v0.10.0: Fact Checker agent not auto-scaffolded by squad init / cast

@bradygaster

v0.10.0 — Fact Checker agent is half-shipped

While validating the v0.10.0 release end-to-end (#1218, #1219), surfaced a real gap with the fact-checker rollout (#789).

What's actually in v0.10.0 ✅

Role in engineering catalog — packages/squad-sdk/src/roles/catalog-engineering.ts:552 (id: fact-checker, emoji: 🔍, category: quality)
Charter template — packages/squad-cli/templates/fact-checker-charter.md
Fact-checking skill — templates/skills/fact-checking/SKILL.md
AGENT_TEMPLATES map entry — packages/squad-sdk/src/config/init.ts:209
Template manifest entry (installs charter to user's .squad/templates/) — packages/squad-cli/src/cli/core/templates.ts:151

What's missing ❌

init.ts:218-237 — the default agents: array hardcoded for sdkInitSquad() only contains scribe, ralph, and Rai. No fact-checker.
cast.ts interactive team builder has zero references to fact-checker — it never proposes adding one in the Q&A flow. Compare to Rai which has explicit branches at cast.ts:498, cast.ts:632, cast.ts:805.

User-visible impact

Running squad init + squad cast (the standard onboarding flow) produces a team with Scribe + Ralph + Rai + whatever specialists the user picks — but Fact Checker never appears as an option or default. The changeset for #789 said "Add fact-checker as a built-in agent role" which is technically true (role exists in catalog) but misleading about what users get out of the box.

Reproduction

$tmp = Join-Path $env:TEMP "fact-checker-repro"
mkdir $tmp; cd $tmp
git init -q && echo "# test" > README.md && git add -A && git commit -q -m init
npx --yes @bradygaster/squad-cli@0.10.0 init
ls .squad/agents/   # expect: Rai/ ralph/ scribe/ — NO fact-checker/

Suggested fix (small)

Option A (closest to changeset intent — make it always-on like Rai):

// packages/squad-cli/src/cli/core/init.ts:218-237
agents: [
  { name: 'scribe',       role: 'scribe',       displayName: 'Scribe' },
  { name: 'ralph',        role: 'ralph',        displayName: 'Ralph' },
  { name: 'Rai',          role: 'Rai',          displayName: 'Rai' },
  { name: 'fact-checker', role: 'fact-checker', displayName: 'Fact Checker' }, // NEW
],

…plus mirror the Rai-style branches in cast.ts (hasFactChecker check + cast prompt).

Option B (opt-in only — update docs to show how to enable manually).

Option C (cast-time question — "Want a Fact Checker on your team? Y/n" during interactive cast).

Happy to send a PR with whichever you prefer.

cc @bradygaster

— Filed via Copilot CLI on @tamirdresher's behalf during v0.10.0 release validation.

🏗️ Squad Triage — Flight (Lead)

Issue: #1222 — v0.10.0: Fact Checker agent not auto-scaffolded by squad init / cast
Assigned to: FIDO (Quality Owner)
Reason: Issue relates to testing/quality work

@copilot evaluation: 🔴 Not suitable — issue involves work outside the coding agent's capability profile.

Team roster:

Flight (Lead) → label: squad:flight
Procedures (Prompt Engineer) → label: squad:procedures
EECOM (Core Dev) → label: squad:eecom
FIDO (Quality Owner) → label: squad:fido
PAO (DevRel) → label: squad:pao
CAPCOM (SDK Expert) → label: squad:capcom
CONTROL (TypeScript Engineer) → label: squad:control
Surgeon (Release Manager) → label: squad:surgeon
Booster (CI/CD Engineer) → label: squad:booster
GNC (Node.js Runtime) → label: squad:gnc
Network (Distribution) → label: squad:network
RETRO (Security) → label: squad:retro
INCO (CLI UX & Visual Design) → label: squad:inco
GUIDO (VS Code Extension) → label: squad:guido
Telemetry (Aspire & Observability) → label: squad:telemetry
VOX (REPL & Interactive Shell) → label: squad:vox
DSKY (TUI Engineer) → label: squad:dsky
Sims (E2E Test Engineer) → label: squad:sims
Handbook (SDK Usability) → label: squad:handbook
Ralph (Work Monitor) → label: squad:ralph
@copilot (Coding Agent) → label: squad:copilot

To reassign, remove the current squad:* label and add the correct one.

@bradygaster

@bradygaster — opened a fix in #1223. Mirrors how Rai was wired in v0.10.0:

init.ts:218-237 — adds fact-checker to the default agents: array
cast.ts — adds factCheckerMember(), factCheckerCharter(), hasFactChecker branches, and the 🔍 banner line

Smoke-tested locally — squad init now produces .squad/agents/fact-checker/charter.md alongside scribe/ralph/Rai. Patch bump for CLI only (changeset included).

Teams DM didn't go through (TypeError: fetch failed), pinging here instead.

fix(upgrade): auto-scaffold Rai + Fact Checker on squad upgrade (gith…

Merge pull request #1223 from tamirdresher/fix/1222-fact-checker-auto…

fix: auto-scaffold Fact Checker agent during init and cast (github#1222)

fix(upgrade): auto-scaffold Rai + Fact Checker on squad upgrade (gith…

chore: promote v0.10.1 dev → main + v0.10 stabilisation blog post (#1313

chore: promote dev → main (v0.11.0) (#1422)

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v0.10.0: Fact Checker agent not auto-scaffolded by squad init / cast #1222

v0.10.0 — Fact Checker agent is half-shipped

What's actually in v0.10.0 ✅

What's missing ❌

User-visible impact

Reproduction

Suggested fix (small)

🏗️ Squad Triage — Flight (Lead)

@copilot evaluation: 🔴 Not suitable — issue involves work outside the coding agent's capability profile.

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v0.10.0: Fact Checker agent not auto-scaffolded by squad init / cast #1222

Description

v0.10.0 — Fact Checker agent is half-shipped

What's actually in v0.10.0 ✅

What's missing ❌

User-visible impact

Reproduction

Suggested fix (small)

Activity

github-actions commented on Jun 7, 2026

🏗️ Squad Triage — Flight (Lead)

@copilot evaluation: 🔴 Not suitable — issue involves work outside the coding agent's capability profile.

tamirdresher commented on Jun 7, 2026

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