Ralph a test backlog
Iterate over a prioritized list of untested modules with fresh context each pass, writing real behavioral tests for one module at a time and banking lessons in a guardrails file.
/loop each iteration with fresh context: read .ralph/test-backlog.json and .ralph/guardrails.md, pick the top unfinished module, write behavioral tests for its public API (no snapshot-only tests), run the suite, and mark the module done only when its tests pass and coverage for it exceeds 80%; append any discovered testing gotcha (fixtures, mocking rules, async traps) to .ralph/guardrails.md; stop when the backlog is empty or after 25 turns
claude-code · codex
Implementation note
Generate the backlog from your coverage report, worst-covered first. The guardrails file quickly accumulates project-specific mocking rules that make later iterations noticeably better.
Source: Geoffrey Huntley (Ralph technique) ↗
More testing loops
Watch tests while you work
A passive watchdog loop that reruns your test suite every 15 minutes and surfaces failing tests with their error output.
/loop 15m run the test suite, and if anything fails, show me the failing tests and the error output
testinglow risk
Kill flaky tests
Run your test suite repeatedly, collect every intermittent failure, and fix or quarantine flaky tests until you get five consecutive green runs.
/loop run my test suite 20 times, collect every intermittent failure, fix or quarantine the flaky ones, and don't stop until you get 5 consecutive fully-green runs
testinghigh risk
Make all tests pass
Implement remaining code and run tests repeatedly until the full suite passes.
/goal finish the implementation and make all tests pass
testingmedium risk