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docs/ralph-wiggum.md

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+# Ralph Wiggum mode
+
+Ralph Wiggum mode is an iterative automation technique that lets Gemini CLI
+repeatedly execute a prompt until a specific goal is met. This mode is designed
+for tasks that benefit from persistent refinement, such as fixing failing tests
+or performing complex refactoring.
+
+> **Note:** This is a preview feature currently under active development.
+
+## Overview
+
+Inspired by the "Ralph Wiggum" technique, this mode treats failures as data and
+uses a feedback loop to reach a successful state. When you enable Ralph Wiggum
+mode, Gemini CLI enters YOLO (auto-approval) mode and continues to process the
+provided prompt until it detects your specified completion string in the model's
+output or reaches the maximum number of iterations.
+
+## Usage
+
+To use Ralph Wiggum mode, you must provide a prompt using the `-p` or `--prompt`
+flag. You then configure the loop behavior using the following flags:
+
+| Flag                   | Description                                                |
+| :--------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `--ralph-wiggum`       | Enables the Ralph Wiggum iterative loop mode.              |
+| `--completion-promise` | The string to look for in the output to signal completion. |
+| `--max-iterations`     | The maximum number of times to run the loop (default: 10). |
+| `--memory-file`        | Task-specific memory file (default: `memories.md`).        |
+
+### Example
+
+The following command attempts to fix tests by running the loop up to 5 times
+until the string "TESTS PASSED" appears in the output, using a specific memory
+file for this task:
+
+```bash
+gemini -p "Fix the tests in packages/core" \
+  --ralph-wiggum \
+  --completion-promise "TESTS PASSED" \
+  --max-iterations 5 \
+  --memory-file "fix-core-tests.md"
+```
+
+## How it works
+
+When you run Gemini CLI with the `--ralph-wiggum` flag, the following process
+occurs:
+
+1.  **Enforces YOLO mode:** The tool automatically sets the approval mode to
+    `yolo`. This ensures that tool calls (like writing files or running shell
+    commands) are approved automatically to allow the automation to proceed
+    without human intervention.
+2.  **Iterative execution:** The CLI executes the provided prompt in a loop.
+3.  **Completion check:** After each iteration, the CLI scans the full text of
+    the assistant's response for the string provided in `--completion-promise`.
+4.  **Loop termination:**
+    - If the completion string is found, the loop exits successfully.
+    - If the completion string is not found, the CLI starts a new iteration
+      using the same initial prompt.
+    - If the number of iterations reaches the `--max-iterations` limit, the loop
+      stops.
+
+## Persistent context (Memories)
+
+To help the agent learn from previous attempts, Ralph Wiggum mode uses a
+`memories.md` file in your current working directory.
+
+- **Automatic creation:** If the file doesn't exist, the CLI creates it with a
+  default header.
+- **Context injection:** At the start of each iteration, the content of
+  `memories.md` is read and prepended to your prompt.
+- **Usage:** You (or the agent, via tool use) can write notes, error logs, or
+  successful patterns into this file. This allows the agent to "remember" what
+  failed in iteration 1 and avoid repeating the same mistake in iteration 2.
+
+## Summary statistics
+
+At the end of the execution, Ralph Wiggum mode provides a summary table in the
+terminal. This table details the performance of each iteration, including:
+
+- **Iteration number:** The sequence of the run.
+- **Status:** Whether the iteration met the completion promise ("Success") or
+  failed to do so ("Failed").
+- **Tests Passed/Failed:** If the output contains recognizable test runner
+  patterns (such as those from Vitest, Jest, or Mocha), the CLI extracts and
+  displays the number of passing and failing tests.
+
+### Example summary table
+
+```text
+--- Ralph Wiggum Mode Summary ---
+| Iteration | Status  | Tests Passed | Tests Failed |
+|-----------|---------|--------------|--------------|
+| 1         | Failed  | 2            | 10           |
+| 2         | Failed  | 8            | 4            |
+| 3         | Success | 12           | 0            |
+---------------------------------
+```
+
+## Best practices
+
+To get the most out of Ralph Wiggum mode, we recommend the following:
+
+- **Clear completion criteria:** Ensure your prompt instructs the model to emit
+  a specific, unique string (like "ALL TESTS PASSED") only when the task is
+  truly complete.
+- **Incremental goals:** Use prompts that encourage the model to make small,
+  verifiable changes in each iteration.
+- **Safety nets:** Always set a reasonable `--max-iterations` limit to prevent
+  unintended long-running processes.
+
+## Development and rebuilding
+
+If you're modifying Ralph Wiggum mode or enabling it in a development
+environment, you must recompile the TypeScript source code.
+
+### Full rebuild
+
+To build all packages in the monorepo, run the following command from the root
+directory:
+
+```bash
+npm run build
+```
+
+### Fast CLI rebuild
+
+If you've already performed a full build and are only making changes to the CLI
+package, you can run a targeted build:
+
+```bash
+npm run build -w @google/gemini-cli
+```
+
+### Running in development
+
+After rebuilding, test your changes using the `npm run start` script:
+
+```bash
+npm run start -- -p "Your task" --ralph-wiggum --completion-promise "SUCCESS"
+```