Ralph Plan

System Prompt

⚠️ EXECUTION DIRECTIVE: When the user invokes this command, you MUST:

1. IMMEDIATELY execute - no questions, no explanations first
2. ALWAYS show full output from script/tool execution
3. ALWAYS provide summary after execution completes

DO NOT:

• Say "I don't need to take action" - you ALWAYS execute when invoked
• Ask for confirmation unless requires_confirmation: true in frontmatter
• Skip execution even if it seems redundant - run it anyway

The user invoking the command IS the confirmation.

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Usage

/ralph-plan

Process Linear tickets: $ARGUMENTS

Automated workflow for Linear ticket planning - fetches priority items, creates implementation plans, and manages workflow state transitions.

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS - Ticket Specification (optional)

Specify which ticket to process:

• Specific ticket: "Plan ENG-123" or "Create plan for ENG-456"
• Auto-select: No arguments - fetches top 10 priority items and selects highest SMALL/XS
• With filters: "Plan highest priority SMALL ticket"

Default Behavior

If no ticket specified:

• Fetches top 10 priority items from Linear "ready for spec"
• Selects highest priority SMALL or XS issue
• Creates implementation plan following create_plan.md
• Moves ticket through workflow states

PART I - IF A TICKET IS MENTIONED

0c. use linear cli to fetch the selected item into thoughts with the ticket number - ./thoughts/shared/tickets/ENG-xxxx.md 0d. read the ticket and all comments to learn about past implementations and research, and any questions or concerns about them

PART I - IF NO TICKET IS MENTIONED

0. read .claude/commands/linear.md 0a. fetch the top 10 priority items from linear in status "ready for spec" using the MCP tools, noting all items in the links section 0b. select the highest priority SMALL or XS issue from the list (if no SMALL or XS issues exist, EXIT IMMEDIATELY and inform the user) 0c. use linear cli to fetch the selected item into thoughts with the ticket number - ./thoughts/shared/tickets/ENG-xxxx.md 0d. read the ticket and all comments to learn about past implementations and research, and any questions or concerns about them

PART II - NEXT STEPS

think deeply

1. move the item to "plan in progress" using the MCP tools 1a. read ./claude/commands/create-plan.md 1b. determine if the item has a linked implementation plan document based on the links section 1d. if the plan exists, you're done, respond with a link to the ticket 1e. if the research is insufficient or has unaswered questions, create a new plan document following the instructions in ./claude/commands/create-plan.md

think deeply

2. when the plan is complete, humanlayer thoughts sync and attach the doc to the ticket using the MCP tools and create a terse comment with a link to it (re-read .claude/commands/linear.md if needed) 2a. move the item to "plan in review" using the MCP tools

think deeply, use TodoWrite to track your tasks. When fetching from linear, get the top 10 items by priority but only work on ONE item - specifically the highest priority SMALL or XS sized issue.

PART III - When you're done

Print a message for the user (replace placeholders with actual values):

✅ Completed implementation plan for ENG-XXXX: [ticket title]

Approach: [selected approach description]

The plan has been:

Created at thoughts/shared/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-ENG-XXXX-description.md
Synced to thoughts repository
Attached to the Linear ticket
Ticket moved to "plan in review" status

Implementation phases:
- Phase 1: [phase 1 description]
- Phase 2: [phase 2 description]
- Phase 3: [phase 3 description if applicable]

View the ticket: https://linear.app/humanlayer/issue/ENG-XXXX/[ticket-slug]

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Action Policy

<default_behavior> This command implements changes by default when user intent is clear. Proceeds with:

• Code generation/modification
• File creation/updates
• Configuration changes
• Git operations (if applicable)

Provides concise progress updates during execution. </default_behavior>

After execution, verify: - Files created/modified as intended - Code compiles/tests pass (if applicable) - Git changes committed (if applicable) - Next recommended step provided

Success Output

When Ralph plan completes:

✅ COMMAND COMPLETE: /ralph-plan
Ticket: ENG-XXXX
Status: Ready for Spec → Plan in Review
Plan: thoughts/shared/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-ENG-XXXX-description.md
Synced: Yes
Attached: Yes
Next: Review plan and approve

Completion Checklist

Before marking complete:

• Ticket fetched from Linear
• Moved to "plan in progress" status
• Plan document created
• Plan synced to thoughts repository
• Attached to Linear ticket
• Moved to "plan in review"

Failure Indicators

This command has FAILED if:

• ❌ No SMALL/XS tickets found
• ❌ Research incomplete or unanswered questions
• ❌ Plan document not created
• ❌ Ticket not updated

When NOT to Use

Do NOT use when:

• Ticket needs research first (use /ralph-research)
• Large/XL ticket selected
• Linear MCP not configured

Anti-Patterns (Avoid)

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Solution
Skip reading ticket comments	Missing context	Always read comments
Plan without research	Incomplete plan	Ensure research exists
Multiple tickets at once	Focus lost	One ticket at a time

Principles

This command embodies:

• #3 Complete Execution - Full planning workflow
• #5 No Assumptions - Read all ticket context

Full Standard: CODITECT-STANDARD-AUTOMATION.md