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Description
Problem
mfrieman/agentic-ai-collective
(v0.1.0-alpha) ships workstream compositions — named, additive bundles of
agents, skills, routing overlays, and merge patches that layer a discrete workflow
onto an existing squad without replacing it. These live under
compositions/workstreams/<name>/ with a manifest.json, an overlay/ subtree,
and a merge/ subtree containing .merge files for existing squad documents.
There is no upstream CLI command to install, remove, or upgrade a workstream. The
current workaround is a multi-step manual copy:
squad upstream sync collective
cp -r ~/.squad/upstream/collective/compositions/workstreams/code-review/overlay/ .squad/
# manually process merge/ patches against existing team.md, routing.md, etc.
# manually copy and install referenced atoms
# manually update .squad/assets.lock.jsonManual merge processing is error-prone. There is no record of which workstreams
are installed, so there is nothing to remove or upgrade later.
Current state
squad upstream sync can pull a remote library. There is no squad workstream
subcommand family. The .merge file format has no CLI consumer today.
Note: there are two open upstream issues that touch adjacent territory:
#200 PRD: Squad Workstreams
(broader workstream concept) and
#271 rename workstreams → SubSquads
(naming). This issue is specifically about the install / lifecycle CLI surface,
not the conceptual model or naming.
Desired state
A squad workstream subcommand for lifecycle management of installed workstreams.
# Install a workstream from a registered upstream
squad workstream add collective/code-review --as review
# Install by canonical URI (pinned version)
squad workstream add squad://mfrieman/agentic-ai-collective/workstreams/code-review@1.0.0 --as review
# List installed workstreams
squad workstream list
# Remove an installed workstream (reverting tagged-block merges)
squad workstream remove review
# Upgrade an installed workstream to a newer version
squad workstream upgrade review --to 1.1.0What add should do:
- Resolve the workstream manifest from the upstream registry.
- Copy
overlay/files into.squad/(new files, no conflicts). - Process
merge/patches — insert tagged blocks into existing squad documents
(see Issue feat: Issue Assignment & Auto-Triage for Squad Members #5 for the merge engine). - Materialize all referenced atoms to their canonical install targets.
- Record the workstream in
.squad/assets.lock.jsonsoremoveandupgrade
know what was installed, what was overlaid, and which blocks were merged.
What remove should do:
- Look up the workstream record in the lockfile.
- Remove tagged blocks from merged files (see Issue feat: Issue Assignment & Auto-Triage for Squad Members #5).
- Delete overlay files that are unmodified since install.
- Remove materialized atoms that are not shared with other installed workstreams.
What upgrade should do:
- Diff the old manifest against the new version.
- Add/remove overlay files and merge blocks as needed.
- Update the lockfile entry.
Acceptance criteria
-
squad workstream add <upstream>/<name> [--as <alias>]installs overlay
files, processes merge patches, and materializes atoms. -
squad workstream add squad://<uri>@<ver>works without a pre-registered
upstream. -
squad workstream listshows installed workstreams with their source URI,
installed version, and local alias. -
squad workstream remove <alias>cleanly reverses the install: removes
tagged blocks, removes unmodified overlay files, and updates the lockfile. -
squad workstream upgrade <alias> [--to <ver>]upgrades to the specified
(or latest) version, preserving user edits outside tagged blocks. - After any operation,
.squad/assets.lock.jsonaccurately reflects the
current installed state. -
squad workstream add --dry-runprints what would change without writing.
References
mfrieman/agentic-ai-collectivev0.1.0-alpha — consumer library motivating this gapARCHITECTURE.md— "Workstream Anatomy"ARCHITECTURE.md— "Today vs. Target"docs/usage/add-a-workstream.md.squad/decisions.mdlines 539–540 — flagssquad workstream list/add/remove/upgradeas upstream gaps- Related upstream: #200 PRD: Squad Workstreams,
#271 rename workstreams → SubSquads - Related gap issues: Issue [TEST] API capability test — will be deleted #3 (
squad://URI resolver), Issue feat: Issue Assignment & Auto-Triage for Squad Members #5 (tagged-block merge engine),
Issue Feature: Get squads to use project boards #6 (workstream directory layout)
Notes
removemust not delete user content that was added inside a tagged block
region. Safest behavior: warn and skip modified blocks, leaving them in place.- The
--as <alias>flag is important for teams that install the same workstream
type twice (e.g., two separate review flows). The alias becomes the key in the
lockfile. - Workstream install order may matter if two workstreams merge into the same file;
a deterministic ordering rule (alphabetical by alias, or explicit
--after <alias>) should be defined. - The naming question (workstream vs SubSquad per feat: rename workstreams → SubSquads (community decision) #271) is orthogonal to this
feature; whatever name wins, this CLI surface is needed.
Activity
bradygaster commentedon Nov 5, 2026
Closing as not planned for the 2.0 line during board triage (owner decision). The squad:// registry/workstream install work is out of scope for 2.0; reopen if it returns to the roadmap.