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Official agent skill

Ralph Loop

by cursor in cursor/plugins

Start a Ralph Loop for iterative self-referential development.

OfficialNo licenceAuto-check passedAgent Workflows

Install Ralph Loop

skills CLI
$ npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill ralph-loop -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install cursor/plugins ralph-loop --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/cursor/plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/ralph-loop/skills/ralph-loop .claude/skills/ralph-loop && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
ralph-loop
GitHub stars
10k
Token cost
~469 tokens
SKILL.md length
194 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
99
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
None found

At a glance

Start a Ralph Loop for iterative self-referential development.

  • Works in 4 steps: Gather the user's task prompt and… → Create the directory .cursor/ralph/ if… → Confirm to the user that the Ralph loop… → …
  • The user asks to run a ralph loop
  • SKILL.md covers Trigger, Workflow, Guardrails and Output
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Ralph Loop is an agent skill from cursor/plugins, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Start a Ralph Loop for iterative self-referential development. Use when the user asks to run a ralph loop, start an iterative loop, or wants repeated autonomous iteration on a task until completion.

Its SKILL.md is about 470 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Autonomous loops. The repository describes itself as: Cursor plugin specification and official plugins.

When your agent uses it

  • The user asks to run a ralph loop
  • Start an iterative loop
  • Wants repeated autonomous iteration on a task until completion

Example prompts

  • “/ralph-loop”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Gather the user's task prompt and optional parameters
  2. Create the directory .cursor/ralph/ if it doesn't exist, then write the state file at .cursor/ralph/scratchpad.md with this exact format
  3. Confirm to the user that the Ralph loop is active, then begin working on the task.
  4. The stop hook automatically intercepts each turn end and feeds the same prompt back as a followup message. You will see it prefixed with…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 9f451cf. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are markdown).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Ralph Loop loads about 469 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 52 tokens; SKILL.md has 194 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~52
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~469

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

Without a licence we can't republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 194 words (~469 tokens).

“The user wants to start a Ralph loop. An iterative development loop where the same prompt is fed back after every turn, and the agent sees its own previous work each iteration.”

— opening of SKILL.md by cursor
name
ralph-loop

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

Just SKILL.md in ralph-loop/skills/ralph-loop of cursor/plugins.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 9f451cf

Compare with similar skills

Ralph Loop next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Ralph Loop compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Ralph Loop this skillcursor/plugins10k—~469Automated safety check: PassNone
Autoresearch Iteration Loopuditgoenka/autoresearch6.5k1 repos~2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
AutopilotYeachan-Heo/oh-my-claudecode40k1 repos~4.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Install Loop Engineeringcobusgreyling/loop-engineering11k1 repos~648Automated safety check: PassMIT
LoopyForward-Future/loopy3.2k—~3.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
AI Performance Improvement Plantanweai/pua20k2 repos~6.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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  • Autoresearch Iteration Loop

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    6.5k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~2k tokens
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  • Autopilot

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    40k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~4.4k tokens
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  • Install Loop Engineering

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    11k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~648 tokens
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  • Loopy

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    Discover, find, compare, audit, repair, adapt, craft, run, debrief, save, and prepare repeatable AI-agent loops for publication.

    3.2k GitHub stars~3.9k tokensUpdated 26 days ago
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  • AI Performance Improvement Plan

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    Pushes an agent to exhaust every option, investigate before asking and take initiative beyond the literal request, instead of giving up or waiting passively.

    20k GitHub starsUsed in 2 repos~6.9k tokens
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More from cursor/plugins

All 99 skills in this repo

  • Show Me Your Work Decision Log

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    Keeps a TSV decision log for long or unattended agent runs, one row per decision with what, why, evidence and result, so a reviewer can check the work later.

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  • Reflect on Session Learnings

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    10k GitHub starsUsed in 5 repos~1.2k tokens
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  • Technical Writing Standard

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    Applies four layers of technical-writing rules to docs, RFCs, readmes, PR descriptions and commit messages so a tired engineer follows them on the first read.

    10k GitHub starsUsed in 10 repos~2.4k tokens
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  • Advisor Mode

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    Adds a second, stronger model that the main agent consults before major decisions, when stuck and before finishing, controlled by /advisor commands.

    10k GitHub stars~2.6k tokensUpdated today
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  • Make PR Easy To Review

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Categories

Questions about Ralph Loop

What does Ralph Loop do?

Start a Ralph Loop for iterative self-referential development. Ralph Loop is an agent skill from cursor/plugins, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Start a Ralph Loop for iterative self-referential development.

When should I use Ralph Loop?

Ralph Loop fits situations like: the user asks to run a ralph loop; start an iterative loop; wants repeated autonomous iteration on a task until completion.

How do I install Ralph Loop in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill ralph-loop -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (ralph-loop/skills/ralph-loop in cursor/plugins) into .claude/skills/ralph-loop in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Ralph Loop in Codex?

Run `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill ralph-loop -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (ralph-loop/skills/ralph-loop in cursor/plugins) into .agents/skills/ralph-loop in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Ralph Loop in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill ralph-loop -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/ralph-loop, .gemini/skills/ralph-loop, .github/skills/ralph-loop and .opencode/skills/ralph-loop in your project.

What does Ralph Loop need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Ralph Loop is instructions for the agent only.

Does Ralph Loop access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Ralph Loop safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Ralph Loop use?

No licence was found for Ralph Loop or its repository. Without one, default copyright applies: ask the author before reusing or redistributing it.

How many tokens does Ralph Loop use?

About 469 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 1.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Ralph Loop?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Ralph Loop: Autoresearch Iteration Loop (uditgoenka/autoresearch, 6.5k stars), Autopilot (Yeachan-Heo/oh-my-claudecode, 40k stars), Install Loop Engineering (cobusgreyling/loop-engineering, 11k stars) and Loopy (Forward-Future/loopy, 3.2k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Ralph Loop?

cursor (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in cursor/plugins, which has 10,130 GitHub stars. The repository holds 99 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: cursor/plugins on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.