*.rs" | h
  → Read: /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-engine/src/game.rs
  → Read: /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-engine/src/lib.rs
  → Bash: ls -la /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-tests/src/
  → Bash: ls -la /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-tests/tests/
  → Read: /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-engine/src/game.rs
  → Grep /register_cards/
  → Grep /Effect::Custom\(|StaticEffect::Custom\(/
  → Grep /Effect::Custom/
  → Grep /StaticEffect::Custom/
  → Grep /todo!|unimplemented!/
  → Grep /execute_effect|fn.*effect/
  → Bash: cd /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-cards/src/sets && grep -r "Effect
  → Bash: cd /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl && cargo check -p mtg-engine 2>&1 | t
  → Grep /pub fn register_cards/
  → Bash: cd /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl && cargo check -p mtg-cards 2>&1 | ta
  → Bash: cd /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-cards/src/sets && grep -rho 'Effe
  → Grep /register/
  → Bash: cd /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-cards/src/sets && grep -ro 'Effec
  → Grep /registry\.register\(/
  → Grep /match.*effect.*\{|Effect::/
  → Read: /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-engine/src/abilities.rs
  → Bash: grep -c 'registry\.register(' /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/src/mage/mtg-rl/mtg-cards/ - let's update the PR. also update the PR description to show a neutral (non-specific) version of the streaming output

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git add ralph.sh && git commit -m \"$(cat <<'EOF'\nfeat: Show tool activity in streaming output\n\nDisplay tool use events (Read, Grep, Bash, etc.) in blue between\ntext output so users can see what Claude is doing while it works,\nnot just sporadic text between long silences.\n\nCo-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>\nEOF\n)\"",
  "description": "Commit tool activity streaming"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
[fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming 41ccdb7] feat: Show tool activity in streaming output
 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
```

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "git push fork fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming",
  "description": "Push to update PR"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
To github.com:thebigjc/portableralph.git
   c953b6b..41ccdb7  fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming -> fix/discord-infinite-loop-and-streaming
```

## Assistant

Now let me update the PR description.

## Assistant

### Tool: Bash

**Args:**
```json
{
  "command": "gh pr edit 4 --repo aaron777collins/portableralph --body \"$(cat <<'EOF'\n## Summary\n- **Fix infinite loop in `notify.sh`**: The Discord bold formatting conversion (`*text*` → `**text**`) used a `while` loop where the output still matched the input regex, causing 100% CPU spin forever. Replaced with single-pass left-to-right string processing.\n- **Stream Claude output in real-time**: Changed `ralph.sh` to use `--output-format stream-json` and pipe through `jq` to display text and tool activity as Claude works, instead of buffering all output until completion.\n- **Make model configurable**: Use `$RALPH_MODEL` env var instead of hardcoded `sonnet`. Document in README.\n- **Fix decrypt ordering**: Move `decrypt-env` before config validation so decrypted values are validated.\n- **Fix `local` outside functions**: Remove invalid `local` keywords in `setup-notifications.sh`.\n\n### Streaming output example\n\n```\n══════════════════ ITERATION 1 ══════════════════\n\nI'll start by reading the plan and progress files, then explore the codebase.\n  → Read: /home/user/project/plan.md\n  → Read: /home/user/project/plan_PROGRESS.md\nNow let me explore the codebase structure to understand what's needed.\n  → Task: Explore the project structure and dependencies\n  → Read: /home/user/project/src/lib.rs\n  → Grep /register_cards/\n  → Bash: cargo check -p my-crate 2>&1 | tail -20\nBased on my analysis, here are the implementation tasks...\n  → Edit: /home/user/project/plan_PROGRESS.md\n```\n\n## Test plan\n- [ ] Run `ralph notify test` with Discord configured — verify notification sends without hanging\n- [ ] Run `ralph plan.md plan` — verify streaming output shows text and tool activity in real-time\n- [ ] Run with `RALPH_MODEL=claude-opus-4-6 ralph plan.md plan` — verify model override works\n- [ ] Run `ralph notify setup` — verify setup completes without bash errors\n- [ ] Run without `jq` installed — verify graceful fallback to buffered output\n\n🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)\nEOF\n)\"",
  "description": "Update PR description with streaming example"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/pull/4
```

## Assistant

Done. PR updated at https://github.com/aaron777collins/portableralph/pull/4 with the new streaming commit and a generic example showing what the output looks like.

## User

Read the code in this repo and compare it to our program. https://github.com/iannuttall/ralph Does it have subtantial features we might want? 

