Prompt-Driven Development

Overview

Transform a rough idea into a detailed design with an implementation plan. The process is iterative: clarify requirements, research, design, plan, moving between phases as needed.

Important Notes

These rules apply across ALL steps:

• User-driven flow: Never proceed to the next step without explicit user confirmation. At each transition, ask the user what they want to do next.
• Iterative: The user can move between requirements clarification and research at any time. Always offer this option at phase transitions.
• Record as you go: Append questions, answers, and findings to project files in real time, don't batch-write at the end.
• Mermaid diagrams: Include diagrams for architectures, data flows, and component relationships in research and design documents.
• Sources: Cite references and links in research documents when based on external materials.
• Planning only: This SOP produces planning artifacts. You MUST NOT implement code, run containers, execute scripts, or begin any implementation work. If the user wants implementation, direct them to ralph run.

Parameters

• rough_idea (required): The initial concept or idea to develop
• project_dir (optional, default: specs/{task_name}/): Base directory for all artifacts. {task_name} is derived as kebab-case from the idea (e.g., "build a rate limiter" → rate-limiter). Aligns with Ralph's spec-driven pipeline.

Constraints:

• You MUST ask for all required parameters upfront in a single prompt
• You MUST support multiple input methods: direct text, file path, URL
• You MUST derive task_name from the rough idea as kebab-case
• You MUST NOT overwrite an existing project directory, ask for a new path if it already has contents

Steps

1. Create Project Structure