Configuration

Ralph reads configuration from ralph.config.json at the project root.

Required Fields

{
  "language": "TypeScript",
  "packageManager": "pnpm",
  "testingFramework": "Vitest",
  "qualityCheck": "pnpm check",
  "testCommand": "pnpm test",
  "agent": "claude"
}

Field	Description	Example
language	Project language	TypeScript
packageManager	Package manager used by the project	pnpm
testingFramework	Testing framework	Vitest
qualityCheck	Command that must pass before committing	pnpm check
testCommand	Command to run tests	pnpm test
agent	AI coding agent to use	claude

Optional Fields

Field	Description	Example
model	Model override (otherwise uses agent default)	claude-sonnet-4-5-20250514
fileNaming	File naming convention	kebab-case

Supported Agents

Agent	Binary	Config value
Claude Code	claude	claude
Gemini CLI	gemini	gemini
Codex CLI	codex	codex
Continue	cn	continue
Cursor	cursor	cursor

The agent is auto-detected during ralph init based on which CLIs are installed. You can change it at any time by editing ralph.config.json.

Agent Instructions Files

Ralph does not manage agent instructions files. The loop prompt is self-contained — all methodology content, roles, and behavioral rules are injected directly into the agent session. If you want a .claude/CLAUDE.md or similar file for your own manual usage outside of ralph, that is your file to manage.