## Assistant

## Assistant

### Tool: Task

**Args:**
```json
{
  "description": "Analyze iannuttall/ralph repo",
  "prompt": "Research the GitHub repository https://github.com/iannuttall/ralph thoroughly. I need to understand its full feature set to compare it against another implementation called \"portableralph\" (aaron777collins/portableralph).\n\nUse `gh` CLI to explore the repo:\n1. `gh repo view iannuttall/ralph` to get the overview\n2. Clone or browse the repo contents to understand the code structure\n3. Read the main script(s), README, and any configuration files\n\nFor each feature you find, note:\n- What it does\n- How it's implemented (briefly)\n\nFocus on substantive features like: session management, error handling, model selection, progress tracking, notification systems, plan/build modes, auto-commit behavior, concurrency protection, prompt engineering, etc.\n\nReturn a comprehensive feature inventory organized by category.",
  "subagent_type": "general-purpose"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
I now have a comprehensive understanding of the entire iannuttall/ralph codebase. Here is the full feature inventory.

---

# Comprehensive Feature Inventory: iannuttall/ralph

**Repository:** https://github.com/iannuttall/ralph
**Description:** A minimal, file-based agent loop for autonomous coding.
**Version:** 0.1.3 (npm package: `@iannuttall/ralph`)
**License:** MIT

---

## 1. CORE ARCHITECTURE

### 1.1 File-Based Agent Loop
- **What it does:** Treats files and git as memory rather than model context. Each iteration starts fresh, reads on-disk state, and commits work for one story at a time.
- **How:** The main loop (`loop.sh`) is a bash script that iterates up to `MAX_ITERATIONS` (default 25), selecting one story per iteration, rendering a prompt, invoking an agent CLI, and processing the result. The `while`/`for` loop with `sleep 2` between iterations drives the cycle.

### 1.2 Context Engineering (malloc/free metaphor)
- **What it does:** Prevents context pollution by starting each agent invocation from scratch. References a formal "Context Engineering" document explaining why single-task fresh context is superior.
- **How:** Each loop iteration renders a fresh prompt file and pipes/passes it to the agent CLI. No conversation history carries over between iterations. The reference document (`.agents/ralph/references/CONTEXT_ENGINEERING.md`) provides the theoretical framework.

### 1.3 Template Hierarchy
- **What it does:** Allows project-local overrides of the default templates.
- **How:** The CLI checks for `.agents/ralph/` in the current project first; falls back to bundled defaults shipped with the npm package. Reported to the user at startup ("Using local templates" vs "Using bundled templates").

### 1.4 State Separation
- **What it does:** Separates portable configuration (`.agents/ralph/`) from per-project runtime state (`.ralph/`).
- **How:** `.agents/ralph/` contains prompts, config, and references (copyable between repos). `.ralph/` contains progress logs, guardrails, error logs, activity logs, run logs, and temp files (gitignored, project-specific).

---

## 2. PRD (PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT) SYSTEM

### 2.1 Interactive PRD Generation
- **What it does:** Generates a structured JSON PRD from a natural language description via an AI agent.
- **How:** `ralph prd "description"` or interactive prompt via `@clack/prompts`. Constructs a prompt instructing the agent to ask 5-10 clarifying questions, then produce JSON output. Supports `--out <path>` for custom output paths.

### 2.2 JSON PRD Format
- **What it does:** Defines a machine-readable project specification with stories, dependencies, quality gates, and metadata.
- **How:** JSON schema includes `version`, `project`, `overview`, `goals`, `nonGoals`, `successMetrics`, `openQuestions`, `stack`, `routes`, `uiNotes`, `dataModel`, `importFormat`, `rules`, `qualityGates`, and `stories[]`. Each story has `id`, `title`, `status`, `dependsOn`, `description`, `acceptanceCriteria`.

### 2.3 PRD Multi-File Support
- **What it does:** Supports multiple PRD files in `.agents/tasks/` with interactive selection.
- **How:** If multiple JSON files exist in `.agents/tasks/` and no `--prd` flag is given, uses `@clack/prompts` `select()` to let the user choose. Single file is auto-selected.

### 2.4 PRD Overview Generation
- **What it does:** Generates a human-readable overview markdown file from a JSON PRD.
- **How:** `ralph overview` reads the PRD JSON, counts stories by status (open/in_progress/done), lists quality gates, and writes a `prd-<slug>.overview.md` alongside the JSON file.

### 2.5 PRD Skill (Agent Prompt)
- **What it does:** Provides detailed instructions to the AI agent on how to create a good PRD.
- **How:** The `skills/prd/SKILL.md` instructs the agent to ask clarifying questions in batches of 5, always ask about quality gates, produce JSON with sequential US-XXX IDs, ensure stories are small enough for single iterations, include examples and negative cases in acceptance criteria.

---

## 3. STORY MANAGEMENT

### 3.1 Automatic Story Selection
- **What it does:** Picks the next actionable story based on status and dependency resolution.
- **How:** Python script (`select_story()`) reads the PRD JSON, finds the first `open` story whose `dependsOn` stories are all `done`. Uses `fcntl.flock()` for file locking to support concurrent access.

### 3.2 Story Status Lifecycle
- **What it does:** Tracks story states: `open` -> `in_progress` -> `done`.
- **How:** When selected, a story is marked `in_progress` with `startedAt` timestamp. On completion (agent outputs `<promise>COMPLETE</promise>`), marked `done` with `completedAt`. On failure or no completion signal, reset to `open`. All status updates include `updatedAt` timestamps.

### 3.3 Dependency Resolution
- **What it does:** Respects inter-story dependencies so stories execute in the correct order.
- **How:** Each story has a `dependsOn` array of story IDs. A story is only eligible for selection if all its dependencies have status `done`.

### 3.4 Stale Story Recovery
- **What it does:** Automatically reopens stories stuck in `in_progress` for too long (e.g., from crashed loops).
- **How:** Configurable `STALE_SECONDS` (default 0 = disabled). If set, the `select_story()` Python script checks `startedAt` timestamps and resets stale `in_progress` stories to `open`.

### 3.5 Concurrency Protection (File Locking)
- **What it does:** Prevents race conditions when multiple Ralph instances access the same PRD.
- **How:** Uses `fcntl.flock()` (exclusive lock) in both `select_story()` and `update_story_status()` Python functions when reading/writing the PRD JSON file. Falls back gracefully if `fcntl` is unavailable.

### 3.6 Completion Signal
- **What it does:** Determines whether an agent run successfully completed a story.
- **How:** The loop checks the agent's output log for the literal string `<promise>COMPLETE</promise>`. If found, story is marked `done`; otherwise, it is reset to `open`.

---

## 4. AGENT RUNNER SYSTEM

### 4.1 Multi-Agent Support
- **What it does:** Supports four different AI coding agents: Codex, Claude, Droid (Factory), and OpenCode.
- **How:** `agents.sh` defines both headless and interactive command templates for each agent. The `--agent` CLI flag or `DEFAULT_AGENT` config selects which to use.

### 4.2 Agent Command Templates
- **What it does:** Provides two modes per agent: headless (for build loops) and interactive (for PRD generation).
- **How:** Headless commands pipe/pass prompts via stdin or file. Interactive commands open the agent in a session mode. Templates use `{prompt}` placeholder for file paths.
  - **Codex:** `codex exec --yolo --skip-git-repo-check -` (headless) / `codex --yolo {prompt}` (interactive)
  - **Claude:** `claude -p --dangerously-skip-permissions "$(cat {prompt})"` (headless) / `claude --dangerously-skip-permissions {prompt}` (interactive)
  - **Droid:** `droid exec --skip-permissions-unsafe -f {prompt}` (headless) / `droid --skip-permissions-unsafe {prompt}` (interactive)
  - **OpenCode:** `opencode run "$(cat {prompt})"` (headless) / `opencode --prompt {prompt}` (interactive)

### 4.3 Agent Health Check (Ping)
- **What it does:** Verifies an agent CLI is installed and responsive.
- **How:** `ralph ping` sends the prompt "Reply with `<end>pong</end>` only." to the selected agent and checks the output for that exact string. Validates the agent binary exists first via `command -v`.

### 4.4 Agent Install Hints
- **What it does:** Provides installation instructions when an agent CLI is not found.
- **How:** When `require_agent()` fails to find the agent binary, it prints the appropriate install command (e.g., `npm i -g @openai/codex`, `curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash`).

### 4.5 OpenCode Server Mode
- **What it does:** Supports faster performance with OpenCode via persistent server.
- **How:** Commented-out configuration in `agents.sh` for `--attach http://localhost:4096` flag, avoiding cold boot on every run.

---

## 5. PROMPT ENGINEERING

### 5.1 Build Prompt Template
- **What it does:** Constructs a detailed, structured prompt for each agent iteration with all necessary context.
- **How:** `PROMPT_build.md` is a Mustache-style template with `{{VAR}}` placeholders. The `render_prompt()` function (Python) substitutes paths, story details, quality gates, run metadata, and configuration flags into the template.

### 5.2 Injected Context
- **What it does:** Provides the agent with all the files and paths it needs to operate autonomously.
- **How:** The rendered prompt includes paths to: PRD, AGENTS.md, progress log, guardrails, guardrails reference, context engineering reference, error log, activity log, activity logger command, run ID, iteration number, run log path, and run summary path.

### 5.3 Structured Task Instructions
- **What it does:** Gives the agent a strict ordered workflow to follow.
- **How:** The prompt defines a 11-step procedure: read guardrails, read error log, read PRD, audit codebase, follow AGENTS.md, implement story, run verification, run build/dev, perform security/performance/regression audit, commit (if allowed), append progress entry.

### 5.4 Progress Entry Format
- **What it does:** Standardizes how the agent records its work.
- **How:** A strict markdown template for progress entries including: thread ID, run/iteration info, guardrails reviewed flag, commit hash, verification commands and results, files changed, implementation notes, and learnings for future iterations.

### 5.5 Non-Negotiable Rules
- **What it does:** Constrains agent behavior to prevent scope creep and common mistakes.
- **How:** Explicit rules in the prompt: implement only the selected story, do not ask questions, do not change unrelated code, do not assume -- read code first, no placeholders/stubs, do not edit the PRD JSON, commit all changes, perform security/performance/regression review before committing.

### 5.6 Browser Testing Requirement
- **What it does:** Mandates browser verification for frontend stories.
- **How:** The build prompt instructs: if the story changes UI, load the `dev-browser` skill, navigate to the page, verify changes, take screenshots. "A frontend story is NOT complete until browser verification passes."

---

## 6. GUARDRAILS SYSTEM ("Signs")

### 6.1 Persistent Guardrails
- **What it does:** Maintains a file of "lessons learned" that is read before every iteration.
- **How:** `.ralph/guardrails.md` is created with seed content (core signs: "Read Before Writing", "Test Before Commit") and loaded into every agent prompt. Agents are instructed to add new signs when they encounter repeated failures.

### 6.2 Signs Metaphor
- **What it does:** Provides a framework for categorizing and creating guardrails.
- **How:** Reference document (`.agents/ralph/references/GUARDRAILS.md`) defines four sign types: Preventive, Corrective, Process, and Architecture. Each sign has Trigger, Instruction, Added-after, and optional Example fields.

### 6.3 Sign Lifecycle Management
- **What it does:** Guides creation, refinement, and retirement of guardrails.
- **How:** The reference document explains: add after same mistake happens twice, refine if not working (make trigger more specific), retire when underlying issue is fixed at a deeper level.

### 6.4 Error Log Integration
- **What it does:** Tracks repeated failures separately from guardrails.
- **How:** `.ralph/errors.log` records iteration failures with timestamps. The agent is instructed to read this before starting work and to add new entries when errors occur. Persistent errors should be promoted to guardrails.

---

## 7. LOGGING AND OBSERVABILITY

### 7.1 Activity Log
- **What it does:** Records timestamped events for every iteration.
- **How:** `.ralph/activity.log` with `[YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS] message` format. Written by both the loop shell script (iteration start/end) and the agent (via the activity logger command). Has a "Run Summary" section for quick overview.

### 7.2 Activity Logger (Helper Script)
- **What it does:** Provides a simple CLI for agents to log activity.
- **How:** `log-activity.sh` (or `ralph log "message"` via CLI) appends timestamped messages to the activity log. Agents are instructed to log: start of work, major code changes, tests/verification, and progress log updates.

### 7.3 Per-Run Log Files
- **What it does:** Captures complete agent output for each iteration.
