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Remove the REPL experience — CLI should be commands only, no interactive session #665

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Remove the REPL experience — CLI should be commands only, no interactive session#665
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enhancementNew feature or improvementgo:needs-researchNeeds investigationsquadSquad triage inbox — Lead will assign to a member

Description

@bradygaster
bradygaster
opened on Mar 27, 2026

Summary

Remove the built-in REPL/TUI interactive session from the Squad CLI. The CLI should be a series of commands (squad init, squad doctor, squad watch, etc.) — no more interactive REPL mode.

Why

The REPL experience has persistent, fundamental rendering issues:

The REPL is causing more trouble than it is worth. The GitHub Copilot CLI provides a significantly better interactive experience — native terminal rendering, no viewport management issues, full agent spawning support.

What changes

  1. Remove the interactive REPL session mode (squad with no subcommand entering the TUI)
  2. Keep all existing CLI subcommands (init, doctor, watch, upgrade, nap, etc.)
  3. Update documentation to recommend the GitHub Copilot CLI for interactive Squad usage
  4. Update README and getting-started guides

The Copilot CLI alternative

Users should switch to the GitHub Copilot CLI:

  • gh extension install github/gh-copilot
  • Run from your repo root — squad.agent.md is picked up automatically
  • All team commands and agent workflows work natively

Community contributions welcome

If someone wants to submit a better REPL experience in the future, that door is open. But the current implementation is being removed because it's actively harming the user experience.

Related

Activity

  1. bradygaster
    added
    enhancementNew feature or improvement
    on Mar 27, 2026

  2. tamirdresher commented on Mar 28, 2026

    @tamirdresher
    tamirdresher
    on Mar 28, 2026
    Collaborator

    I agree. It doesn't add much for users and causes confusion

  3. bradygaster
    added
    squadSquad triage inbox — Lead will assign to a member
    squad:eecom
    on Mar 28, 2026

  4. github-actions commented on Mar 28, 2026

    @github-actions
    github-actionsBot
    on Mar 28, 2026 – with GitHub Actions
    Contributor

    📋 Assigned to EECOM (Core Dev)

    Issue: #665 — Remove the REPL experience — CLI should be commands only, no interactive session

    EECOM will pick this up in the next Copilot session.

    For Copilot coding agent: If enabled, this issue will be worked automatically.
    Otherwise, start a Copilot session and say:
    EECOM, work on issue #665

  5. github-actions
    added
    squad:dsky
    on Mar 28, 2026

  6. github-actions commented on Mar 28, 2026

    @github-actions
    github-actionsBot
    on Mar 28, 2026 – with GitHub Actions
    Contributor

    🏗️ Squad Triage — Flight (Lead)

    Issue: #665 — Remove the REPL experience — CLI should be commands only, no interactive session
    Assigned to: DSKY (TUI Engineer)
    Reason: Issue relates to frontend/UI 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.

  7. github-actions
    added
    go:needs-researchNeeds investigation
    on Mar 28, 2026
  8. bradygaster
    added 3 commits that reference this issue on Mar 29, 2026

    feat(cli): remove REPL, add deprecation message directing users to Co…

    6b8e4d2

    feat(cli): remove REPL and Remote Control, add deprecation message (#665

    5866ee2

    feat(cli): remove REPL and Remote Control, add deprecation message (#665

    eed8066

  9. diberry commented on Mar 31, 2026

    @diberry
    diberry
    on Mar 31, 2026
    Contributor

    🔄 Ralph status: PR #675 addresses this (author: @bradygaster). Has merge conflicts with dev. Large change (80 files, removes REPL). Needs conflict resolution.

  10. diberry
    added a commit that references this issue on Mar 31, 2026

    feat(cli): remove REPL and Remote Control, add deprecation message (#665

    f421e2d

  11. diberry commented on Mar 31, 2026

    @diberry
    diberry
    on Mar 31, 2026
    Contributor

    ✅ Status Update — Issue #665

    PR #675 addresses this issue:

    • Rebased against dev (13 modify/delete conflicts resolved)
    • All 21 squad members reviewed and approved
    • Removes REPL and Remote Control, adds deprecation message (80 files, 26k lines removed)

    Ready for merge.

  12. diberry commented on Mar 31, 2026

    @diberry
    diberry
    on Mar 31, 2026
    Contributor

    🔄 Ralph status update: PR #675 has team review, CI green except changelog-gate. Labeled \squad:pr-reviewed. Awaiting Dina review.

  13. tamirdresher
    added 2 commits that reference this issue on Apr 7, 2026

    feat(cli): add deprecation warnings for tunnel, rc, and REPL commands

    764e28a

    feat(cli): add deprecation warnings for tunnel, rc, and REPL commands

    dd163c2

  14. bradygaster commented on Apr 8, 2026

    @bradygaster
    bradygaster
    on Apr 8, 2026
    CollaboratorAuthor

    Closing — done. REPL/TUI fully removed. CLI is commands-only (init, watch, loop, doctor, etc.).

  15. bradygaster
    closed this as completedon Apr 8, 2026
  16. tamirdresher
    added a commit that references this issue on Apr 8, 2026

    feat(cli): deprecation warnings for tunnel, rc, and REPL commands (#900)

    9451e66
  17. tamirdresher
    added a commit that references this issue on Apr 21, 2026

    feat(cli): deprecation warnings for tunnel, rc, and REPL commands (#900)

    73c9627
  18. bradygaster
    removed
    squad:eecom
    squad:dsky
    on Sep 11, 2026
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