squad doctor reports false failures for a linked (remote team root) project #2056

CLI version: squad v0.12.0
Date: 2026-09-10
Platform: Windows (PowerShell)

SUMMARY

When a project is linked to a central/remote team root via squad link
(dual-root / remote mode), squad doctor correctly resolves the team root but
then validates the team STATE files against the LOCAL .squad/ directory
instead of the resolved remote team root. Because a linked project's local
.squad/ only contains config.json, doctor falsely reports the shared team's
files as missing.

The team itself is fully functional in this configuration — squad status and
squad cast both resolve and read the shared team correctly. Only squad doctor misreports.

ENVIRONMENT / LAYOUT

Central team root (real team lives here):
C:\Users\user1\root.squad
team.md, routing.md, agents/, casting/, decisions.md, config.json, ...

Linked service project:
C:\Users\user1\root\testsvc
.squad\config.json -> { "version": 1, "teamRoot": "..", "projectKey": null }
.github\agents\squad.agent.md

REPRO STEPS

1. Have an initialized team at a central root (e.g. C:\Users\user1\root.squad).
2. In a separate project folder:
   cd C:\Users\user1\root\testsvc
   squad link C:\Users\user1\root
   -> writes .squad/config.json with "teamRoot": ".."
3. Run:
   squad doctor

EXPECTED

Because the team root resolves to C:\Users\user1\root (which contains a valid
.squad/ with team.md, routing.md, agents/, casting/registry.json, decisions.md),
doctor should validate those state files against the RESOLVED team root and
report them as present.

ACTUAL

Mode: remote

[PASS] .squad/ directory exists
[PASS] config.json valid
[PASS] team root resolves -> resolved to C:\Users\user1\root
[FAIL] team.md found with ## Members header -- file not found
[FAIL] routing.md found -- file not found
[FAIL] agents/ directory exists -- directory not found
[FAIL] casting/registry.json exists -- file not found
[FAIL] decisions.md exists -- file not found

Summary: 6 passed, 5 failed (the 5 failures are false negatives)

Contrast (same project, same moment):

• squad status -> resolves the active squad.
• squad cast -> lists all 7 shared agents from the central root
  (Engineer, Fact Checker, Lead, Rai, ralph, Scribe, Tester).
  So the team genuinely resolves; only doctor misreports.