Ralph Start

---
name: ralph-start
description: "Start a Ralph container for a feature. Creates worktree, builds Docker image if needed, and runs the autonomous loop."
---

# Start Ralph Container

Start an isolated Ralph instance for a feature.

## Usage

```bash
bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh start <feature-name> [options]

Options

Option	Description
--prd <file>	Path to PRD JSON file to copy into worktree
--iterations <n>	Max iterations (default: 50)
--after <feature>	Wait for another Ralph to finish first

Examples

# Start Ralph for auth feature with PRD
bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh start auth --prd .claude/ralph/prd.json

# Start with custom iteration limit
bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh start dashboard --iterations 100

# Start after another feature completes
bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh start settings --after auth

What Happens

1. Creates git worktree at ./ralph-worktrees/<feature>/
2. Creates branch ralph/<feature> if it doesn't exist
3. Copies .claude/ folder to worktree
4. Copies PRD if specified
5. Builds Docker image (first time only)
6. Starts container ralph-<feature>
7. Runs autonomous loop with fresh context each iteration

Prerequisites

• Docker installed and running
• ANTHROPIC_API_KEY set (or ~/.anthropic/api_key file)
• PRD JSON file ready (run /prd-json first)

After Starting

# Check status
bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh status

# Follow logs
bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh logs <feature> -f

# Stop if needed
bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh stop <feature>

Running Multiple Ralphs

You can start multiple Ralphs on different features:

bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh start auth --prd tasks/prd-auth.json
bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh start dashboard --prd tasks/prd-dashboard.json
bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh start settings --prd tasks/prd-settings.json

# Check all
bash .claude/scripts/ralph-docker.sh status

Each runs in isolation with its own:

• Git worktree and branch
• Docker container
• Log file
• PRD and progress tracking