Ralph Loop

Ralph Loop is a Claude Code plugin that lets you run a prompt or slash command on a repeating schedule — either at a fixed interval you set, or self-paced where Claude decides when to check back.

It’s designed for tasks you’d otherwise have to manually re-trigger: monitoring a build, polling for a condition, running a check on a schedule, or iterating on something until it’s done.

Basic usage

Start a loop with the /loop command followed by an interval and a prompt:

/loop 5m check if the test suite is passing and report the result

This runs the prompt every 5 minutes. Claude executes it, reports the result, then waits and runs it again.

To let Claude decide the pace (useful for tasks where the right interval depends on progress):

/loop check the build status and continue when it's green

Without an interval, Claude self-paces — it decides how long to wait based on what it finds.

When to use it

Monitoring — Poll a CI build, a deployment, or a service until a condition is met.

Iterative work — Run a task repeatedly until it converges: “keep fixing lint errors until there are none.”

Scheduled checks — Run a review or status check at a fixed cadence during a long working session.

Babysitting — Start a long process (a test run, a data migration) and have Claude report back when it finishes rather than watching it yourself.

Stopping a loop

Type /cancel-ralph or the equivalent cancel command to stop an active loop. You can also just close the session.

Self-pacing behaviour

When running without a fixed interval, Claude considers what it found in the last check and picks a sensible delay. If a build usually takes 8 minutes, it won’t poll every 30 seconds — it’ll wait a few minutes before checking again. This avoids burning tokens on rapid polling while still catching results promptly.

Practical tips

• Be specific about the exit condition. “Loop until the build passes” is better than “keep checking.” Claude needs to know when to stop.
• Use it for waiting, not for doing. Ralph Loop is most useful when you’re waiting for something external. For iterating on Claude’s own output, just continue the conversation.
• Combine with other skills. You can loop a slash command that invokes a skill — e.g. /loop 10m /status to run a status check on a schedule.