Ralph Wiggum Alternative: A Safer Way to Run Autonomous AI

Autonomous AI is powerful. Give Claude the right prompt, and it will iterate for hours — fixing bugs, running tests, refactoring code. But autonomous AI also carries risks that few people talk about.

We released Ping last week — the feature that lets AI agents tap you on the shoulder when they need you. But people kept asking: “What if I don’t want to be interrupted at all?”

Today we’re shipping The Queue, a safer alternative to hands-off AI workflows. Inspired by the Ralph Wiggum technique but designed with guardrails.

What Is The Queue?

The Queue is simple: pre-write responses that your AI agent uses automatically.

# Add some responses to your queue
strayfiles-ping queue add "continue"
strayfiles-ping queue add "yes, keep going"
strayfiles-ping queue add "sounds good, proceed"
strayfiles-ping queue add "skip this one"

Now when your agent sends a ping, it automatically uses the next queued response. No notification. No interruption. The AI just keeps working.

You can go to lunch, take a walk, work on something else — and your agent keeps making progress.

The Ralph Wiggum Problem

If you haven’t seen Ralph Wiggum, it’s brilliant in its simplicity:

/ralph-loop "Get all tests passing" --completion-promise "DONE"

Claude runs tests, sees failures, fixes code, runs again. Loops automatically until either tests pass or max iterations hit. It’s like having an autonomous research assistant that won’t stop until the job is done.

But there’s a problem: infinite loops.

What Can Go Wrong?

The never-ending loop:

Claude: *fixes test A, breaks test B*
Claude: *fixes test B, breaks test A*
Claude: *fixes test A, breaks test B*
... 3 hours later ...
Claude: *still going*

The runaway refactoring:

Claude: "I'll optimize this function"
Claude: *makes it faster but less readable*
Claude: "Now I'll add documentation"
Claude: *rewrites the entire codebase*
Claude: "Let me also update the tests"
... 47 files changed later ...

The cost spiral: Each loop iteration costs tokens. Ralph doesn’t know when to quit unless you set a hard cap. Set it too low and it doesn’t finish. Set it too high and you waste money on loops that aren’t making progress.

The Queue: Safer by Design

The Queue takes a different approach. Instead of looping the same task infinitely, you pre-approve decisions:

strayfiles-ping queue add "continue"
strayfiles-ping queue add "yes proceed"
strayfiles-ping queue add "skip this one"

Now when your AI needs input, it uses the next queued response. Crucially:

1. Each ping is a NEW question — not the same prompt re-fed
2. The queue depletes — after N responses, it stops
3. You set the budget — add 3 responses or 30, your choice
4. Rate limited — 10 auto-responses per hour maximum

This creates natural guardrails that Ralph doesn’t have.

Why The Queue Is Safer

Risk	Ralph Wiggum	The Queue
Infinite loops	Possible without strict max iterations	Impossible — queue depletes
Runaway costs	Each loop burns tokens	Fixed cost per queued response
Unintended changes	Same prompt, increasingly aggressive	Different pings, your pre-approved judgment
Loss of control	AI decides when to stop	You decide the budget upfront
Context drift	Loop can drift from original goal	Each ping is fresh context

FIFO, Simple and Predictable

The Queue is strictly first-in-first-out. Responses get used in the order you add them. No sorting, no prioritization, no AI selection.

When you set up your queue, you know exactly what responses will be used and in what order. No surprises. You can list, remove, or clear your queue anytime — see the full documentation for details.

Managing Your Queue In-App

Not a terminal person? The Queue is built into every Strayfiles app:

• TUI: Press [p] to open Ping notifications, switch to Queue tab
• iOS/macOS: Tap “Pings” button, switch to Queue tab

Add, remove, and reorder responses from a clean UI. Your queue syncs across devices, so set it on your Mac and use it from your phone.

Real-World Example: Code Cleanup

Let’s say you want to clean up deprecated code across your codebase.

With Ralph Wiggum:

/ralph-loop "Remove all deprecated APIs and update tests" --max-iterations 50

What happens:

• Iteration 1: Removes deprecated APIs from 5 files, breaks 3 tests
• Iteration 2: Fixes 2 tests, introduces new deprecation warnings
• Iteration 3: Removes those warnings, breaks the build
• Iteration 4: Fixes build, removes 3 more deprecated APIs
• …
• Iteration 47: Still going, you’re not sure what changed

Risk: You come back to 47 iterations of changes and a git diff that’s impossible to review.

With The Queue:

strayfiles-ping queue add "proceed with this file"
strayfiles-ping queue add "yes update tests"
strayfiles-ping queue add "continue to next file"
strayfiles-ping queue add "skip this one"

You: "Review each deprecated API and ask before updating. I'll be back in an hour."

What happens:

• Ping: “Found deprecated API in auth.ts. Update it?” → uses “proceed with this file”
• Ping: “Tests updated. Continue to next file?” → uses “continue to next file”
• Ping: “Found deprecated API in payment.ts. Update it?” → uses “proceed with this file”
• Ping: “Found deprecated API in core.ts. Update it?” → uses “skip this one”
• Queue empty → AI waits for you

Benefit: Each file is a conscious decision. You know exactly what was approved. When the queue runs out, the AI stops — no surprises.

When to Use Each

Both tools have their place. Here’s our guidance:

Use Ralph Wiggum when:

• The goal is crystal clear (“all tests must pass”)
• There’s an unambiguous success condition
• You’re watching closely and can cancel if needed
• The task is bounded in scope (single file, specific feature)

Use The Queue when:

• The AI needs YOUR judgment, not just iteration
• You’re stepping away (lunch, meeting, focus time)
• Each question is different, not a loop
• You want to control the budget upfront
• The work spans multiple files or decisions

The Safety Features

We built The Queue with multiple safety layers:

Hard depletion: The queue physically cannot provide infinite responses. After N items, it’s empty. The AI must wait for you.

Rate limiting: Even if you add 100 responses, only 10 auto-responses per hour are allowed. This prevents runaway sessions while you’re away.

Audit trail: Every used response is saved for 7 days. You can review exactly what your AI approved in your absence.

Easy cancellation: One command (strayfiles-ping queue clear) stops everything. No hunting down process IDs.

Explicit opt-in: The AI never uses the queue without you setting it up. No accidental autonomous runs.

The Future of Autonomous AI

As AI agents become more capable, we need better patterns for autonomous workflows. The infinite loop isn’t the only answer — and it’s not always the safest.

The Queue represents a different philosophy: bounded autonomy. Give your AI the ability to proceed, but within limits you control. Pre-approved decisions rather than unchecked iteration.

It’s like leaving sticky notes for your future self. “If the AI asks about deploying, say yes. If it asks about the database migration, say proceed. If it asks about refactoring the auth module, say skip.”

Set it once, then walk away. Your AI keeps working — but never beyond what you’ve authorized.

Try It

The Queue is available now for Strayfiles Pro subscribers. If you’re already using Ping, you have it:

strayfiles-ping queue add "continue"

That’s it. Your next ping will auto-respond with that message.

If you’re coming from Ralph Wiggum, we think you’ll appreciate the safety margins. Same autonomy, more control.

Your AI, working within bounds you set.