- **How:** Agent stdout/stderr is piped through `tee` to `.ralph/runs/run-<tag>-iter-<n>.log`. Each run also gets a `.md` summary file.

### 7.4 Run Summary Metadata
- **What it does:** Records structured metadata about each iteration.
- **How:** `write_run_meta()` creates a markdown file with: Run ID, iteration number, mode, story, start/end times, duration, status, log file path, git head before/after, commits made, changed files, and uncommitted changes.

### 7.5 Run Summary Aggregation
- **What it does:** Appends a one-line summary to the activity log's "Run Summary" section.
- **How:** `append_run_summary()` (Python) inserts a formatted line (timestamp, run tag, iteration, mode, story, duration, status) right after the "## Run Summary" header.

### 7.6 Progress Log
- **What it does:** Append-only log of what was accomplished across iterations.
- **How:** `.ralph/progress.md` is initialized with a header and "Codebase Patterns" section. Each agent iteration appends a structured progress entry (per the template). Includes a "Learnings for future iterations" section for knowledge transfer between iterations.

---

## 8. GIT INTEGRATION

### 8.1 Auto-Commit Behavior
- **What it does:** Agents commit their own changes as part of the loop.
- **How:** The build prompt instructs agents to `git add -A` and commit using the `$commit` skill. The loop checks for uncommitted changes after each iteration and logs a warning if any remain.

### 8.2 No-Commit Mode
- **What it does:** Allows dry-run iterations without git commits.
- **How:** `--no-commit` CLI flag sets `NO_COMMIT=true`, injected into the prompt as `{{NO_COMMIT}}`. The prompt instructs: "If No-commit is true, do NOT commit or push changes."

### 8.3 Git Diff Tracking
- **What it does:** Records what changed in each iteration at the git level.
- **How:** `git_head()` captures HEAD before/after each iteration. `git_commit_list()` and `git_changed_files()` compute the diff. `git_dirty_files()` reports any uncommitted changes. All are recorded in the run summary.

### 8.4 Commit Skill
- **What it does:** Provides structured commit message guidelines (Conventional Commits format).
- **How:** `skills/commit/SKILL.md` defines: commit types (feat/fix/refactor/perf/test/ci/docs/chore/style/security), required scope in kebab-case, 50-char subject line limit, present tense imperative verbs, body format for complex changes, git trailers, breaking change conventions. Also covers PR creation format.

---

## 9. SKILLS SYSTEM

### 9.1 Skill Installation
- **What it does:** Installs agent-specific skills (commit, dev-browser, prd) to the appropriate directory.
- **How:** `ralph install --skills` prompts for agent type and scope (local/global), then copies skill directories to the correct path:
  - Codex: `.codex/skills/`
  - Claude: `.claude/skills/`
  - Droid: `.factory/skills/`
  - OpenCode: `.local/share/opencode/skills/` or `.opencode/skills/`

### 9.2 Dev-Browser Skill
- **What it does:** Provides browser automation for testing frontend changes.
- **How:** A full Playwright-based browser automation system with: standalone and extension modes, persistent page state, ARIA snapshot accessibility tree inspection, screenshot capture, named page management, heredoc script execution via `npx tsx`. Includes a relay server for Chrome extension mode.

### 9.3 PRD Skill
- **What it does:** Guides the AI agent in generating well-structured PRDs.
- **How:** Detailed SKILL.md with instructions for: asking clarifying questions, JSON schema specification, story sizing guidance, dependency ordering, quality gate inclusion, example/negative case requirements.

---

## 10. CLI FEATURES

### 10.1 Command Structure
- **What it does:** Provides a clean CLI with multiple commands.
- **How:** Node.js entry point (`bin/ralph`) parses args manually, supports: `install`, `prd`, `ping`, `log`, `build`, `overview`, `help`. Uses `@clack/prompts` for interactive UI elements.

### 10.2 Auto-Update Check
- **What it does:** Checks for newer versions on npm and offers to update.
- **How:** On every CLI invocation (if TTY), runs `npm view @iannuttall/ralph version`, compares with installed version using `compareVersions()`, and prompts to update if newer. Skippable via `RALPH_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK=1`.

### 10.3 Interactive Prompts
- **What it does:** Provides polished interactive UI for selections and confirmations.
- **How:** Uses `@clack/prompts` library for: PRD file selection, update confirmation, skill installation agent/scope selection, PRD description input.

### 10.4 Dry-Run Mode
- **What it does:** Allows testing the loop without invoking real agents.
- **How:** `RALPH_DRY_RUN=1` environment variable skips agent execution, creates stub PRD files, and exits cleanly. Used in the test suite.

---

## 11. CONFIGURATION

### 11.1 Config File
- **What it does:** Allows overriding all default paths and settings.
- **How:** `.agents/ralph/config.sh` is sourced by `loop.sh`. Supports overriding: `PRD_PATH`, `PROGRESS_PATH`, `GUARDRAILS_PATH`, `ERRORS_LOG_PATH`, `ACTIVITY_LOG_PATH`, `TMP_DIR`, `RUNS_DIR`, `GUARDRAILS_REF`, `CONTEXT_REF`, `ACTIVITY_CMD`, `AGENT_CMD`, `MAX_ITERATIONS`, `NO_COMMIT`, `STALE_SECONDS`, `AGENTS_PATH`, `PROMPT_BUILD`.

### 11.2 CLI Flag Overrides
- **What it does:** Allows per-run overrides without changing config files.
- **How:** `--prd <path>`, `--progress <path>`, `--agent <name>`, `--no-commit` flags on the CLI. Environment variables (`PRD_PATH`, `PROGRESS_PATH`, `AGENT_CMD`) also override defaults.

### 11.3 Path Resolution
- **What it does:** Handles both relative and absolute paths consistently.
- **How:** `abs_path()` function resolves relative paths against `ROOT_DIR`. `RALPH_ROOT` environment variable allows the CLI to set the project root independently of the script location.

---

## 12. ERROR HANDLING

### 12.1 Agent Failure Recovery
- **What it does:** Handles agent crashes gracefully and resets story state.
- **How:** Agent exit code is captured via `set +e`. Non-zero exit resets the story to `open`, logs the error, and continues to the next iteration. Exit codes 130/143 (SIGINT/SIGTERM) cause immediate exit.

### 12.2 Uncommitted Change Detection
- **What it does:** Warns when an agent leaves uncommitted changes.
- **How:** After each iteration, `git_dirty_files()` checks `git status --porcelain`. If dirty files exist and `NO_COMMIT=false`, an error is logged to `errors.log` with a reference to the run summary.

### 12.3 PRD Parse Error Handling
- **What it does:** Gracefully handles malformed PRD JSON.
- **How:** The `select_story()` Python script catches JSON parse errors and writes a structured error response. The loop checks the `ok` field and reports meaningful messages.

### 12.4 Missing Agent Detection
- **What it does:** Fails early with helpful messages when the required agent is not installed.
- **How:** `require_agent()` checks `command -v` for the agent binary before starting the loop, then prints install instructions if missing.

---

## 13. TESTING

### 13.1 CLI Smoke Tests
- **What it does:** Verifies basic CLI functionality without requiring agents.
- **How:** `tests/cli-smoke.mjs` runs: `ralph --help`, `ralph prd` (with `RALPH_DRY_RUN=1`), `ralph overview`, and checks output files exist.

### 13.2 Agent Loop Smoke Tests
- **What it does:** Tests the loop for each supported agent in dry-run mode.
- **How:** `tests/agent-loops.mjs` creates temp projects with a PRD, runs `ralph build 1 --no-commit --agent=<name>` with `RALPH_DRY_RUN=1` for codex, claude, and droid.

### 13.3 Agent Ping Tests
- **What it does:** Verifies real agents are responsive.
- **How:** `tests/agent-ping.mjs` runs `ralph ping --agent=<name>` for each installed agent, skipping those not found.

### 13.4 Real Agent Integration Tests
- **What it does:** Runs a full end-to-end loop with real agents.
- **How:** `tests/real-agents.mjs` creates a temp project with two dependent stories (create a file, then create a second file), runs `ralph build 2`, then asserts: all stories are `done`, at least one git commit exists, and progress log was created.

---

## 14. FEATURES NOTABLY ABSENT (compared to what portableralph might have)

Based on this analysis, iannuttall/ralph does **not** have:
- **Model/provider selection** (e.g., choosing between GPT-4, Claude Sonnet, etc.) -- it delegates entirely to the agent CLI
- **Desktop notifications** (no notification system)
- **Plan mode** (explicitly removed: `ralph plan` prints an error saying "Use `ralph build` with a JSON PRD")
- **Token/cost tracking**
- **Concurrency at the iteration level** (runs one agent at a time, though file locking supports multiple Ralph instances on the same PRD)
- **Session management** beyond the iteration loop (each iteration is fully independent)
- **Custom model parameters** (temperature, max tokens, etc.)
- **SSRF protection or URL validation**
- **Rate limiting**
agentId: a5671bb (for resuming to continue this agent's work if needed)
<usage>total_tokens: 55119
tool_uses: 37
duration_ms: 258610</usage>
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

Here's the comparison:

## What iannuttall/ralph has that portableralph doesn't

**Worth considering:**

| Feature | iannuttall/ralph | portableralph |
|---------|-----------------|---------------|
| **Structured PRD system** | JSON PRDs with stories, dependencies, acceptance criteria. AI generates them via `ralph prd "description"` | Freeform markdown plan files |
| **Story dependency resolution** | Stories have `dependsOn` — only picks stories whose deps are `done` | Flat task list, relies on Claude to pick order |
| **Guardrails / "Signs"** | Persistent lessons-learned file read every iteration. Agent adds new guardrails after repeated failures | No cross-iteration learning |
| **Per-iteration activity/run logs** | Detailed per-run log files, activity log, run summaries with git diff tracking | Single progress file only |
| **Multi-agent support** | Claude, Codex, Droid (Factory), OpenCode | Claude only |
| **Stale story recovery** | Auto-reopens stories stuck `in_progress` after configurable timeout | No stale detection |
| **Completion signal** | Explicit `<promise>COMPLETE</promise>` marker per story | `RALPH_DONE` for entire run |
| **Skills system** | Installable skills (commit conventions, browser testing, PRD generation) | Prompt templates only |
| **Browser testing skill** | Playwright-based browser verification for frontend stories | None |

**Less interesting (portableralph already has equivalents or better):**

| Feature | Notes |
|---------|-------|
| File locking / concurrency | portableralph already has lock files |
| No-commit mode | portableralph has `DO_NOT_COMMIT` + `ralph config commit off` |
| Auto-update check | portableralph has `ralph update` |
| Git diff tracking | Nice-to-have but minor |
| Template overrides | portableralph has prompt templates already |

## What portableralph has that iannuttall/ralph doesn't

- Notifications (Slack, Discord, Telegram, Email, custom scripts)
- Model selection (`RALPH_MODEL`)
- Streaming output (our new feature)
- Retry logic with exponential backoff
- Plan mode (analyze first, build second)
- Windows/PowerShell support
- Rate limiting, URL validation

## My take

The **most valuable ideas** to steal are:

1. **Guardrails file** — a persistent lessons-learned doc that Claude reads every iteration. This is cheap to implement and high-value: prevents the same mistake from being made across iterations.

2. **Story dependencies** — letting tasks declare `dependsOn` so the picker respects ordering rather than hoping Claude picks wisely.

3. **Per-run logging** — capturing full agent output per iteration (not just progress) makes debugging much easier when something goes wrong mid-run.

The PRD system and multi-agent support are bigger lifts with less clear ROI for portableralph's audience. The browser testing skill is cool but very niche.

## User

I like the lesson-learned document. How would we implement that?

## Assistant

## Assistant

Let me explore how the prompt templates and iteration loop work to figure out where a guardrails file would plug in.

## Assistant

### Tool: Task

**Args:**
```json
{
  "description": "Explore prompt templates and loop",
  "prompt": "Explore the portableralph codebase at /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph to understand how a \"guardrails\" or \"lessons learned\" feature would be integrated.\n\nSpecifically, I need to understand:\n\n1. **Prompt templates**: Read PROMPT_build.md and PROMPT_plan.md in full. How are variables substituted? What context is already injected?\n\n2. **The main loop in ralph.sh**: How does the iteration loop work? Where are the prompt variables set? Look at the `escape_sed` / variable substitution section around lines 673-694. What variables are currently supported (PLAN_FILE, PROGRESS_FILE, PLAN_NAME, AUTO_COMMIT)?\n\n3. **Progress file**: How is it initialized and used? What format does it follow?\n\n4. **Config system**: How does ~/.ralph.env work? What settings are available?\n\nReturn the full content of both prompt templates and the relevant sections of ralph.sh that handle variable substitution and prompt rendering.",
  "subagent_type": "Explore"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
Excellent! Now I have all the information I need. Let me compile a comprehensive report with full details of the prompt templates and the variable substitution system.

