New: 98,000+ skills indexed from GitHub repos with 100+ stars · every skill safety-checkedBrowse top skillsTop skills
Esc to closeBrowse all skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills

Agent skill

Smart Ralph

by tzachbon in tzachbon/smart-ralph

Core Smart Ralph skill defining common arguments, execution modes, and shared behaviors across all Ralph plugins.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Smart Ralph

skills CLI
$ npx skills add tzachbon/smart-ralph --skill smart-ralph -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install tzachbon/smart-ralph smart-ralph --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/tzachbon/smart-ralph.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ralph-speckit/skills/smart-ralph .claude/skills/smart-ralph && 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
smart-ralph
GitHub stars
558
Token cost
~1k tokens
SKILL.md length
371 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
26
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Core Smart Ralph skill defining common arguments, execution modes, and shared behaviors across all Ralph plugins.

  • Works in 3 steps: Stage spec/feature files after generation → Commit with message: chore(): commit… → Push to current branch
  • Development work in your project
  • SKILL.md covers Common Arguments, Argument Parsing Rules, Execution Modes and State File Structure, plus 5 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Smart Ralph is an agent skill from tzachbon/smart-ralph. Core Smart Ralph skill defining common arguments, execution modes, and shared behaviors across all Ralph plugins.

Its SKILL.md is about 1k 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 Development. The repository describes itself as: Spec-driven development with smart compaction. Claude Code plugin combining Ralph Wiggum loop with structured specification workflow. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Development work in your project

Example prompts

  • “/smart-ralph”

Workflow steps

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

  1. Stage spec/feature files after generation
  2. Commit with message: chore(): commit spec files before implementation
  3. Push to current branch

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit ac7251a. 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 json).

    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

Smart Ralph loads about 1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 31 tokens; SKILL.md has 371 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~31
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1k

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

The full file from tzachbon/smart-ralph at commit ac7251a, republished under its MIT licence (© tzachbon). 371 words, ~1,027 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/smart-ralph/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
smart-ralph
description
Core Smart Ralph skill defining common arguments, execution modes, and shared behaviors across all Ralph plugins.
version
0.1.0

Smart Ralph

Core skill for all Ralph plugins. Defines common arguments, execution modes, and shared behaviors.

Common Arguments

All Ralph commands support these standard arguments:

ArgumentShortDescriptionDefault
--quick-qSkip interactive phases, auto-generate artifacts, start execution immediatelyfalse
--commit-cCommit and push spec/feature files after generationtrue (normal), false (quick)
--no-commitExplicitly disable committing files-
--max-task-iterations-mMax retries per failed task before stopping5
--fresh-fForce new spec/feature, overwrite if existsfalse

Argument Parsing Rules

text
Priority Order (highest to lowest):
1. --no-commit (explicit disable)
2. --commit (explicit enable)
3. --quick mode default (false)
4. Normal mode default (true)
Parsing Logic
text
commitSpec = true  // default

if "--no-commit" in args:
  commitSpec = false
else if "--commit" in args:
  commitSpec = true
else if "--quick" in args:
  commitSpec = false  // quick mode defaults to no commit
// else keep default (true)

Execution Modes

Normal Mode (Interactive)
  • User reviews artifacts between phases
  • Phase transitions require explicit commands
  • Each phase sets awaitingApproval: true
  • Commits spec files by default
Quick Mode (--quick)
  • Skips all interactive prompts and interviews
  • Auto-generates all artifacts in sequence
  • Immediately starts execution after generation
  • Does NOT commit by default (use --commit to override)
  • Still delegates to subagents (delegation is mandatory)

State File Structure

All Ralph plugins use a state file with common fields:

json
{
  "phase": "research|requirements|design|tasks|execution",
  "taskIndex": 0,
  "totalTasks": 0,
  "taskIteration": 1,
  "maxTaskIterations": 5,
  "awaitingApproval": false
}

Plugins may extend with additional fields.

Commit Behavior

When commitSpec is true:

  1. Stage spec/feature files after generation
  2. Commit with message: chore(<plugin>): commit spec files before implementation
  3. Push to current branch

When commitSpec is false:

  • Files remain uncommitted
  • User can manually commit later

Execution Loop (Self-Contained)

The execution loop is self-contained via the built-in stop-hook. No external plugins are required.

text
1. Coordinator outputs task delegation prompt
2. Stop-hook detects task completion signals
3. Stop-hook outputs continuation prompt for next task
4. Loop ends when coordinator outputs ALL_TASKS_COMPLETE
Show full SKILL.md (154 more words)Show less
Coordinator Prompt

The implement command includes the coordinator prompt inline. The stop-hook (hooks/scripts/stop-watcher.sh) reads .speckit-state.json to determine continuation behavior.

Task Completion Protocol

Executor Signals
SignalMeaning
TASK_COMPLETETask finished successfully
VERIFICATION_PASSVerification task passed
VERIFICATION_FAILVerification failed, needs retry
Coordinator Signals
SignalMeaning
ALL_TASKS_COMPLETEAll tasks done, end loop

Error Handling

Max Retries

When taskIteration exceeds maxTaskIterations:

  1. Output error with task index and attempt count
  2. Include last failure reason
  3. Suggest manual intervention
  4. Do NOT output ALL_TASKS_COMPLETE
  5. Do NOT continue execution
State Corruption

If state file missing or invalid:

  1. Output error with state file path
  2. Suggest re-running the implement command
  3. Do NOT continue execution

Branch Management

All Ralph plugins follow consistent branch strategy:

  1. Check current branch before starting
  2. If on default branch (main/master): prompt for branch strategy
  3. If on feature branch: offer to continue or create new
  4. Quick mode: auto-create branch, no prompts

© tzachbon, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in plugins/ralph-speckit/skills/smart-ralph of tzachbon/smart-ralph.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit ac7251a

Compare with similar skills

Smart Ralph 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.

