GitHub - aymenfurter/ralph: Ralph for GitHub Copilot

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Ralph Demo

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Warning

UNOFFICIAL & EXPERIMENTAL - This extension relies on internal VS Code workbench commands (workbench.action.chat.newEditSession, workbench.action.chat.open) that are not part of the official public API. These commands may change or be removed in any VS Code update.

An implementation of Geoffrey Huntley's Ralph technique for GitHub Copilot.

Ralph runs AI coding agents in a loop. It reads a PRD, picks tasks, implements them one at a time, and continues until everything is done.

Features

  • Autonomous Task Execution - Automatically works through your PRD task list
  • Visual Control Panel - Start, pause, stop, and monitor progress
  • Progress Timeline - Watch tasks complete with timing visualization
  • PRD Generation - Describe what you want to build and Ralph creates the task list
  • Acceptance Criteria - Optionally require tests, linting, type checking before moving on
  • Fresh Chat Mode - Start each task with a clean context

Quick Start

Generate a PRD from a Description

  1. Open the Ralph Control Panel (click the Ralph icon in the Activity Bar)
  2. Describe what you want to build in the text area
  3. Click Generate PRD & Tasks
  4. Click Start to begin autonomous development

Use an Existing PRD

Create a PRD.md file in your workspace root:

# My Project

## Overview
Brief description of what you're building.

## Tasks
- [ ] Set up project structure with dependencies
- [ ] Create core data models and types
- [ ] Implement main application logic
- [ ] Add user interface and styling
- [ ] Write tests and documentation

Then open the Control Panel and click Start.

How It Works

  1. Read PRD.md
  2. Find next unchecked task
  3. Send task to Copilot Agent Mode
  4. Copilot implements the task
  5. Copilot marks task complete
  6. Repeat until all tasks done

Configuration

Copilot Settings

If you encounter the "Continue" button repeatedly during task execution (when hitting max iterations), you can configure VS Code Copilot settings to allow more requests:

  1. Open VS Code Settings (Cmd/Ctrl + ,)
  2. Search for chat.agent.maxRequests
  3. Set to a higher value (e.g., 100 or more). The default is 25.

Note: There is no enforced maximum, but consider your use case and the complexity of your tasks when setting this value.

For more information on available Copilot settings and autonomy levels, see the VS Code Copilot Settings documentation.

Requirements

  • VS Code 1.93 or later
  • GitHub Copilot Chat extension

License

MIT