## Comprehensive Ralph Codebase Exploration Report

I've thoroughly analyzed the ralph codebase to understand how a "guardrails" or "lessons learned" feature would integrate. Here's the complete breakdown:

---

## 1. PROMPT TEMPLATES

### PROMPT_build.md (Full Content)

Located at: `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/PROMPT_build.md`

```markdown
You are Ralph, an autonomous AI development agent. Your job is to implement ONE task from the task list, then exit.

## Your Inputs

1. **Plan File**: ${PLAN_FILE}
2. **Progress File**: ${PROGRESS_FILE}

## Instructions

0a. Read the plan file to understand the overall goal.
0b. Read the progress file to see the task list and current state.
0c. If there's no task list yet, create one based on the plan (keep Status as IN_PROGRESS).

1. **Select ONE task**: Pick the highest-priority uncompleted task (marked with [ ]).
   - Before implementing, search the codebase to confirm it's not already done
   - Don't assume not implemented - verify first

2. **Implement the task**:
   - Make the necessary code changes
   - Follow existing patterns in the codebase
   - Keep changes focused and minimal

3. **Validate**:
   - Run relevant tests if they exist
   - Run build/typecheck/lint as appropriate
   - Fix any issues before considering the task complete

4. **Update progress file**:
   - Mark the completed task with [x]
   - Add any discoveries or notes
   - If you found bugs or new tasks, add them to the list

5. **Commit** (if auto-commit is enabled AND in a git repo):
   - Auto-commit setting: **${AUTO_COMMIT}**
   - If "true": Run `git add -A && git commit -m "descriptive message"`
   - If "false": Skip committing - the user will commit manually

6. **Check completion** (IMPORTANT - read carefully):
   - Count the tasks: How many total? How many marked [x]? How many still [ ]?
   - If there are ANY tasks still marked [ ], keep Status as IN_PROGRESS
   - ONLY write the completion marker when ALL tasks are marked [x] complete AND verified working
   - When in doubt, leave Status as IN_PROGRESS - another iteration will check again

## Rules

- **ONE task per iteration** - do not try to do multiple tasks
- **Search before implementing** - use subagents to explore and verify before coding
- **Run validation** - tests, build, lint as appropriate
- **Update progress file** - this is how the loop tracks state
- **Commit your work** - each iteration should produce a commit (unless auto-commit is disabled)
- **Only signal completion when truly done** - all tasks must be [x] complete and verified

## Progress File Updates

After completing a task, update ${PROGRESS_FILE}:

```
# Progress: ${PLAN_NAME}

## Status
IN_PROGRESS

## Task List
- [x] Task 1: completed
- [x] Task 2: just completed this one  <-- mark with [x]
- [ ] Task 3: next up
...

## Completed This Iteration
- Task 2: brief description of what was done

## Notes
<any discoveries, bugs found, or new tasks identified>
```

## Completion - READ CAREFULLY

**Before signaling completion, you MUST verify:**
1. Count ALL tasks in the task list
2. Confirm EVERY SINGLE task is marked [x] - not just most, ALL of them
3. Use subagents to verify the implementation actually works (run tests, check build)
4. If ANY task is still [ ] or unverified, keep Status as IN_PROGRESS

**Only when ALL of the above are true:**
1. Verify everything works (tests pass, builds clean)
2. Replace the Status section content with the completion marker on its own line:
```
## Status
RALPH_DONE
```
3. The marker MUST be on its own line (not inline with other text) to be detected
4. This will signal the loop to exit

**If you cannot complete a task** (blocked, needs clarification):
- Add a note explaining why
- Move to the next task
- Keep Status as IN_PROGRESS

**When in doubt, keep Status as IN_PROGRESS.** It's better to run an extra iteration than to exit prematurely.
```

### PROMPT_plan.md (Full Content)

Located at: `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/PROMPT_plan.md`

```markdown
You are Ralph, an autonomous AI development agent. Your job is to analyze the plan and create an implementation strategy.

## Your Inputs

1. **Plan File**: ${PLAN_FILE}
2. **Progress File**: ${PROGRESS_FILE}

## Instructions

0a. First, read the plan file to understand what needs to be built.
0b. Read the progress file to understand current state.
0c. Explore the codebase to understand the existing structure, patterns, and what's already implemented.

1. Analyze the plan against the current codebase:
   - Use subagents to explore from multiple perspectives
   - What already exists? Search thoroughly before assuming anything is missing
   - What's missing?
   - What are the dependencies between tasks?
   - What contingencies need to be handled?

2. Create a prioritized task list in the progress file:
   - Break down the plan into discrete, implementable tasks
   - Order by dependencies and priority (tasks with dependencies come after their dependencies)
   - Consider all contingencies - what could go wrong? Add tasks to handle edge cases
   - Each task should be small enough to complete in one iteration
   - Mark task status: [ ] pending, [x] complete

3. Update the progress file with your analysis and task list.

## Rules

- **DO NOT implement anything** - planning only
- **DO NOT assume things are missing** - search the codebase first
- Explore thoroughly using subagents for file searches/reads
- Keep tasks atomic and well-defined
- Update the progress file with your findings
- **DO NOT write the completion marker** - you are only planning, not implementing

## Progress File Format

Update ${PROGRESS_FILE} with this structure:

```
# Progress: ${PLAN_NAME}

## Status
IN_PROGRESS

## Analysis
<your analysis of what exists vs what's needed>

## Task List
- [ ] Task 1: description
- [ ] Task 2: description
...

## Notes
<any important discoveries or decisions>
```

## CRITICAL STATUS RULES

- **Set Status to `IN_PROGRESS`** when planning is complete. This signals that build mode can begin.
- **NEVER set the completion status** - the done marker is ONLY for build mode to set after ALL tasks are implemented and verified.
- You are PLANNING, not implementing. Planning mode NEVER signals completion under any circumstances.

## COMPLETION MARKER (for reference only - DO NOT USE IN PLAN MODE)

Build mode signals completion by writing this exact text on its own line in the Status section:
```
RALPH_DONE
```
Plan mode must NEVER write this. Only build mode writes it after all tasks are verified complete.
```

