cancel-ralph

When to Use

Cancel active Ralph Loop

Cancel Ralph

Stop an active Ralph Loop before completion.

Overview

Invoke this skill when a ralph-loop is running but should stop early — task scope changed, parameters wrong, loop stuck, or higher priority work.

Rules

1. Check first: verify loop is active before attempting cancellation
2. Read iteration: report which iteration was reached on cancel
3. Clean state: remove the loop state file completely
4. Notify: inform user of cancellation + last iteration

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Why	Do Instead
Force-killing without reading iteration	User loses progress context	Read iteration before deleting
Cancelling when no loop active	Wasted operation	Always check with test -f first
Leaving stale state file	Next loop start may pick up old state	Always rm -f the file
Aborting without telling user	Confusing, breaks trust	Always explain what was cancelled
Cancelling during a write operation	Partial state corruption	Wait for iteration boundary or checkpoint
Deleting without verifying it's YOUR loop	Could kill another agent's loop	Check loop metadata (task ID, owner) first

When to Use

• Task requirements changed mid-loop
• Wrong parameters passed to the loop
• Loop appears stuck (repeating same step)
• Higher priority task needs the context slot

Note: Prefer completing tasks properly with <promise>DONE</promise> when possible.

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See reference.md for extended details, examples, and detailed patterns.

Anti-Rationalization

Rationalization	Red Flag	Verification
"cancelar sin confirmación del estado"	cancelar sin verificar si loop activo	test -f .opencode/ralph-loop.local.md + grep iteration file:line
"asumir que el loop se detiene solo"	borrar state sin reportar iteration ni notify	leer iteration, rm -f state, notificar usuario con última iteration
"cancelar durante write operation"	cancelar en medio de escritura → corrupción parcial	esperar boundary/checkpoint file:line antes de rm

Red Flags

• Doing work without checking output format → STOP, re-read skill
• Second occurrence of same rationalization → force RED zone

Verification

• Output matches skill ## Output contract + file:line citaton
• cross-ref-check.ps1 → SKILL.md OK

Refs

ralph-loop · recovery-protocol · help