Ralph Specum

Ralph Specum is a complete spec-driven development workflow that coordinates research, requirements, design, task planning, and implementation through a stable file contract and delegated sub-agents. You invoke it explicitly with `$ralph-specum` or by requesting autonomous mode. It walks you through brainstorming interviews for each phase, writes artifacts like `research.md` and `tasks.md` via specialist agents, and stops for approval unless you enable quick mode. The implementation loop reads real task files from disk, commits per-task when instructed, and supports POC-first planning with parallel work markers. It's opinionated about state shape and branch isolation, and expects you to keep a `.ralph-state.json` contract alive. Best for developers who want structured, pausable spec work with clear handoff points.

GitHub stars: 340
last updated: May 19, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add tzachbon/smart-ralph --skill ralph-specum --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Ralph Specum

Use this as the primary Codex surface for Ralph Specum. It carries the full reusable workflow and can handle the entire command surface directly when helper skills are not installed.

Derive RALPH_CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT from this loaded skill: take the directory containing SKILL.md, then its parent skills directory, then the next parent. Never derive the plugin root from the project working directory.