---

## 2. VARIABLE SUBSTITUTION SYSTEM

### Escape/Substitution Function (Lines 673-694 of ralph.sh)

```bash
# Build the prompt with substitutions (safely escape for sed to prevent injection)
# Escape special sed characters: & \ / newlines
escape_sed() {
    local str="$1"
    # Escape backslashes first, then forward slashes, then ampersands
    str="${str//\\/\\\\}"
    str="${str//\//\\/}"
    str="${str//&/\\&}"
    printf '%s' "$str"
}

# Variables for sed escaping (not using local since we're in main loop, not a function)
safe_plan_file=$(escape_sed "$PLAN_FILE_ABS")
safe_progress_file=$(escape_sed "$PROGRESS_FILE")
safe_plan_name=$(escape_sed "$PLAN_BASENAME")
safe_should_commit=$(escape_sed "$SHOULD_COMMIT")

PROMPT=$(cat "$PROMPT_TEMPLATE" | \
    sed "s|\${PLAN_FILE}|$safe_plan_file|g" | \
    sed "s|\${PROGRESS_FILE}|$safe_progress_file|g" | \
    sed "s|\${PLAN_NAME}|$safe_plan_name|g" | \
    sed "s|\${AUTO_COMMIT}|$safe_should_commit|g")
```

### Supported Variables (Currently 4)

1. **${PLAN_FILE}** — Absolute path to the plan file
   - Set at line 517: `PLAN_FILE_ABS=$(realpath "$PLAN_FILE")`
   - Escaped as `safe_plan_file`

2. **${PROGRESS_FILE}** — Name of the progress file
   - Set at line 516: `PROGRESS_FILE="${PLAN_BASENAME}_PROGRESS.md"`
   - Escaped as `safe_progress_file`

3. **${PLAN_NAME}** — Basename of plan file without .md extension
   - Set at line 515: `PLAN_BASENAME=$(basename "$PLAN_FILE" .md)`
   - Escaped as `safe_plan_name`

4. **${AUTO_COMMIT}** — Whether auto-commit is enabled (true/false)
   - Set at lines 535-543: `SHOULD_COMMIT="true"` or `SHOULD_COMMIT="false"`
   - Escaped as `safe_should_commit`

### Variable Substitution Method

- Uses **sed** with the pipe (`|`) delimiter to avoid conflicts with path slashes
- Pattern: `sed "s|\${VARIABLE}|$safe_value|g"`
- **g** flag means replace all occurrences
- Each variable is substituted independently in sequential pipes
- The `escape_sed()` function pre-escapes special characters: `\`, `/`, `&`

---

## 3. MAIN LOOP STRUCTURE (Lines 647-879)

### Loop Entry Point (Line 648)

```bash
while true; do
    # Check exit conditions
    if is_done; then
        echo ""
        echo -e "${GREEN}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
        echo -e "${GREEN}  RALPH_DONE - Work complete!${NC}"
        ...
        break
    fi
```

### Exit Condition Detection (Lines 605-610)

```bash
is_done() {
    if [ -f "$PROGRESS_FILE" ]; then
        grep -qx "RALPH_DONE" "$PROGRESS_FILE" 2>/dev/null && return 0
    fi
    return 1
}
```

- Uses `grep -qx` to match the exact line "RALPH_DONE" (no other text)
- Returns 0 (true) only if line exists on its own
- This prevents false positives from instructional text like "DO NOT set RALPH_DONE"

### Max Iterations Check (Lines 659-666)

```bash
if [ "$MAX_ITERATIONS" -gt 0 ] && [ "$ITERATION" -ge "$MAX_ITERATIONS" ]; then
    echo ""
    echo -e "${YELLOW}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
    echo -e "${YELLOW}  Max iterations reached: $MAX_ITERATIONS${NC}"
    ...
    break
fi
```

### Iteration Counter (Line 668)

```bash
ITERATION=$((ITERATION + 1))
```

- Incremented at start of each loop iteration
- Used for iteration notifications and tracking

### Prompt Template Selection (Lines 520-524)

```bash
if [ "$MODE" = "plan" ]; then
    PROMPT_TEMPLATE="$RALPH_DIR/PROMPT_plan.md"
else
    PROMPT_TEMPLATE="$RALPH_DIR/PROMPT_build.md"
fi
```

### Plan Mode Exit (Lines 851-859)

```bash
if [ "$MODE" = "plan" ]; then
    echo ""
    echo -e "${GREEN}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
    echo -e "${GREEN}  Planning complete! Task list created in $PROGRESS_FILE${NC}"
    ...
    break
fi
```

- Plan mode exits automatically after 1 iteration
- Build mode continues until RALPH_DONE or max iterations

---

## 4. PROGRESS FILE

### Initialization (Lines 586-598)

```bash
if [ ! -f "$PROGRESS_FILE" ]; then
    echo "# Progress: $PLAN_BASENAME" > "$PROGRESS_FILE"
    echo "" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
    echo "Started: $(date)" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
    echo "" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
    echo "## Status" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
    echo "" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
    echo "IN_PROGRESS" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
    echo "" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
    echo "## Tasks Completed" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
    echo "" >> "$PROGRESS_FILE"
fi
```

### Format Structure

```markdown
# Progress: <plan_name>

Started: <timestamp>

## Status

IN_PROGRESS

## Tasks Completed

```

### Expected Content (Per Prompts)

**After Plan Mode:**
```markdown
## Status
IN_PROGRESS

## Analysis
<what exists vs what's needed>

## Task List
- [ ] Task 1: description
- [ ] Task 2: description
...

## Notes
<discoveries>
```

**After Build Mode (Each Iteration):**
```markdown
## Status
IN_PROGRESS or RALPH_DONE

## Task List
- [x] Task 1: completed
- [x] Task 2: completed
- [ ] Task 3: pending

## Completed This Iteration
- Task 2: brief description

## Notes
<discoveries, bugs, new tasks>
```

---

## 5. CONFIGURATION SYSTEM

### Config File Location (Line 110)

```bash
RALPH_CONFIG_FILE="${USER_HOME}/.ralph.env"
```

- Loaded at lines 111-165
- User home determined via `get_home_dir` function (platform utilities)
- Syntax validated before sourcing (lines 91-107)

### Loading (Lines 111-165)

```bash
if [ -f "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE" ] && validate_config "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE"; then
    source "$RALPH_CONFIG_FILE"
    # Decrypt encrypted variables if decrypt-env.sh exists
    # Validate webhook URLs, emails, etc.
fi
```

### Available Settings (Current)

#### Core Configuration

1. **RALPH_AUTO_COMMIT** (Line 172)
   - Default: `true`
   - Type: Boolean
   - Controlled via: `ralph config commit on/off/status`

2. **RALPH_MODEL** (Line 176)
   - Default: `sonnet`
   - Type: String
   - Can be set in `~/.ralph.env` to `claude-opus-4-6` or other models

#### Notification Settings

- **RALPH_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL** — Slack incoming webhook
- **RALPH_DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL** — Discord webhook
- **RALPH_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN** — Telegram bot token
- **RALPH_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID** — Telegram chat/group ID
- **RALPH_CUSTOM_NOTIFY_SCRIPT** — Path to custom notification script
- **RALPH_NOTIFY_FREQUENCY** — Notify every N iterations (default: 5)

#### Configurable Constants (from lib/constants.sh)

- **HTTP_MAX_TIME** — HTTP timeout (default: 10s)
- **CLAUDE_MAX_RETRIES** — Claude CLI retry attempts (default: 3)
- **CLAUDE_RETRY_DELAY** — Initial retry delay (default: 5s)
- **NOTIFY_MAX_RETRIES** — Notification retries (default: 3)
- **MAX_ITERATIONS_DEFAULT/MIN/MAX** — Iteration limits
- And many more in `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/lib/constants.sh`

### Config Setting Command (Lines 380-481)

```bash
ralph config commit on      # Enable auto-commit
ralph config commit off     # Disable auto-commit
ralph config commit status  # Show current setting
```

### Per-Plan Override

Add on its own line anywhere in plan file:
```markdown
DO_NOT_COMMIT
```

Detection function (lines 180-191):
```bash
should_skip_commit_from_plan() {
    local plan_file="$1"
    [ ! -f "$plan_file" ] && return 1

    awk '
        /^```/ { in_code = !in_code; next }
        !in_code && /^[[:space:]]*DO_NOT_COMMIT[[:space:]]*$/ { found=1; exit }
        END { exit !found }
    ' "$plan_file"
}
```

---

## 6. KEY INSIGHTS FOR GUARDRAILS/LESSONS LEARNED FEATURE

### Architecture Principles

1. **Template-based Prompting** — All AI instructions come from markdown templates with variable substitution
   - Easy to add new context by adding new template variables
   - Variables are escaped for security (prevents sed injection)

