Ralph Specum Triage
Use this for large goals that should be decomposed into multiple dependency-aware specs.
Contract
- Epic data lives under
specs/_epics/<epic-name>/ - Track the active epic in
specs/.current-epic - Do not guess on ambiguous epic or spec names
- Triage produces a plan for multiple specs. It does not implement them
Action
- Check
specs/.current-epic. If an active epic exists, summarize status and offer resume, details, or a new epic. - Resolve or create the epic directory and initialize
research.md,epic.md,.progress.md, and.epic-state.jsonas needed. - Run the current triage flow in four stages:
- exploration research on seams, constraints, and existing boundaries
- brainstorming and decomposition into specs
- validation of dependencies, contracts, and scope
- finalization of epic outputs
- Build
epic.mdwith:- vision and scope
- spec list with goals and size
- dependency graph
- interface contracts and sequencing notes
- Persist
.epic-state.jsonwith each spec, its status, and dependencies. - Set
specs/.current-epicto the active epic name. - Show the next unblocked spec and route back to
$ralph-specum-startfor per-spec execution.
Output Shape
The result should make it clear:
- what belongs in each spec
- which specs can start now
- which specs are blocked by dependencies
- what contracts must stay stable across specs
Response Handoff
- After writing
epic.md, nameepic.mdand summarize the epic plan briefly. - End with exactly one explicit choice prompt:
approve current artifactrequest changescontinue to the next spec
- Treat
continue to the next specas approval ofepic.md.