fix: replace hardcoded Brady in template examples

.changeset/fix-brady-bug.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+'@bradygaster/squad-cli': patch
+'@bradygaster/squad-sdk': patch
+---
+
+Fix hardcoded "Brady" in template files — LLMs now use actual git username instead of example name (closes #977)

.copilot/skills/init-mode/SKILL.md

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Init Mode activates when `.squad/team.md` does not exist, or exists but has zero
 
 No team exists yet. Propose one — but **DO NOT create any files until the user confirms.**
 
-1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey Brady, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
+1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey {user}, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
 2. Ask: *"What are you building? (language, stack, what it does)"*
 3. **Cast the team.** Before proposing names, run the Casting & Persistent Naming algorithm (see that section):
    - Determine team size (typically 4–5 + Scribe).
@@ -82,8 +82,8 @@ The `union` merge driver keeps all lines from both sides, which is correct for a
 
 **Example flow:**
 1. Coordinator detects no team.md → Init Mode
-2. Runs `git config user.name` → "Brady"
-3. Asks: *"Hey Brady, what are you building?"*
+2. Runs `git config user.name` → "{user}"
+3. Asks: *"Hey {user}, what are you building?"*
 4. User: *"TypeScript CLI tool with GitHub API integration"*
 5. Coordinator runs casting algorithm → selects "The Usual Suspects" universe
 6. Proposes: Keaton (Lead), Verbal (Prompt), Fenster (Backend), Hockney (Tester), Scribe, Ralph

.github/agents/squad.agent.md

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Check: Does `.squad/team.md` exist? (fall back to `.ai-team/team.md` for repos m
 
 No team exists yet. Propose one — but **DO NOT create any files until the user confirms.**
 
-1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey Brady, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
+1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey {user}, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
 2. Ask: *"What are you building? (language, stack, what it does)"*
 3. **Cast the team.** Before proposing names, run the Casting & Persistent Naming algorithm (see that section):
    - Determine team size (typically 4–5 + Scribe).
@@ -242,12 +242,12 @@ The routing table determines **WHO** handles work. After routing, use Response M
 | Names someone ("Ripley, fix the button") | Spawn that agent |
 | Personal agent by name (user addresses a personal agent) | Route to personal agent in consult mode — they advise, project agent executes changes |
 | "Team" or multi-domain question | Spawn 2-3+ relevant agents in parallel, synthesize |
-| Human member management ("add Brady as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
+| Human member management ("add {name} as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
 | Issue suitable for @copilot (when @copilot is on the roster) | Check capability profile in team.md, suggest routing to @copilot if it's a good fit |
 | Ceremony request ("design meeting", "run a retro") | Run the matching ceremony from `ceremonies.md` (see Ceremonies) |
 | Issues/backlog request ("pull issues", "show backlog", "work on #N") | Follow GitHub Issues Mode (see that section) |
 | PRD intake ("here's the PRD", "read the PRD at X", pastes spec) | Follow PRD Mode (see that section) |
-| Human member management ("add Brady as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
+| Human member management ("add {name} as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
 | Ralph commands ("Ralph, go", "keep working", "Ralph, status", "Ralph, idle") | Follow Ralph — Work Monitor (see that section) |
 | General work request | Check routing.md, spawn best match + any anticipatory agents |
 | Quick factual question | Answer directly (no spawn) |
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ After routing determines WHO handles work, select the response MODE based on tas
 | **Full** | Multi-agent work, complex tasks touching 3+ concerns, "Team" requests | Parallel fan-out, full ceremony, Scribe included | ~40-60s |
 
 **Direct Mode exemplars** (coordinator answers instantly, no spawn):
-- "Where are we?" → Summarize current state from context: branch, recent work, what the team's been doing. Brady's favorite — make it instant.
+- "Where are we?" → Summarize current state from context: branch, recent work, what the team's been doing. A user favorite — make it instant.
 - "How many tests do we have?" → Run a quick command, answer directly.
 - "What branch are we on?" → `git branch --show-current`, answer directly.
 - "Who's on the team?" → Answer from team.md already in context.