2. **Persistent State** — Progress file is the system's memory
   - Survives restarts
   - Editable by users
   - Markdown format for human readability

3. **Atomic Variable Substitution** — 4 variables currently injected:
   - Could easily add more: `${GUARDRAILS}`, `${LESSONS_LEARNED}`, `${CONTEXT}`, etc.
   - Each would need: sed-escaping + prompt file references

4. **Mode Separation** — Plan and Build are completely separate with different templates
   - Plan mode: Analysis and task breakdown
   - Build mode: Implementation
   - Could have guardrails specific to each mode

5. **No Inline State** — State is completely file-based
   - Progress file path: `${PLAN_BASENAME}_PROGRESS.md`
   - Always in current working directory
   - Easy to manage and version

### Integration Points for Guardrails

1. **Add to Progress File** — Store under a new section:
   ```markdown
   ## Guardrails
   - Constraint 1
   - Constraint 2
   
   ## Lessons Learned
   - Observation 1
   - Observation 2
   ```

2. **Inject into Prompts** — Add new variables:
   ```bash
   # In ralph.sh around line 690-694
   safe_guardrails=$(escape_sed "$GUARDRAILS_TEXT")
   PROMPT=$(... | sed "s|\${GUARDRAILS}|$safe_guardrails|g")
   ```

3. **Read from Progress File** — Before substitution:
   ```bash
   # Extract guardrails section from progress file
   GUARDRAILS_TEXT=$(sed -n '/^## Guardrails/,/^## [^G]/p' "$PROGRESS_FILE" | head -n -1)
   ```

4. **Update in Templates** — Add context:
   ```markdown
   ## Guardrails to Follow
   ${GUARDRAILS}
   
   ## Lessons From Previous Iterations
   ${LESSONS_LEARNED}
   ```

---

## Summary

The ralph codebase is highly modular and extensible. The variable substitution system is secure (using sed with proper escaping), the progress file format is human-editable, and the main loop is straightforward. Adding a guardrails/lessons learned feature would be straightforward: add new sections to the progress file, extract them before prompt substitution, and inject them into the templates using the existing variable substitution mechanism.
agentId: a1de10c (for resuming to continue this agent's work if needed)
<usage>total_tokens: 50486
tool_uses: 17
duration_ms: 66911</usage>
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

Good, I have a solid understanding of the codebase. Let me design this.

## Assistant

### Tool: Task

**Args:**
```json
{
  "description": "Design guardrails feature",
  "prompt": "I'm designing a \"guardrails\" / \"lessons learned\" feature for portableralph (an autonomous AI development loop that runs Claude CLI in iterations).\n\n**Current architecture:**\n- `ralph.sh` is the main loop, runs Claude via `claude -p` in iterations\n- Two prompt templates: `PROMPT_plan.md` and `PROMPT_build.md` with `${VARIABLE}` substitution\n- Currently 4 variables: `${PLAN_FILE}`, `${PROGRESS_FILE}`, `${PLAN_NAME}`, `${AUTO_COMMIT}`\n- Variable substitution uses `sed` with escape_sed() for injection safety\n- Progress tracked in `${PLAN_BASENAME}_PROGRESS.md`\n- The project philosophy is minimal footprint - progress file is \"the only artifact left in your repo\"\n\n**What I want to add:**\nA persistent guardrails/lessons-learned file that Claude reads at the start of every iteration and can append to when it discovers patterns, mistakes, or project-specific constraints. This prevents the same mistakes across iterations (since each Claude invocation starts fresh with no memory).\n\n**Design questions I need you to help with:**\n\n1. **File location**: Should it be per-plan (`plan_GUARDRAILS.md`) or per-project directory (`RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md`)? Per-plan keeps things isolated but lessons don't transfer between plans in the same project. Per-project shares knowledge but may accumulate stale entries.\n\n2. **Injection method**: Should we inject the file contents into the prompt via sed (problematic with multi-line content and special chars), or inject the file path and tell Claude to read it? The latter is simpler but adds a tool call at the start of each iteration.\n\n3. **Seeding**: What default guardrails should be seeded? Think about common issues with autonomous coding loops.\n\n4. **Prompt changes**: How should the build and plan prompts be modified to reference guardrails?\n\n5. **Growth management**: How to prevent the file from growing unboundedly? Should there be a max size? Should Claude be instructed to consolidate/prune?\n\nPlease provide a concrete, practical design recommendation for each question. Prioritize simplicity and alignment with portableralph's minimal-footprint philosophy.",
  "subagent_type": "Plan"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
Now I have a thorough understanding of the entire codebase. Let me synthesize a detailed design recommendation.

---

## Guardrails / Lessons Learned Feature -- Design Plan

### 1. File Location: Per-Project, with Per-Plan Override

**Recommendation: Per-project (`RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md`) in the working directory, with an optional per-plan file that takes precedence.**

**Rationale:**

The primary value of guardrails is cross-iteration *and* cross-plan knowledge transfer. A per-plan file (`plan_GUARDRAILS.md`) would be nearly useless because the very problem you are solving is that lessons from one run should survive into the next. Most project-level lessons -- "this repo uses tabs not spaces," "always run `make test` not `npm test`," "the ORM generates fragile migrations, always check SQL" -- are project-scoped, not plan-scoped.

The concrete design:

- **Primary file**: `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` in the current working directory (the project root). This is the default.
- **Per-plan override**: If `${PLAN_BASENAME}_GUARDRAILS.md` exists, its contents are *appended* to the project-level guardrails (not replacing them). This handles the rare case where a specific plan has extra constraints, without losing the shared knowledge.
- **No file, no problem**: If neither file exists, ralph proceeds normally. The prompts instruct Claude to create `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` when it has something worth recording.

This follows the existing pattern: the progress file lives in the working directory, and `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` sits alongside it. The "only artifact left in your repo" philosophy extends from one file to two (progress + guardrails), which is still minimal. The guardrails file is meant to persist between plans, so it should NOT be plan-namespaced by default.

For `.gitignore`, I would recommend NOT adding `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` -- it is useful content that teams may want to commit and share. This is a deliberate contrast with progress files, which are ephemeral.

---

### 2. Injection Method: Inject the File Path, Have Claude Read It

**Recommendation: Pass the guardrails file path as a new `${GUARDRAILS_FILE}` variable. Do NOT inject file contents via sed.**

**Rationale:**

The current prompt substitution system (lines 675-694 of `ralph.sh`) uses `sed` with `escape_sed()` to replace `${VARIABLE}` tokens. This works well for single-line values like file paths and plan names, but breaks badly with multi-line file contents because:

1. `sed` substitution is line-oriented; multi-line content requires `\n` escaping and gets fragile fast.
2. The guardrails file will contain markdown with special characters (`*`, `#`, backticks, pipes, etc.) that all need escaping.
3. The file could grow large enough to exceed shell argument limits.

Instead, the prompt template should simply reference the file path and instruct Claude to read it:

```
## Guardrails

Read the guardrails file for project-specific rules and lessons learned from previous iterations:
- **Project guardrails**: ${GUARDRAILS_FILE}
- **Plan-specific guardrails**: ${PLAN_GUARDRAILS_FILE}

Read these files at the start of this iteration. Follow all rules listed there.
If the project guardrails file does not exist, create it when you discover something worth recording.
```

This adds one tool call per iteration (Read file), which is negligible compared to the dozens of tool calls Claude makes during implementation. It avoids all escaping complexity and keeps the prompt template clean.

The implementation in `ralph.sh` would look like this (near line 685-694):

```bash
GUARDRAILS_FILE="RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md"
PLAN_GUARDRAILS_FILE="${PLAN_BASENAME}_GUARDRAILS.md"

safe_guardrails_file=$(escape_sed "$GUARDRAILS_FILE")
safe_plan_guardrails_file=$(escape_sed "$PLAN_GUARDRAILS_FILE")

PROMPT=$(cat "$PROMPT_TEMPLATE" | \
    sed "s|\${PLAN_FILE}|$safe_plan_file|g" | \
    sed "s|\${PROGRESS_FILE}|$safe_progress_file|g" | \
    sed "s|\${PLAN_NAME}|$safe_plan_name|g" | \
    sed "s|\${AUTO_COMMIT}|$safe_should_commit|g" | \
    sed "s|\${GUARDRAILS_FILE}|$safe_guardrails_file|g" | \
    sed "s|\${PLAN_GUARDRAILS_FILE}|$safe_plan_guardrails_file|g")
```

The same pattern applies to the PowerShell version (line 503-507 of `ralph.ps1`):

```powershell
$promptContent = $promptContent -replace '\$\{GUARDRAILS_FILE\}', $GUARDRAILS_FILE
$promptContent = $promptContent -replace '\$\{PLAN_GUARDRAILS_FILE\}', $PLAN_GUARDRAILS_FILE
```

This is entirely consistent with the existing variable substitution mechanism -- you are passing paths, not contents.

---

### 3. Default Seed Content

**Recommendation: Do NOT auto-seed. Instead, embed starter guardrails in the prompt template itself, and let Claude create the file organically on first meaningful discovery.**

**Rationale:**

Auto-seeding (creating a file on `ralph` startup) would violate the minimal-footprint philosophy -- you would be creating a file in the user's repo before any work happens. Instead, the prompt template should contain a short section of "universal guardrails" that are always active, and separately instruct Claude to create `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` when it discovers project-specific patterns.

The universal guardrails to embed directly in the prompt (these never need to be in a file because they apply to all projects):

```markdown
## Universal Guardrails (always active)

These rules apply to every iteration:

1. **Verify before assuming**: Always search the codebase before assuming something
   is missing. Use grep/glob to check if a function, file, or pattern already exists.

