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Aiwg ralph-config

View and configure agent loop settings — show, set, reset, and apply named presets

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/jmagly/aiwg
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/jmagly/aiwg "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/agentic/code/addons/agent-loop/skills/ralph-config" ~/.claude/skills/jmagly-aiwg-ralph-config-47a2a0 && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: agentic/code/addons/agent-loop/skills/ralph-config/SKILL.md
source content

Al Config

View and modify Al's runtime configuration. Settings control loop behavior defaults such as iteration limits, timeouts, provider selection, and commit behavior. Changes persist to 

.aiwg/ralph/config.json
and apply to all subsequent loops unless overridden per-invocation.

Natural Language Triggers

Users may say:

  • "ralph config"
  • "configure ralph"
  • "ralph settings"
  • "show ralph config"
  • "set ralph max iterations"
  • "reset ralph config"
  • "apply ralph ci preset"

Parameters

Subcommand (required)

One of 

show
, 
set
, 
reset
, or 
preset
.

key (required for 
set
)

The configuration key to change. See the configuration reference below.

value (required for 
set
)

The new value to assign to the key.

Preset name (required for 
preset
)

One of the built-in preset names: 

ci
, 
thorough
, or 
quick
.

Configuration Reference

KeyDefaultDescription
maxIterations
10
Maximum iterations before the loop halts
timeout
60
Maximum wall-clock time per loop (minutes)
provider
claude
AI provider for loop iterations (
claude
, 
codex
, 
factory
, 
opencode
)
model
(provider default)Model override for the provider
autoCommit
true
Commit after each successful iteration
branch
null
Default branch name (null = work on current branch)
quiet
false
Suppress verbose iteration output
memory
true
Enable semantic memory accumulation
crossTask
false
Pull relevant memories from other completed loops
analytics
false
Enable iteration analytics logging

Built-in Presets

PresetmaxIterationstimeoutquietDescription
ci
5
30
true
Conservative limits for CI/CD pipelines
thorough
20
120
false
Extended limits for complex tasks
quick
3
15
false
Fast exploration, fail-fast on difficulty

Behavior

show
Subcommand

  1. Read 
    .aiwg/ralph/config.json
    ; if absent, show built-in defaults
  2. Display the current configuration in a readable table

Output (active config):

Al Configuration
Source: .aiwg/ralph/config.json

Key              Value        Default    Modified
───────────────  ───────────  ─────────  ────────
maxIterations    5            10         yes
timeout          30           60         yes
provider         claude       claude     no
model            (default)    (default)  no
autoCommit       true         true       no
branch           null         null       no
quiet            true         false      yes
memory           true         true       no
crossTask        false        false      no
analytics        false        false      no

Active preset: ci (applied 2026-04-01)

To change a value:  /ralph-config set <key> <value>
To reset defaults:  /ralph-config reset

Output (no config file — using defaults):

Al Configuration
Source: built-in defaults (no .aiwg/ralph/config.json found)

Key              Value
───────────────  ─────────
maxIterations    10
timeout          60
provider         claude
model            (default)
autoCommit       true
branch           null
quiet            false
memory           true
crossTask        false
analytics        false

To customize: /ralph-config set <key> <value>
To apply a preset: /ralph-config preset <ci|thorough|quick>


set
Subcommand

  1. Validate the key is a recognized configuration key
  2. Validate the value type matches the key's expected type
  3. Read existing config (or start from defaults)
  4. Apply the change
  5. Write updated config to 
    .aiwg/ralph/config.json
  6. Confirm the change

Output:

Al config updated.

  maxIterations: 10  →  15

Saved to: .aiwg/ralph/config.json

Validation error — unknown key:

Unknown configuration key: 'maxIter'

Did you mean 'maxIterations'?

Run /ralph-config show to see all valid keys.

Validation error — wrong type:

Invalid value for 'maxIterations': 'lots'

Expected: integer >= 1
Got: 'lots'

Example: /ralph-config set maxIterations 15


reset
Subcommand

  1. Confirm with the user before proceeding
  2. Delete or overwrite 
    .aiwg/ralph/config.json
    with built-in defaults
  3. Confirm the reset

Confirmation prompt:

This will reset all Al configuration to defaults.

Current non-default values:
  maxIterations: 5 (default: 10)
  timeout: 30 (default: 60)
  quiet: true (default: false)

Type 'yes' to confirm reset:

After reset:

Al configuration reset to defaults.

.aiwg/ralph/config.json has been cleared.
All future loops will use built-in default values.


preset
Subcommand

  1. Validate the preset name is one of 
    ci
    , 
    thorough
    , or 
    quick
  2. Confirm which keys will be overwritten
  3. Apply the preset values on top of current config
  4. Save and confirm

Preview before applying:

Applying preset: ci

Changes:
  maxIterations: 10  →  5
  timeout: 60  →  30
  quiet: false  →  true

Other keys are unchanged.

Apply? (yes/no):

After applying:

Preset 'ci' applied.

Al will now use:
  maxIterations: 5
  timeout: 30 minutes
  quiet: true

These values persist until changed or reset.
Saved to: .aiwg/ralph/config.json

Unknown preset:

Unknown preset: 'aggressive'

Available presets:
  ci        — max 5 iterations, 30m timeout, quiet (for pipelines)
  thorough  — max 20 iterations, 120m timeout (for complex tasks)
  quick     — max 3 iterations, 15m timeout (for exploration)

Usage: /ralph-config preset <name>

Config File Location

ContextPath
In-session loops (
/ralph
)
.aiwg/ralph/config.json
External loops (
/ralph-external
)
.aiwg/ralph-external/config.json

Each context has its own config file. 

show
, 
set
, 
reset
, and 
preset
operate on the in-session config by default. Use 
/ralph-config --external show
to inspect external loop config (if the 
--external
flag is available in your install).

Error Handling

Config file unreadable:

Cannot read Al config: .aiwg/ralph/config.json

Permission error or corrupted JSON. Options:
1. Delete the file to reset to defaults: rm .aiwg/ralph/config.json
2. Inspect manually: cat .aiwg/ralph/config.json

Read-only directory:

Cannot write to .aiwg/ralph/config.json.

Check that the .aiwg/ralph/ directory is writable:
  chmod 755 .aiwg/ralph/

Examples

Example 1: Show current config

/ralph-config show

Response: Table of all current values with defaults and modified markers.

Example 2: Set a single value

/ralph-config set maxIterations 15

Response: Confirms 

maxIterations: 10 → 15
, writes file.

Example 3: Apply the CI preset

/ralph-config preset ci

Response: Previews 3 changes, prompts confirmation, applies and saves.

Example 4: Apply the thorough preset for a complex refactor

/ralph-config preset thorough

Response: Sets max 20 iterations and 120-minute timeout.

Example 5: Disable auto-commit

/ralph-config set autoCommit false

Response: Loop iterations will no longer create git commits.

Example 6: Reset everything

/ralph-config reset

Response: Confirms which values will revert, then clears the config file.

Related

  • /ralph
    — Start an in-session loop (uses this config as defaults)
  • /ralph-external
    — Start a crash-resilient external loop
  • /ralph-status
    — Check active loop state
  • /ralph-memory
    — Manage accumulated loop memory

References

  • @$AIWG_ROOT/src/cli/handlers/ralph.ts — Al CLI handler (config parsing)
  • @$AIWG_ROOT/tools/ralph-external/README.md — External loop architecture
  • @$AIWG_ROOT/agentic/code/addons/ralph/README.md — Al documentation