v0.4.0 Sprint Progress — Platform Parity, Client Compatibility, and Project Boards

⚠️ Experimental — Squad is alpha software. APIs, commands, and behavior may change between releases.

Squad v0.4.0 brings platform parity research complete, client compatibility matrix published, agent progress updates designed, and community features greenlit. This sprint expanded what’s possible on VS Code and locked in the patterns for long-running work visibility.

Completed Work

1. VS Code Parity Investigation (Spikes #32, #33, #34)

We proved what intuition suggested: Squad works identically on VS Code as it does on the CLI, with zero code changes.

Key findings:

• Sub-agent spawning: VS Code’s runSubagent tool maps 1:1 to CLI’s task tool. Agents spawn synchronously individually, but multiple agents in the same turn run in parallel — functionally equivalent to CLI’s mode: "background" with concurrent execution.
• Model selection: VS Code’s Phase 1 MVP accepts the session model. Phase 2 (v0.5.0) will support custom agent frontmatter for static per-agent routing. Cost optimization deferred but not blocked.
• File discovery: .github/agents/squad.agent.md auto-discovers and hot-reloads on VS Code. No restart needed.
• .squad/ access: Full read/write support, workspace-scoped. First write may prompt for approval (VS Code security); subsequent writes automatic.
• SQL tool: Not available on VS Code. This is documented; workflows should detect platform and adapt.

Workarounds documented: runSubagent has no model or background parameters. Workaround: spawn multiple subagents in one turn for parallelism; batch Scribe last (tolerable cost since Scribe is Haiku-tier work).

2. Client Compatibility Matrix Shipped

We published the first production compatibility matrix covering CLI, VS Code, JetBrains (untested), and GitHub.com (untested). This unblocks VS Code adoption and surfaces what needs testing.

What’s documented:

Also documented: Platform adaptation guide for Squad developers. Coordinator instructions for platform detection (CLI mode vs VS Code mode vs fallback mode).

3. Agent Progress Updates Designed (Proposal 022a)

User feedback: long-running background agents felt invisible. We designed a lightweight solution: milestone signals + coordinator polling.

The UX:

Brady: "keaton, analyze the codebase"

Coordinator:
🏗️  Keaton is analyzing the codebase. I'll check in every 30 seconds.

[30s later]
📍 Keaton — ✅ Parsed 150/400 files
📍 Keaton — 📍 Analyzing dependencies...

[60s later]
📍 Keaton — ✅ Found 47 circular dependencies

How it works:

1. Agents emit ✅ [MILESTONE] {message} during long work
2. Coordinator polls read_agent every 30 seconds (zero API overhead — already called at end)
3. Extracts new milestones, relays to user in real-time
4. Falls back to “still working” if no milestones (graceful degradation)

For v0.4.0: Coordinator polling loop + .squad/skills/progress-signals/SKILL.md documentation.

For v0.5.0+: Customizable polling cadence, emoji matching to agent persona, milestone filtering for quiet mode.

4. SSH Bug Documented and Closed (#30)

Issue: npx github:bradygaster/squad previously appeared to hang during install. This is no longer relevant with npm-only distribution.

Current install method:

• Install globally: npm install -g @bradygaster/squad-cli

Status: Issue closed, solution in README and troubleshooting docs.

5. Project Boards Community Feature Greenlit (#6)

@londospark requested GitHub Project Boards integration. Feature approved and scheduled for implementation starting now.

Scope:

• Ralph (Work Monitor) writes board status
• Agents read board milestones for context
• Workflow automation: squad-board-sync.yml

Community: This was @londospark’s proposal. Squad is architected to be extended by the community.

Contributors This Sprint

• @londospark — Project Boards proposal, community engagement
• @csharpfritz — MCP expansion feedback
• @dnoriegagoodwin — Platform testing feedback
• @GreenCee — Compatibility testing feedback

What’s Next (v0.4.1+)

• JetBrains investigation spike (#12) — Untested platform; need clarity on sub-agent spawning
• GitHub.com investigation spike (#13) — Untested platform; web-based Copilot limitations
• Progress signals skill implementation — Agents adopt milestone pattern
• Project Boards MVP — Ralph integrates board context

By the Numbers

• 3 major spikes completed (VS Code parity research)
• 1 compatibility matrix published (33 rows, 8 feature comparisons)
• 1 proposal designed & approved (agent progress updates)
• 1 SSH bug fixed & documented
• 4 external contributors engaged this sprint

The Vibe

This sprint was about reducing uncertainty. We came into v0.4.0 with questions: Does Squad work on VS Code? What are the constraints? How do we show progress on long work?

We shipped answers. VS Code users can adopt Squad without waiting for a v0.5.0 overhaul. Long-running work feels less like a black box. The compatibility matrix gives us a roadmap for what to test next.

Open source moves at the pace of clarity. We shipped that.