2. **Run tests before marking done**: If the project has tests, run them. If your
   change breaks existing tests, fix them before marking the task complete.

3. **Match existing style**: Follow the project's existing code style, naming
   conventions, indentation, and patterns. Do not introduce a new pattern when
   one already exists.

4. **Minimal changes**: Only modify files necessary for the current task. Do not
   refactor unrelated code, update unrelated dependencies, or "improve" things
   outside the task scope.

5. **Do not delete or overwrite without reading first**: Before modifying any file,
   read its current contents. Never truncate or overwrite a file you have not read
   in this iteration.

6. **Check for build/compile errors**: If the project has a build step, run it.
   Do not leave the project in a broken state.

7. **Preserve user data and configuration**: Never modify .env files, credentials,
   user configuration, or database content unless the task explicitly requires it.
```

Then the prompt continues with the dynamic guardrails file reference:

```markdown
## Project Guardrails

Read ${GUARDRAILS_FILE} if it exists. These are project-specific rules and lessons
learned from previous iterations. Follow all rules listed there.

If this file does not exist and you discover something that future iterations
should know (a gotcha, a project convention, a tool quirk, a mistake you almost
made), create it with a clear, actionable entry.
```

This way:
- Every iteration benefits from universal guardrails even before the file exists.
- The file gets created naturally when Claude finds something worth noting.
- No phantom files appear in the user's repo until they are needed.

---

### 4. Prompt Changes

**Recommendation: Modify both `PROMPT_build.md` and `PROMPT_plan.md` with a new guardrails section. Place it early in the prompt (before "Instructions") so Claude reads it before starting work.**

Here is the specific change for `PROMPT_build.md`. The guardrails section should be inserted between "Your Inputs" (line 5) and "Instructions" (line 8):

```markdown
You are Ralph, an autonomous AI development agent. Your job is to implement ONE task from the task list, then exit.

## Your Inputs

1. **Plan File**: ${PLAN_FILE}
2. **Progress File**: ${PROGRESS_FILE}
3. **Guardrails File**: ${GUARDRAILS_FILE}

## Guardrails

### Universal Rules (always active)

1. **Verify before assuming**: Search the codebase before assuming something is missing.
2. **Run tests before marking done**: If tests exist, run them. Fix breakage before marking complete.
3. **Match existing style**: Follow the project's code style, naming, indentation, and patterns.
4. **Minimal changes**: Only modify files necessary for the current task.
5. **Read before writing**: Before modifying any file, read its current contents in this iteration.
6. **Check for build errors**: If the project has a build step, run it.
7. **Preserve configuration**: Never modify .env, credentials, or user config unless the task requires it.

### Project-Specific Rules

Read **${GUARDRAILS_FILE}** if it exists. Follow all rules listed there.

If this file does not exist and you discover a project-specific gotcha, convention,
or mistake pattern, **create it** with a clear, actionable entry. Use this format:

```
# Project Guardrails

## Rules
- [RULE]: Description of what to do or avoid

## Lessons Learned
- [DATE]: What happened and what to do differently
```

### Updating Guardrails

When you discover something future iterations should know:
- If ${GUARDRAILS_FILE} exists, **append** to it (do not overwrite existing entries)
- If it does not exist, **create** it
- Keep entries concise and actionable (one line per rule when possible)
- Do NOT add entries that duplicate the universal rules above

## Instructions
[... rest of existing prompt unchanged ...]
```

For `PROMPT_plan.md`, the change is lighter -- plan mode should READ guardrails but not write to them (since plan mode makes no code changes and thus is unlikely to discover runtime gotchas):

```markdown
## Your Inputs

1. **Plan File**: ${PLAN_FILE}
2. **Progress File**: ${PROGRESS_FILE}
3. **Guardrails File**: ${GUARDRAILS_FILE}

## Guardrails

Read **${GUARDRAILS_FILE}** if it exists. Consider these project-specific rules
when creating the task list -- they may affect task ordering, dependencies, or approach.

[... rest of existing prompt ...]
```

The `PLAN_GUARDRAILS_FILE` variable I mentioned in section 2 could optionally be included in both prompts, but for the initial implementation I recommend keeping it simple with just `GUARDRAILS_FILE`. The per-plan override can be added later if users request it.

---

### 5. Growth Management

**Recommendation: A soft cap enforced by prompt instructions, with a consolidation directive, and a hard cap enforced by ralph.sh as a safety net.**

Three-layer approach:

**Layer 1: Prompt instruction (soft cap)**
The prompt should tell Claude to keep guardrails concise and consolidate when the file grows:

```markdown
### Guardrails Maintenance

- Keep ${GUARDRAILS_FILE} under 50 lines. If it exceeds this, consolidate:
  remove entries that are duplicates, no longer relevant, or too specific to
  a single task. Merge related entries. Prefer general principles over
  specific incidents.
- Before adding a new entry, check if an existing entry already covers it.
- Remove entries that say "do not do X" if X was a one-time mistake unlikely to recur.
```

**Layer 2: ralph.sh warning (hard cap)**
Add a size check in `ralph.sh` before the main loop starts, and in the banner output. This is purely informational:

```bash
# Check guardrails file size (warn if getting large)
if [ -f "$GUARDRAILS_FILE" ]; then
    guardrails_lines=$(wc -l < "$GUARDRAILS_FILE")
    if [ "$guardrails_lines" -gt 100 ]; then
        echo -e "  Guardrails: ${YELLOW}${GUARDRAILS_FILE} (${guardrails_lines} lines - consider pruning)${NC}"
    else
        echo -e "  Guardrails: ${GREEN}${GUARDRAILS_FILE} (${guardrails_lines} lines)${NC}"
    fi
else
    echo -e "  Guardrails: ${YELLOW}none (will be created when needed)${NC}"
fi
```

**Layer 3: Constants**
Add to `lib/constants.sh`:

```bash
readonly GUARDRAILS_SOFT_LIMIT=50    # Lines - prompt instructs Claude to consolidate
readonly GUARDRAILS_WARN_LIMIT=100   # Lines - ralph.sh prints a warning
```

I intentionally do NOT recommend truncating or refusing to pass the file. If Claude is instructed to consolidate at 50 lines, and the warning fires at 100, the user can manually prune if needed. Automatically truncating would lose information and be surprising.

**Why not have Claude prune automatically?** Because pruning is destructive and subjective. Claude might remove a guardrail that looks stale but is actually critical for a future plan. The consolidation instruction asks Claude to merge and deduplicate, which is less risky than deletion. If the file still grows, the user should curate it -- this is a feature of the minimal-footprint philosophy (the user owns their artifacts).

---

### Implementation Sequence

1. **`lib/constants.sh`**: Add `GUARDRAILS_SOFT_LIMIT` and `GUARDRAILS_WARN_LIMIT` constants.
2. **`PROMPT_build.md`**: Add the guardrails section with universal rules, file reference, creation/update instructions, and maintenance rules. Add `${GUARDRAILS_FILE}` to inputs.
3. **`PROMPT_plan.md`**: Add guardrails file reference to inputs and a lightweight read instruction.
4. **`ralph.sh`**: Add `GUARDRAILS_FILE` variable derivation, `escape_sed` call, `sed` substitution, banner display with line count, and size warning.
5. **`ralph.ps1`**: Mirror all `ralph.sh` changes for PowerShell.
6. **`docs/how-it-works.md`**: Update architecture diagram and variable substitution table.
7. **`docs/writing-plans.md`**: Add a section on guardrails.
8. **`tests/test-ralph.sh`**: Add tests for guardrails file detection and banner display.

### Critical Files for Implementation

- `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/PROMPT_build.md` - Primary prompt that needs the guardrails section (universal rules, file reference, creation/update/maintenance instructions)
- `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/PROMPT_plan.md` - Secondary prompt that needs a lightweight guardrails read instruction
- `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh` - Main loop: add GUARDRAILS_FILE variable, sed substitution, banner display, and size warning
- `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.ps1` - PowerShell mirror of all ralph.sh changes for cross-platform parity
- `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/lib/constants.sh` - Add GUARDRAILS_SOFT_LIMIT and GUARDRAILS_WARN_LIMIT constants
agentId: a428338 (for resuming to continue this agent's work if needed)
<usage>total_tokens: 57397
tool_uses: 18
duration_ms: 116099</usage>
```