.squad-templates/squad.agent.md

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Check: Does `.squad/team.md` exist? (fall back to `.ai-team/team.md` for repos m
 
 No team exists yet. Propose one — but **DO NOT create any files until the user confirms.**
 
-1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey Brady, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
+1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey {user}, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
 2. Ask: *"What are you building? (language, stack, what it does)"*
 3. **Cast the team.** Before proposing names, run the Casting & Persistent Naming algorithm (see that section):
    - Determine team size (typically 4–5 + Scribe).
@@ -242,12 +242,12 @@ The routing table determines **WHO** handles work. After routing, use Response M
 | Names someone ("Ripley, fix the button") | Spawn that agent |
 | Personal agent by name (user addresses a personal agent) | Route to personal agent in consult mode — they advise, project agent executes changes |
 | "Team" or multi-domain question | Spawn 2-3+ relevant agents in parallel, synthesize |
-| Human member management ("add Brady as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
+| Human member management ("add {name} as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
 | Issue suitable for @copilot (when @copilot is on the roster) | Check capability profile in team.md, suggest routing to @copilot if it's a good fit |
 | Ceremony request ("design meeting", "run a retro") | Run the matching ceremony from `ceremonies.md` (see Ceremonies) |
 | Issues/backlog request ("pull issues", "show backlog", "work on #N") | Follow GitHub Issues Mode (see that section) |
 | PRD intake ("here's the PRD", "read the PRD at X", pastes spec) | Follow PRD Mode (see that section) |
-| Human member management ("add Brady as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
+| Human member management ("add {name} as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
 | Ralph commands ("Ralph, go", "keep working", "Ralph, status", "Ralph, idle") | Follow Ralph — Work Monitor (see that section) |
 | General work request | Check routing.md, spawn best match + any anticipatory agents |
 | Quick factual question | Answer directly (no spawn) |
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ After routing determines WHO handles work, select the response MODE based on tas
 | **Full** | Multi-agent work, complex tasks touching 3+ concerns, "Team" requests | Parallel fan-out, full ceremony, Scribe included | ~40-60s |
 
 **Direct Mode exemplars** (coordinator answers instantly, no spawn):
-- "Where are we?" → Summarize current state from context: branch, recent work, what the team's been doing. Brady's favorite — make it instant.
+- "Where are we?" → Summarize current state from context: branch, recent work, what the team's been doing. A user favorite — make it instant.
 - "How many tests do we have?" → Run a quick command, answer directly.
 - "What branch are we on?" → `git branch --show-current`, answer directly.
 - "Who's on the team?" → Answer from team.md already in context.

.squad/agents/eecom/history.md

@@ -4,6 +4,16 @@
 
 ## Learnings
 
+### Template Brady contamination fix (#977) (2026-05-01)
+
+**Context:** Template files (squad.agent.md, init-mode/SKILL.md) contained hardcoded "Brady" examples in greetings, routing examples, and comments. LLMs treated these as patterns, greeting every user as "Brady" regardless of their actual `git config user.name`.
+
+**Fix:** Replaced all hardcoded "Brady" in template examples with generic `{user}` / `{name}` placeholders. Canonical sources: `.squad-templates/squad.agent.md` and `.copilot/skills/init-mode/SKILL.md`. Template sync (`node scripts/sync-templates.mjs`) propagated squad.agent.md to `.github/agents/` but did NOT sync init-mode SKILL.md to package templates — those required manual edits in both `packages/squad-cli/templates/skills/init-mode/SKILL.md` and `packages/squad-sdk/templates/skills/init-mode/SKILL.md`.
+
+**Key distinction:** Only template files that get copied to user repos were changed. Brady references in project docs (history-hygiene, release-process, humanizer, architectural-proposals, reskill) are legitimate content about the project founder and were left unchanged.
+
+**Pattern:** When fixing template contamination, verify which files are covered by `sync-templates.mjs` and which require manual propagation. The init-mode SKILL.md lives in `.copilot/skills/` (not `.squad-templates/`), so sync doesn't touch its package copies.
+
 ### PR #942 rebase — cherry-pick from insider-based fork branch (2026-04-12)
 
 **Context:** PR #942 from tamirdresher's fork was retargeted from `insider` to `dev`, causing 29 files in the diff when only 3 commits (4 files relevant to dev) were the actual fix. Cherry-picked the 3 fix commits onto a clean `squad/942-rebase-type-safety` branch from dev, resolving conflicts where insider-only files (skill.ts, cross-package-exports.test.ts) didn't exist on dev. Dropped the `escapeYamlValue` import and APM YAML generation function from init.ts since skill.ts doesn't exist on dev. Opened #963 as the clean replacement, closed #942.

packages/squad-cli/templates/skills/init-mode/SKILL.md

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Init Mode activates when `.squad/team.md` does not exist, or exists but has zero
 
 No team exists yet. Propose one — but **DO NOT create any files until the user confirms.**
 
-1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey Brady, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
+1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey {user}, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
 2. Ask: *"What are you building? (language, stack, what it does)"*
 3. **Cast the team.** Before proposing names, run the Casting & Persistent Naming algorithm (see that section):
    - Determine team size (typically 4–5 + Scribe).
@@ -82,8 +82,8 @@ The `union` merge driver keeps all lines from both sides, which is correct for a
 
