feat(skills): make /squad a real slash command (user-invocable: true + rename squad-commands → squad)

.changeset/fix-squad-slash-command.md

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+---
+"@bradygaster/squad-sdk": minor
+"@bradygaster/squad-cli": minor
+---
+
+Make `/squad` a real slash command — rename `squad-commands` skill to `squad` with `user-invocable: true`
+
+## What this enables
+
+Users can type `/squad` in any Copilot CLI session in a squad-initialized project and get the categorized command catalog (Install & Upgrade, Team Management, Issues & PRs, Plugins & Skills, Model & Cost, Sessions & State). This is what users naturally expect — Squad ships an in-chat command surface, and the slash key is the muscle memory.
+
+## Verified mechanism (Copilot CLI 1.0.62-2)
+
+Decompiling `~/.copilot/pkg/win32-x64/1.0.62-2/sdk/index.js` line 2618:
+
+```js
+getLoadedSkills().filter(e => e.userInvocable)
+  .map(e => ({name: `/${eF(e)}`, isSkill: true, skill: e}))
+```
+
+Any skill with frontmatter `user-invocable: true` is auto-registered by Copilot CLI as a slash command at `/<skill-name>`. The built-in `customize-cloud-agent` skill shipped with Copilot CLI uses this exact pattern with `user-invocable: false`; setting it to `true` makes the skill appear in `/skills` AND as a slash keystroke.
+
+The previous skill `squad-commands` had no `user-invocable` field (Copilot CLI defaults to false), so `/squad-commands` did not exist. Users either typed natural language ("squad commands", "what can squad do") or never discovered the menu.
+
+## Changes
+
+1. **Renamed** the `squad-commands` skill to `squad` (canonical source in `.squad/skills/squad/`).
+2. **Frontmatter rewritten** to match Copilot CLI's actual schema (verified against decompiled source):
+   - `name: squad` (was `squad-commands` — `/squad` is shorter, intuitive, and matches the agent name without colliding because slash commands and skill lookups are separate namespaces)
+   - `user-invocable: true` ← **the load-bearing change**
+   - `description:` rewritten to be self-explanatory so natural-language match also still works
+   - `allowedTools: []` (matches Copilot CLI's schema)
+   - Removed unused fields: `domain:`, `confidence:`, `source:`, `triggers:` (all silently ignored by Copilot CLI)
+3. **Body text** updated to reference `/squad` as the primary invocation path.
+4. **`MANIFEST_SKILL_NAMES`** in `packages/squad-sdk/src/config/init.ts`: `'squad-commands'` → `'squad'`.
+5. **`TEMPLATE_MANIFEST`** in `packages/squad-cli/src/cli/core/templates.ts`: updated `source` + `destination` + `description` to reflect the rename.
+6. **Removed** stale `packages/{squad-cli,squad-sdk}/templates/skills/squad-commands/` directories.
+
+## Test coverage
+
+New `test/init.test.ts > should install the squad slash-command skill with user-invocable: true`:
+- Asserts `.copilot/skills/squad/SKILL.md` exists after `initSquad()`
+- Asserts frontmatter contains `user-invocable: true` (load-bearing — without this, no slash command)
+- Asserts frontmatter `name: squad` (load-bearing — slash command is `/<name>`)
+- Asserts the menu presentation rules are still in the body
+
+26/26 init tests pass; `npm run lint` clean.
+
+## How users will experience this
+
+After `squad init` + opening Copilot CLI in the project:
+
+```
+> /squad
+📋 Squad Commands — pick a category:
+  1. Install & Upgrade
+  2. Team Management
+  3. Issues & PRs
+  4. Plugins & Skills
+  5. Model & Cost
+  6. Sessions & State
+```
+
+## Composability with other open PRs
+
+- **Disjoint from #1292** (skills bundling, 4 new entries). Both modify `MANIFEST_SKILL_NAMES` but `squad-commands → squad` is a rename, not an add. Merge order doesn't matter — the renamer wins.
+- **Disjoint from #1302** (`squad-help` disambiguation skill). `squad-help` covers the `skill(Squad)` misdirect case; this PR covers the `/squad` slash command UX. They're complementary.
+
+## Out of scope (future, mentioned in user request)
+
+The user wants to eventually install the `squad` skill **machine-wide** (e.g., `~/.copilot/skills/squad/`) so `/squad init` works in any folder even before `squad` is initialized in that project. That's a separate piece of work because:
+1. It requires a `squad install --global-skill` command or similar (none exists today)
+2. The `/squad` menu currently calls into `squad` CLI subcommands that assume `.squad/` exists in cwd — the menu would need a "Init Mode" branch for the "no `.squad/` yet" case
+3. Copilot CLI's `~/.copilot/skills/` is a personal scope, so it'd need to be opt-in per-user
+
+Will file a follow-up issue tracking that work after this lands.