## Assistant

## Assistant

### Tool: Write

**Args:**
```json
{
  "content": "# Add Guardrails / Lessons Learned Feature\n\n## Context\n\nEach Ralph iteration starts a fresh Claude session with no memory of previous iterations. This means Claude can repeat the same mistakes — wrong test commands, style violations, broken patterns — across iterations. A persistent guardrails file that Claude reads at the start of each iteration and appends to when it discovers project-specific gotchas solves this. Inspired by iannuttall/ralph's \"signs\" system.\n\n## Design Decisions\n\n- **One file per project directory**: `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` in the working directory. Lessons transfer across plans in the same project. Not per-plan, since project conventions apply to all plans.\n- **Inject path, not contents**: Pass `${GUARDRAILS_FILE}` path in the prompt. Claude reads it via tool call. Avoids multi-line sed escaping nightmares.\n- **No auto-seed**: Don't create the file at startup. Embed universal guardrails directly in the prompt templates. Claude creates the file organically on first discovery.\n- **Soft growth cap**: Prompt instructs Claude to consolidate at ~50 lines. Ralph prints a warning at 100+ lines. No hard truncation.\n- **PowerShell**: Out of scope for this PR.\n\n## Changes\n\n### 1. `lib/constants.sh` — Add guardrails constants\n\nAdd:\n```bash\nreadonly GUARDRAILS_SOFT_LIMIT=50\nreadonly GUARDRAILS_WARN_LIMIT=100\n```\n\n### 2. `ralph.sh` — Wire up the variable and display\n\n**Variable setup** (after `PROGRESS_FILE` derivation, ~line 516):\n```bash\nGUARDRAILS_FILE=\"RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md\"\n```\n\n**Banner display** (after the commit line in banner, ~line 559):\n- If file exists: show line count, yellow warning if >100 lines\n- If not: show \"none (created when needed)\"\n\n**Sed substitution** (in the prompt rendering block, ~line 690):\n```bash\nsafe_guardrails_file=$(escape_sed \"$GUARDRAILS_FILE\")\n```\nAdd `sed \"s|\\${GUARDRAILS_FILE}|$safe_guardrails_file|g\"` to the pipeline.\n\n### 3. `PROMPT_build.md` — Add guardrails section\n\nInsert between \"Your Inputs\" and \"Instructions\":\n\n- Add `${GUARDRAILS_FILE}` to inputs list\n- **Universal Rules** section (7 rules: verify before assuming, run tests, match style, minimal changes, read before writing, check build, preserve config)\n- **Project-Specific Rules** section: read `${GUARDRAILS_FILE}` if it exists\n- **Updating Guardrails**: instruct Claude to create/append when it discovers project gotchas\n- **Maintenance**: keep under 50 lines, consolidate duplicates, don't duplicate universal rules\n\n### 4. `PROMPT_plan.md` — Lightweight guardrails reference\n\n- Add `${GUARDRAILS_FILE}` to inputs list\n- One line: \"Read ${GUARDRAILS_FILE} if it exists. Consider these project-specific rules when creating the task list.\"\n- Plan mode reads guardrails but does NOT write to them.\n\n### 5. `README.md` — Document the feature\n\nAdd a brief section in the existing Configuration area explaining:\n- What the guardrails file is\n- That it's created automatically\n- How to manually edit or seed it\n\n## Files to Modify\n\n1. `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/lib/constants.sh`\n2. `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh` (~lines 516, 559, 690)\n3. `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/PROMPT_build.md`\n4. `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/PROMPT_plan.md`\n5. `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/README.md`\n\n## Verification\n\n1. Run `ralph plan.md plan` in a project with no `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` — banner should show \"none (created when needed)\", Claude should not error\n2. Manually create `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` with a test rule, run again — banner should show line count, Claude output should reference reading the file\n3. Create a 101+ line guardrails file — banner should show yellow warning\n4. Run a full build iteration — verify Claude creates/appends to the guardrails file when discovering something\n",
  "file_path": "/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/.claude/plans/adaptive-weaving-boot.md"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (success):
```
File created successfully at: /mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/.claude/plans/adaptive-weaving-boot.md
```

## Assistant

### Tool: ExitPlanMode

**Args:**
```json
{
  "plan": "# Add Guardrails / Lessons Learned Feature\r\n\r\n## Context\r\n\r\nEach Ralph iteration starts a fresh Claude session with no memory of previous iterations. This means Claude can repeat the same mistakes — wrong test commands, style violations, broken patterns — across iterations. A persistent guardrails file that Claude reads at the start of each iteration and appends to when it discovers project-specific gotchas solves this. Inspired by iannuttall/ralph's \"signs\" system.\r\n\r\n## Design Decisions\r\n\r\n- **One file per project directory**: `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` in the working directory. Lessons transfer across plans in the same project. Not per-plan, since project conventions apply to all plans.\r\n- **Inject path, not contents**: Pass `${GUARDRAILS_FILE}` path in the prompt. Claude reads it via tool call. Avoids multi-line sed escaping nightmares.\r\n- **No auto-seed**: Don't create the file at startup. Embed universal guardrails directly in the prompt templates. Claude creates the file organically on first discovery.\r\n- **Soft growth cap**: Prompt instructs Claude to consolidate at ~50 lines. Ralph prints a warning at 100+ lines. No hard truncation.\r\n- **PowerShell**: Out of scope for this PR.\r\n\r\n## Changes\r\n\r\n### 1. `lib/constants.sh` — Add guardrails constants\r\n\r\nAdd:\r\n```bash\r\nreadonly GUARDRAILS_SOFT_LIMIT=50\r\nreadonly GUARDRAILS_WARN_LIMIT=100\r\n```\r\n\r\n### 2. `ralph.sh` — Wire up the variable and display\r\n\r\n**Variable setup** (after `PROGRESS_FILE` derivation, ~line 516):\r\n```bash\r\nGUARDRAILS_FILE=\"RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md\"\r\n```\r\n\r\n**Banner display** (after the commit line in banner, ~line 559):\r\n- If file exists: show line count, yellow warning if >100 lines\r\n- If not: show \"none (created when needed)\"\r\n\r\n**Sed substitution** (in the prompt rendering block, ~line 690):\r\n```bash\r\nsafe_guardrails_file=$(escape_sed \"$GUARDRAILS_FILE\")\r\n```\r\nAdd `sed \"s|\\${GUARDRAILS_FILE}|$safe_guardrails_file|g\"` to the pipeline.\r\n\r\n### 3. `PROMPT_build.md` — Add guardrails section\r\n\r\nInsert between \"Your Inputs\" and \"Instructions\":\r\n\r\n- Add `${GUARDRAILS_FILE}` to inputs list\r\n- **Universal Rules** section (7 rules: verify before assuming, run tests, match style, minimal changes, read before writing, check build, preserve config)\r\n- **Project-Specific Rules** section: read `${GUARDRAILS_FILE}` if it exists\r\n- **Updating Guardrails**: instruct Claude to create/append when it discovers project gotchas\r\n- **Maintenance**: keep under 50 lines, consolidate duplicates, don't duplicate universal rules\r\n\r\n### 4. `PROMPT_plan.md` — Lightweight guardrails reference\r\n\r\n- Add `${GUARDRAILS_FILE}` to inputs list\r\n- One line: \"Read ${GUARDRAILS_FILE} if it exists. Consider these project-specific rules when creating the task list.\"\r\n- Plan mode reads guardrails but does NOT write to them.\r\n\r\n### 5. `README.md` — Document the feature\r\n\r\nAdd a brief section in the existing Configuration area explaining:\r\n- What the guardrails file is\r\n- That it's created automatically\r\n- How to manually edit or seed it\r\n\r\n## Files to Modify\r\n\r\n1. `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/lib/constants.sh`\r\n2. `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/ralph.sh` (~lines 516, 559, 690)\r\n3. `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/PROMPT_build.md`\r\n4. `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/PROMPT_plan.md`\r\n5. `/mnt/dest-btrfs/home/jc/ralph/README.md`\r\n\r\n## Verification\r\n\r\n1. Run `ralph plan.md plan` in a project with no `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` — banner should show \"none (created when needed)\", Claude should not error\r\n2. Manually create `RALPH_GUARDRAILS.md` with a test rule, run again — banner should show line count, Claude output should reference reading the file\r\n3. Create a 101+ line guardrails file — banner should show yellow warning\r\n4. Run a full build iteration — verify Claude creates/appends to the guardrails file when discovering something\r\n"
}
```

## Assistant

**Result** (error):
```
The user doesn't want to proceed with this tool use. The tool use was rejected (eg. if it was a file edit, the new_string was NOT written to the file). STOP what you are doing and wait for the user to tell you how to proceed.
```