 **Example flow:**
 1. Coordinator detects no team.md → Init Mode
-2. Runs `git config user.name` → "Brady"
-3. Asks: *"Hey Brady, what are you building?"*
+2. Runs `git config user.name` → "{user}"
+3. Asks: *"Hey {user}, what are you building?"*
 4. User: *"TypeScript CLI tool with GitHub API integration"*
 5. Coordinator runs casting algorithm → selects "The Usual Suspects" universe
 6. Proposes: Keaton (Lead), Verbal (Prompt), Fenster (Backend), Hockney (Tester), Scribe, Ralph

packages/squad-cli/templates/squad.agent.md.template

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Check: Does `.squad/team.md` exist? (fall back to `.ai-team/team.md` for repos m
 
 No team exists yet. Propose one — but **DO NOT create any files until the user confirms.**
 
-1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey Brady, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
+1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey {user}, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
 2. Ask: *"What are you building? (language, stack, what it does)"*
 3. **Cast the team.** Before proposing names, run the Casting & Persistent Naming algorithm (see that section):
    - Determine team size (typically 4–5 + Scribe).
@@ -242,12 +242,12 @@ The routing table determines **WHO** handles work. After routing, use Response M
 | Names someone ("Ripley, fix the button") | Spawn that agent |
 | Personal agent by name (user addresses a personal agent) | Route to personal agent in consult mode — they advise, project agent executes changes |
 | "Team" or multi-domain question | Spawn 2-3+ relevant agents in parallel, synthesize |
-| Human member management ("add Brady as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
+| Human member management ("add {name} as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
 | Issue suitable for @copilot (when @copilot is on the roster) | Check capability profile in team.md, suggest routing to @copilot if it's a good fit |
 | Ceremony request ("design meeting", "run a retro") | Run the matching ceremony from `ceremonies.md` (see Ceremonies) |
 | Issues/backlog request ("pull issues", "show backlog", "work on #N") | Follow GitHub Issues Mode (see that section) |
 | PRD intake ("here's the PRD", "read the PRD at X", pastes spec) | Follow PRD Mode (see that section) |
-| Human member management ("add Brady as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
+| Human member management ("add {name} as PM", routes to human) | Follow Human Team Members (see that section) |
 | Ralph commands ("Ralph, go", "keep working", "Ralph, status", "Ralph, idle") | Follow Ralph — Work Monitor (see that section) |
 | General work request | Check routing.md, spawn best match + any anticipatory agents |
 | Quick factual question | Answer directly (no spawn) |
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ After routing determines WHO handles work, select the response MODE based on tas
 | **Full** | Multi-agent work, complex tasks touching 3+ concerns, "Team" requests | Parallel fan-out, full ceremony, Scribe included | ~40-60s |
 
 **Direct Mode exemplars** (coordinator answers instantly, no spawn):
-- "Where are we?" → Summarize current state from context: branch, recent work, what the team's been doing. Brady's favorite — make it instant.
+- "Where are we?" → Summarize current state from context: branch, recent work, what the team's been doing. A user favorite — make it instant.
 - "How many tests do we have?" → Run a quick command, answer directly.
 - "What branch are we on?" → `git branch --show-current`, answer directly.
 - "Who's on the team?" → Answer from team.md already in context.

packages/squad-sdk/templates/skills/init-mode/SKILL.md

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Init Mode activates when `.squad/team.md` does not exist, or exists but has zero
 
 No team exists yet. Propose one — but **DO NOT create any files until the user confirms.**
 
-1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey Brady, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
+1. **Identify the user.** Run `git config user.name` to learn who you're working with. Use their name in conversation (e.g., *"Hey {user}, what are you building?"*). Store their name (NOT email) in `team.md` under Project Context. **Never read or store `git config user.email` — email addresses are PII and must not be written to committed files.**
 2. Ask: *"What are you building? (language, stack, what it does)"*
 3. **Cast the team.** Before proposing names, run the Casting & Persistent Naming algorithm (see that section):
    - Determine team size (typically 4–5 + Scribe).
@@ -82,8 +82,8 @@ The `union` merge driver keeps all lines from both sides, which is correct for a
 
 **Example flow:**
 1. Coordinator detects no team.md → Init Mode
-2. Runs `git config user.name` → "Brady"
-3. Asks: *"Hey Brady, what are you building?"*
+2. Runs `git config user.name` → "{user}"
+3. Asks: *"Hey {user}, what are you building?"*
 4. User: *"TypeScript CLI tool with GitHub API integration"*
 5. Coordinator runs casting algorithm → selects "The Usual Suspects" universe
 6. Proposes: Keaton (Lead), Verbal (Prompt), Fenster (Backend), Hockney (Tester), Scribe, Ralph