Smart Ralph compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Smart Ralph this skilltzachbon/smart-ralph558—~1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Vercel Composition Patternssupabase/supabase111k58 repos~726Automated safety check: PassMIT
Finishing a Development Branchobra/superpowers297k5 repos~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Typescript Advanced Typesrolling-scopes/rsschool-app10k25 repos~4.2kAutomated safety check: PassMPL-2.0
PR Babysitteropeninterpreter/openinterpreter69k3 repos~4.2kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Code Review ChecklistshareAI-lab/learn-claude-code78k5 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

Similar skills

  • Vercel Composition Patterns

    supabase/supabase

    Official

    React composition patterns that scale. An agent skill from supabase/supabase.

    111k GitHub starsUsed in 58 repos~726 tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Finishing a Development Branch

    obra/superpowers

    Walks the last step of a branch: confirm tests pass, detect the git environment, ask how to integrate, carry out your choice and clean up the worktree.

    297k GitHub starsUsed in 5 repos~1.9k tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Typescript Advanced Types

    rolling-scopes/rsschool-app

    Master TypeScript's advanced type system including generics, conditional types, mapped types, template literals, and utility types for building type-safe applications.

    10k GitHub starsUsed in 25 repos~4.2k tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • PR Babysitter

    openinterpreter/openinterpreter

    Watches an open GitHub pull request until it merges, handling review comments, diagnosing CI failures and retrying flaky checks along the way.

    69k GitHub starsUsed in 3 repos~4.2k tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Code Review Checklist

    shareAI-lab/learn-claude-code

    Reviews code against a five-part checklist covering security, correctness, performance, maintainability and testing, and reports findings in a fixed format.

    78k GitHub starsUsed in 5 repos~1.1k tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Greploop

    onyx-dot-app/onyx

    Iteratively improves a PR (GitHub), MR (GitLab), or shelved changelist (Perforce) until Greptile gives it a 5/5 confidence score with zero unresolved comments.

    32k GitHub starsUsed in 4 repos~3.3k tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

More from tzachbon/smart-ralph

All 26 skills in this repo

  • Communication Style

    tzachbon/smart-ralph

    This skill should be used when generating spec artifacts (research.md, requirements.md, design.md, tasks.md), formatting agent output, structuring phase results, or when any Ralph agent needs…

    558 GitHub stars~551 tokensUpdated 23 days ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Interview Framework

    tzachbon/smart-ralph

    This skill should be used when a Ralph phase must identify critical user decisions, run a layered grill, persist partial answers, obtain explicit approval, or resume an interrupted phase interview…

    558 GitHub stars~2.2k tokensUpdated 23 days ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Reality Verification

    tzachbon/smart-ralph

    This skill should be used when the user asks to "verify a fix", "reproduce failure", "diagnose issue", "check BEFORE/AFTER state", "VF task", "reality check", "check test quality", "mock-only…

    558 GitHub stars~877 tokensUpdated 23 days ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Spec Workflow

    tzachbon/smart-ralph

    This skill should be used when the user asks to "build a feature", "create a spec", "start spec-driven development", "run research phase", "generate requirements", "create design", "plan tasks"…

    558 GitHub stars~1.1k tokensUpdated 23 days ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Ralph Specum Design

    tzachbon/smart-ralph

    This skill should be used only when the user explicitly asks to use $ralph-specum-design, or explicitly asks Ralph Specum in Codex to run the design phase.

    558 GitHub stars~1.5k tokensUpdated 23 days ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Ralph Specum Tasks

    tzachbon/smart-ralph

    This skill should be used only when the user explicitly asks to use $ralph-specum-tasks, or explicitly asks Ralph Specum in Codex to run the tasks phase.

    558 GitHub stars~1.6k tokensUpdated 23 days ago
    Auto-check passed

Categories

Questions about Smart Ralph

What does Smart Ralph do?

Core Smart Ralph skill defining common arguments, execution modes, and shared behaviors across all Ralph plugins. Smart Ralph is an agent skill from tzachbon/smart-ralph. Core Smart Ralph skill defining common arguments, execution modes, and shared behaviors across all Ralph plugins.

When should I use Smart Ralph?

Smart Ralph fits situations like: development work in your project.

How do I install Smart Ralph in Claude Code?

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

How do I install Smart Ralph in Codex?

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

Can I use Smart Ralph 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 tzachbon/smart-ralph --skill smart-ralph -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/smart-ralph, .gemini/skills/smart-ralph, .github/skills/smart-ralph and .opencode/skills/smart-ralph in your project.

What does Smart Ralph need to run?

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

Does Smart Ralph 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 Smart Ralph 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 Smart Ralph use?

Smart Ralph is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Smart Ralph use?

About 1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.1k 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 Smart Ralph?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Smart Ralph: Vercel Composition Patterns (supabase/supabase, 111k stars), Finishing a Development Branch (obra/superpowers, 297k stars), Typescript Advanced Types (rolling-scopes/rsschool-app, 10k stars) and PR Babysitter (openinterpreter/openinterpreter, 69k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Smart Ralph?

tzachbon (a GitHub user) maintains it in tzachbon/smart-ralph, which has 558 GitHub stars. The repository holds 26 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 16, 2026.

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