Choose your path

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

CLI, provider agent (Copilot or Claude Code), 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.

Provider agent mode (Copilot or Claude Code)

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

# Copilot
copilot --agent squad

# Claude Code
claude --agent squad

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

Can I use multiple modes?

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

Example workflow:

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

All three modes share the same memory and decisions.