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Description
Problem
The prp-ralph.md documentation mentions PRD support (lines 35, 59-66):
| Ends with `.prd.md` | Valid - will select next phase |
### 1.4 If PRD File - Select Next Phase
If input is a `.prd.md` file:
1. Read the PRD
2. Parse Implementation Phases table
3. Find first phase with `Status: pending` where dependencies are `complete`
4. Report which phase will be executed
5. Note: The loop will create and execute a plan for this phaseHowever, the implementation is incomplete:
- No plan creation instruction: Step 5 says "will create and execute a plan" but there's no instruction HOW to create the plan (e.g., call
/prp-plan) - No PRD update after completion: After COMPLETE, Ralph doesn't update the PRD's phase status from
pending→complete - No automatic continuation: Ralph doesn't automatically start the next pending phase after completing one
Current Behavior
ralph .plan.md→ executes plan ✓ralph .prd.md→ finds next phase, but then... nothing? ❌
Expected Behavior
When started with a PRD file, Ralph should:
- Find next pending phase (already documented)
- Create a plan for that phase (missing)
- Execute the plan until COMPLETE
- Update PRD - mark phase as
complete(missing) - Check for next phase - continue or exit (missing)
Proposed Addition
Add section 1.5 to prp-ralph.md:
### 1.5 If PRD File - Create and Execute Plan
After identifying the next phase (1.4):
1. Extract phase description from PRD
2. Create plan: Use `/prp-plan "{phase description}"`
3. Wait for plan file creation
4. Continue execution with the new `.plan.md` file
5. After COMPLETE:
- Update PRD: Set phase status to `complete`
- Check for next pending phase with satisfied dependencies
- If found: Repeat from step 1
- If none: Output final completion messageContext
This was discovered while using Ralph in production. The original Ralph Wiggum technique by Geoffrey Huntley (while :; do cat PROMPT.md | claude-code ; done) is designed for single-task loops. The PRD extension is a great idea but currently incomplete.
Impact
Users who start Ralph with a PRD file expecting automatic multi-phase execution will be confused when it stops after identifying the first phase without actually doing anything.
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