how-to-guide

Understanding the progress.txt Format and How to Structure Learnings in Ralph

April 13, 2026 snarktank/ralph ↗

progress.txt is an append-only markdown log that persists discovered patterns and implementation learnings between AI-agent iterations in the snarktank/ralph workflow.

The progress.txt format provides a machine-readable yet human-friendly way to accumulate institutional knowledge across multiple AI coding sessions. According to the snarktank/ralph source code, this file lives in your project root and serves as the primary mechanism for transferring context to future agent iterations without polluting your Git history.

What Is the progress.txt File?

progress.txt functions as an

Have a question about this repo?

These articles cover the highlights, but your codebase questions are specific. Give your agent direct access to the source. Share this with your agent to get started:

Share the following with your agent to get started:

curl -s "https://instagit.com/install.md"

Add to your MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Ask your agent:

"Use Instagit MCP to understand how snarktank/ralph works."

Works with

Claude Codex Cursor VS Code OpenClaw Any MCP Client

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