Quick start

Your first 5 minutes with Squad. Prove it works before you learn anything.

Prerequisites

Git repository — New or existing
GitHub Copilot CLI — Installed and authenticated
Squad CLI — Choose any method in the Installation guide

Install

After installing Squad, initialize it in your repository:

squad init

You’ll see:

✅ Squad installed.
   .github/agents/squad.agent.md — coordinator agent
   .squad/templates/ — 11 template files
Open GitHub Copilot and select Squad from the agent list.

Validate

Check that Squad created your team directory:

ls .squad/

You should see: team.md, routing.md, decisions.md, agents/, and more. Confirm Squad is ready:

squad status

Try it

Open GitHub Copilot in your terminal or VS Code. Select Squad from the agent list (/agent Squad in CLI or /agents in VS Code). Say something simple:

> I'm building a task management app with React and Node.js.
> Users can create, update, and delete tasks.

Squad forms your team and responds with agent names and roles. Say yes, or just give your first task:

> Team, create a basic Express server with a /health endpoint.

Squad spawns agents and moves the work forward.

What just happened?

Squad read your description, formed a team of specialists, wrote their charters to .squad/agents/, and coordinated parallel work. Check .squad/decisions.md to see what they decided.

Next steps

Your first session — Step-by-step walkthrough of parallel work, decisions, and memory.