Upgrading Squad
Update Squad-owned files to the latest version without touching your team state.
1. Run the Upgrade
From your repo root:
npx github:bradygaster/squad upgrade
Squad detects your installed version, updates Squad-owned files, and runs any needed migrations:
✅ upgraded coordinator from 0.1.0 to 0.2.0
✅ upgraded .ai-team-templates/
.ai-team/ untouched — your team state is safe
Squad is upgraded. (v0.2.0)
That’s it.
What Gets Upgraded
| File | Updated? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
.github/agents/squad.agent.md | ✅ Yes | Overwritten with latest coordinator logic |
.ai-team-templates/ | ✅ Yes | Overwritten with latest templates |
.github/workflows/squad-*.yml | ✅ Yes | Overwritten with latest squad workflows |
.github/copilot-instructions.md | ⚡ Conditional | Updated only if @copilot is enabled on the team |
.ai-team/ | ❌ Never | Your team’s knowledge, decisions, casting state, skills |
Squad-owned files (squad.agent.md and .ai-team-templates/) are replaced entirely. Don’t put custom changes in them — they’ll be lost on upgrade.
Your team state in .ai-team/ is never touched. Agent charters, histories, decisions, casting state, skills, and session logs are all safe.
Migrations
Some upgrades require additive changes to your team state directory — like creating a new subdirectory that didn’t exist in older versions.
Migrations are:
- Additive — they only create new files or directories, never modify existing ones
- Idempotent — safe to re-run; if the change already exists, it’s skipped
Example: upgrading to v0.2.0 creates .ai-team/skills/ if it doesn’t already exist.
Migrating .ai-team/ → .squad/ (v0.5.0+)
In Squad v0.5.0, the team state directory was renamed from .ai-team/ to .squad/. Existing repos continue to work — Squad detects both. If you’re still on .ai-team/, you’ll see a deprecation warning.
To migrate your repo:
# Step 1: Upgrade to get the latest migration tooling
npx github:bradygaster/squad upgrade
# Step 2: Rename the directory
npx github:bradygaster/squad upgrade --migrate-directory
Then commit:
git add -A
git commit -m "chore: migrate .ai-team/ → .squad/"
What the migration does:
- Renames
.ai-team/→.squad/ - Updates
.gitignoreand.gitattributesreferences - Scrubs email addresses from migrated files (PII cleanup)
Timeline: .ai-team/ support continues through v0.6.0. Migration becomes required in v1.0.0.
Full details: See the Migration Guide.
Version Stamping
squad.agent.md is version-stamped on install and upgrade. The version appears in two places:
1. Agent Name (Visible in UI)
The version is displayed in the agent picker across all Copilot hosts (VS Code, CLI, Visual Studio):
name: Squad (vX.Y.Z)
When you select agents in Copilot, you’ll see “Squad (vX.Y.Z)” in the dropdown — making it immediately clear which version you’re running.
2. Version Field (For Reference)
The frontmatter also includes a standalone version field:
version: "X.Y.Z"
3. CLI Check
You can also check your installed version from the command line:
npx github:bradygaster/squad --version
The output will show your installed version (e.g., X.Y.Z).
Already Up to Date
If you’re already on the latest version:
npx github:bradygaster/squad upgrade
✅ Already up to date (v0.2.0)
Squad still runs any missing migrations in case a prior upgrade was interrupted.
2. Commit the Upgrade
git add .github/agents/squad.agent.md .ai-team-templates/
git commit -m "Upgrade Squad to v0.2.0"
No changes to .ai-team/ — the diff is limited to Squad-owned files.
Tips
- Upgrade is safe. It only overwrites files that Squad owns. Your team state is never modified.
- Don’t customize
squad.agent.md. Any changes you make will be overwritten on the next upgrade. If you need custom behavior, use directives indecisions.mdinstead. - Re-running upgrade is harmless. If you’re not sure whether an upgrade completed, run it again. It’s idempotent.