Choose your path

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

CLI, Copilot agent, or SDK? Pick the right mode for your workflow.

Three modes

CLI mode

Install Squad globally or per-project, then use terminal commands to initialize, route work, and manage your team.

npm install -g @bradygaster/squad-cli
squad init
squad status
squad watch

Use for: Terminal workflows, automation scripts, CI/CD integration.

Copilot agent mode

Talk to Squad in GitHub Copilot CLI or VS Code. Squad is built-in as an agent. Your .squad/ directory works identically to CLI mode.

copilot
> /agent Squad

Squad: Hey Brady, what are you building?

Use for: Conversational workflows, exploratory work, VS Code users.

SDK mode

Write TypeScript code that spawns agents, routes work, and coordinates teams programmatically. Full access to Squad’s internals.

npm install @bradygaster/squad-sdk

import { Coordinator } from '@bradygaster/squad-sdk';

const coordinator = new Coordinator();
const result = await coordinator.route('Build a login page');

Use for: Building tools on Squad, custom integrations, advanced automation.

Decision table

Your goal	Use
Try Squad quickly	Copilot agent — no install
Work in the terminal	CLI
Work in VS Code	Copilot agent
Automate repetitive tasks	CLI or SDK
Build custom tooling	SDK
CI/CD integration	CLI or SDK

Can I use multiple modes?

Yes. Your .squad/ directory is the source of truth. CLI, Copilot agent, and SDK all read and write the same files. You can switch between modes anytime.

Example workflow:

Use Copilot agent to form your team and do exploratory work
Use CLI (squad watch) to monitor issues in the background
Use SDK to build a custom deployment script that spawns agents

All three modes share the same memory and decisions.