The Loop and Triggers

The kit runs as a long-lived agent loop (ralph-claude.js / ralph-ollama.js) that repeatedly checks for work and idles quietly when there is none. It implements the Eventmodelers Build Kits platform contract.

Two independent triggers

Each loop iteration checks two conditions. They are not causally linked — either can fire on its own, and both can fire in the same iteration:

Trigger	Condition	What runs
Task trigger	.build-kit/tasks.json is non-empty	lib/prompt.md — reacts to board status changes (fetches newly Planned slices, logs Done/Blocked results)
Build trigger	A slice under .build-kit/.slices/*/index.json has status "planned"	lib/backend-prompt.md — builds exactly one slice, then stops so the loop can re-check for more work

Building one slice per iteration, rather than draining the whole queue at once, keeps each build isolated: if one slice fails, it doesn’t block the others from being picked up on the next pass.

Running without board credentials

If .build-kit/.eventmodelers/config.json is missing, the task trigger is disabled — there’s no board to sync with — but the build trigger still runs. You can drop a slice definition directly into .build-kit/.slices/<context>/<slice>/index.json with "status": "planned" and the kit will still generate, build, and test it locally. See Connect a Board to enable full board sync.

Slice-type routing

When the build trigger fires, the kit reads the slice definition and routes to one of three build skills:

Condition	Skill	Generates
sliceType === "TRANSLATION"	build-automation	A reactor that adapts an external fact into a local command
processors[] is non-empty	build-automation	A reactor that reacts to a fact and issues a follow-up command
projections / queries / readModel present	build-state-view	A projection and read model
Otherwise (commands / events only)	build-state-change	A command and its event(s)

This mirrors event modeling’s four slice patterns — Command, View, Automation, and Translation — applied to Cratis’s Arc and Chronicle primitives.

One iteration, end to end

1. Check triggers. Read tasks.json and scan .slices/*/index.json for a planned entry.
2. If a task is pending: run prompt.md — fetch the slice from the board via the load-slice skill, persist it under .slices/, and clear the task.
3. If a slice is planned: run backend-prompt.md — route to the correct build skill, generate the code, run ./gradlew build and ./gradlew test, then call update-slice-status to mark the slice Done (or Blocked, with the failure reason, if the build or tests fail).
4. Idle. If neither trigger fired, wait and check again.

See Also

• Run Your First Slice — this loop, watched end to end
• CLI Commands
• Connect a Board