Update import and export to target remote repos instead of relative local file paths #155

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1. bradygaster commented on Feb 27, 2026

   

   bradygaster

   on Feb 27, 2026

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   i love this and it's coming. thank you for validating the feature we've already started building. :)
2. bradygaster commented on Mar 5, 2026

   

   bradygaster

   on Mar 5, 2026

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   Hey — Fenster here. I investigated this one and good news: the underlying request is already covered by features that shipped after this issue was filed. Here's how:

   What's already working

   1. squad upstream — remote repo inheritance (the big one)

   # Add a remote GitHub repo as an upstream source
   squad upstream add https://github.com/acme/platform-squad.git --name platform --ref main
   
   # Sync it (pulls latest)
   squad upstream sync platform
   
   # List all configured upstreams
   squad upstream list

   This clones the remote repo into .squad/_upstream_repos/ and the coordinator reads its skills, decisions, wisdom, casting policy, and routing live at session start. No local file dependency. Supports local, git, and �xport source types.

   Docs: upstream-inheritance.md

   2. �gent-repo.ts — GitHub API-based agent pull/push

   The sharing SDK (packages/squad-sdk/src/sharing/agent-repo.ts) has pullAgent() and pushAgent() functions that work directly against GitHub repos via the API (no local clone needed):

   • listRepoAgents(config, ops) — list agents in a remote repo
   • pullAgent(config, agentId, ops) — pull a single agent definition from github:owner/repo
   • pushAgent(config, agent, ops) — push an agent definition to a remote repo

   These use the GitHubFetcher interface and AgentRepoConfig with owner/repo/branch/path targeting.

   3. GitHubAgentSource — pluggable remote agent discovery

   packages/squad-sdk/src/config/agent-source.ts implements GitHubAgentSource which reads agents directly from any GitHub repo:

   new GitHubAgentSource('acme/platform-squad', { ref: 'main' })

   Supports listing, fetching charters, and loading full agent definitions from remote repos.

   4. squad consult — personal squad portability

   Consult mode copies your personal squad into any project temporarily (hidden via .git/info/exclude), with squad extract to merge learnings back. This solves the "use my trained team anywhere" use case without needing file paths.

   5. Agent caching for remote sources

   packages/squad-sdk/src/sharing/cache.ts provides AgentCache with TTL-based caching (1hr for agents, 5min for skills), so remote fetches don't hammer the API.

   6. Version pinning

   packages/squad-sdk/src/sharing/versioning.ts pins agents to commit SHAs with source: 'github' support, so you can lock a remote agent to a specific version.

   What's left (minor)

   The CLI squad import and squad export commands still only target local files — but the need for remote import/export is effectively replaced by:

   • squad upstream add for pulling team context from remote repos
   • �gent-repo.ts for programmatic push/pull of individual agents
   • squad consult for portable personal squads

   The original squad import ./squad-export.json / squad export flow was designed for manual file-sharing. The upstream system, GitHub agent source, and consult mode are all superior solutions for the remote use case.

   Closing this out

   The spirit of #155 — "remove the dependency from the local computer" — is fully addressed by the upstream inheritance system and GitHub agent source. Closing as completed.
3. bradygaster

   closed this as completedon Mar 5, 2026
4. joniba

   added 2 commits that reference this issue on Mar 26, 2026

   Add Rule 25: infrastructure failure notifications (github#155)

   ...

   d9c6390

   chore: commit orphaned review files (PR github#153, PR github#155)

   ...

   0c68ba4