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User Guide

Practical guides for using Ralph Orchestrator effectively.

In This Section

Guide Description
Configuration Full core config reference
Presets Built-in hat collections
CLI Reference Command-line interface
Backends Supported AI backends
Writing Prompts Prompt engineering tips
Cost Management Controlling API costs
Telegram Integration Human-in-the-loop via Telegram

Getting Started

  • Initialize core config: ralph init --backend claude
  • List built-in hat collections: ralph init --list-presets
  • Run with hats: ralph run -c ralph.yml -H builtin:code-assist

Running Ralph

  • Basic run (core only): ralph run -c ralph.yml
  • With hats: ralph run -c ralph.yml -H builtin:debug
  • With inline prompt: ralph run -c ralph.yml -H builtin:code-assist -p "Implement feature X"
  • Headless mode: ralph run --no-tui
  • Resume session: ralph run --continue

Monitoring

  • View event history: ralph events
  • Check memories: ralph tools memory list
  • Check tasks: ralph tools task list

Choosing a Workflow

Your Situation Recommended Approach
Simple task Core only (no hats)
Implementation work -H builtin:code-assist
Bug investigation -H builtin:debug
Code review -H builtin:review
Exploration and architecture mapping -H builtin:research

Common Tasks

Start a New Feature

ralph init --backend claude
ralph run -c ralph.yml -H builtin:code-assist -p "Add OAuth login"

Debug an Issue

ralph run -c ralph.yml -H builtin:debug -p "Investigate why user authentication fails on mobile"

Review Code

ralph run -c ralph.yml -H builtin:review -p "Review the changes in src/api/"

Next Steps

Start with Configuration to understand all options.