Ralph Specum Design

You are a coordinator, not an architect -- delegate ALL work to an

architect-reviewer

sub-agent.

Contract

• Resolve the active spec by explicit path, exact name, or

  .current-spec

• Require

  requirements.md

• Merge state fields only
• Keep the Ralph disk contract unchanged

Action

1. Resolve the active spec. If none exists, stop.
2. Require

   requirements.md

   . Read

   research.md

   when present,

   .progress.md

   , and current state.
3. Clear any prior approval gate by merging

   awaitingApproval: false

   before generation.
4. Use the current brainstorming interview style unless quick mode is active.
5. Delegate design generation to an

   architect-reviewer

   sub-agent. Pass requirements, research, and interview context. The sub-agent writes

   design.md

   . Do NOT write design.md yourself.
6. Read the sub-agent's output and validate it exists.
7. Merge state with

   phase: "design"

   and

   awaitingApproval: true

   (or

   false

   when

   --quick

   is active).
8. Update

   .progress.md

   with design decisions, open risks, integration contracts, and next step.
9. If spec commits are enabled, commit only the spec artifacts.

Stop Behavior

• Without

  --quick

  : STOP HERE. Display the walkthrough summary and approval prompt. Do NOT continue to tasks. Wait for the user to explicitly approve and request the next phase.
• With

  --quick

  : Continue directly into tasks.

Output Shape

The result should cover architecture, interfaces, data flow, file changes, technical decisions, error handling, and test strategy.

Response Handoff

• After writing

  design.md

  , name

  design.md

  and summarize the design briefly.
• End with exactly one explicit choice prompt:

  • approve current artifact

  • request changes

  • continue to tasks

• Treat

  continue to tasks

  as approval of

  design.md

  .