ratchet
Brownian Ratchet progress gates for RPI workflow. Check, record, verify. Triggers: "check gate", "verify progress", "ratchet status".
SKILL.md
Full skill instructions
Ratchet Skill
Track progress through the RPI workflow with permanent gates.
The Brownian Ratchet
Progress = Chaos × Filter → Ratchet
| Phase | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Chaos | Multiple attempts (exploration, implementation) |
| Filter | Validation gates (tests, /vibe, review) |
| Ratchet | Lock progress permanently (merged, closed, stored) |
Key insight: Progress is permanent. You can't un-ratchet.
Execution Steps
Given /ratchet [command]:
status - Check Current State
ao ratchet status 2>/dev/null
Or check the chain manually:
cat .agents/ao/chain.jsonl 2>/dev/null | tail -10
check [step] - Verify Gate
ao ratchet check <step> 2>/dev/null
Steps: research, plan, implement, vibe, post-mortem
record [step] - Record Completion
ao ratchet record <step> --output "<artifact-path>" 2>/dev/null
Or record manually by writing to chain:
echo '{"step":"<step>","status":"completed","output":"<path>","time":"<ISO-timestamp>"}' >> .agents/ao/chain.jsonl
skip [step] - Skip Intentionally
ao ratchet skip <step> --reason "<why>" 2>/dev/null
Workflow Steps
| Step | Gate | Output |
|---|---|---|
research | Research artifact exists | .agents/research/*.md |
plan | Plan artifact exists | .agents/plans/*.md |
implement | Code + tests pass | Source files |
vibe | /vibe passes | .agents/vibe/*.md |
post-mortem | Learnings extracted | .agents/retros/*.md |
Chain Storage
Progress stored in .agents/ao/chain.jsonl:
{"step":"research","status":"completed","output":".agents/research/auth.md","time":"2026-01-25T10:00:00Z"}
{"step":"plan","status":"completed","output":".agents/plans/auth-plan.md","time":"2026-01-25T11:00:00Z"}
{"step":"implement","status":"in_progress","time":"2026-01-25T12:00:00Z"}
Key Rules
- Progress is permanent - can't un-ratchet
- Gates must pass - validate before proceeding
- Record everything - maintain the chain
- Skip explicitly - document why if skipping a step