deep-dive

How Ralph Automatically Detects Branch Changes and Archives Previous Runs

April 13, 2026 snarktank/ralph ↗

Ralph detects branch changes by comparing the current branchName value in prd.json against a cached value stored in .last-branch, and automatically archives the previous run's artifacts to a timestamped folder when they differ.

Ralph, an open-source feature development workflow tool maintained in the snarktank/ralph repository, preserves your work history through an intelligent state-tracking mechanism. The system continuously monitors your Product Requirements Document (PRD) to detect when you begin work on a new feature branch, triggering an archival process that safeguards your progress before

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

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