.github/agents/squad.agent.md

@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ The routing table determines **WHO** handles work. After routing, use Response M
 | PRD intake ("here's the PRD", "read the PRD at X", pastes spec) | Follow PRD Mode (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) |
-| "squad commands", "what can squad do", "show me squad options", "slash commands", "what commands are available" | Read `.copilot/skills/squad-commands/SKILL.md`, present categorized menu (see squad-commands skill) |
+| "squad commands", "what can squad do", "show me squad options", "slash commands", "what commands are available" | Read `.copilot/skills/squad/SKILL.md`, present categorized menu (see squad skill). Users can also invoke this directly via `/squad`. |
 | "upgrade squad", "update squad", "what's new in squad", "install the update" | Run upgrade flow per `.squad/templates/session-init-reference.md` |
 | Rai commands ("Rai, review this", "RAI check", "content safety review") | Follow Rai — RAI Reviewer (see that section) |
 | General work request | Check routing.md, spawn best match + any anticipatory agents |

.squad-templates/squad.agent.md

@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ The routing table determines **WHO** handles work. After routing, use Response M
 | PRD intake ("here's the PRD", "read the PRD at X", pastes spec) | Follow PRD Mode (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) |
-| "squad commands", "what can squad do", "show me squad options", "slash commands", "what commands are available" | Read `.copilot/skills/squad-commands/SKILL.md`, present categorized menu (see squad-commands skill) |
+| "squad commands", "what can squad do", "show me squad options", "slash commands", "what commands are available" | Read `.copilot/skills/squad/SKILL.md`, present categorized menu (see squad skill). Users can also invoke this directly via `/squad`. |
 | "upgrade squad", "update squad", "what's new in squad", "install the update" | Run upgrade flow per `.squad/templates/session-init-reference.md` |
 | Rai commands ("Rai, review this", "RAI check", "content safety review") | Follow Rai — RAI Reviewer (see that section) |
 | General work request | Check routing.md, spawn best match + any anticipatory agents |

packages/squad-cli/templates/skills/squad-commands/SKILL.md → .squad/skills/squad/SKILL.md

@@ -1,18 +1,14 @@
 ---
-name: squad-commands
-description: >
-  Categorized catalog of common Squad operations. Coordinator reads this
-  file and presents it as an interactive menu when the user asks for
-  available commands or help.
-domain: squad-operations
-confidence: high
-source: first-party
-triggers: ["squad commands", "what can squad do", "show me squad options", "slash commands"]
+name: squad
+description: >-
+  Squad's command catalog and interactive menu. Invoke via /squad (slash command) or natural language ("squad commands", "what can squad do", "show me squad options"). Presents categorized operations (Install & Upgrade, Team Management, Issues & PRs, Plugins & Skills, Model & Cost, Sessions & State) as an interactive picker. Routes to the right squad CLI command or the Squad coordinator agent.
+user-invocable: true
+allowedTools: []
 ---
 
 ## Menu Presentation Rules
 
-When the user triggers this skill ("squad commands", "help", "what can squad do", etc.):
+When the user triggers this skill (via `/squad` slash command, "squad commands", "help", "what can squad do", etc.):
 
 1. **Category-level menu first.** Present category names as an `ask_user` choice list:
    ```

packages/squad-cli/src/cli/core/templates.ts

@@ -252,10 +252,10 @@ export const TEMPLATE_MANIFEST: TemplateFile[] = [
     description: 'Multi-agent collaboration and handoff patterns',
   },
   {
-    source: 'skills/squad-commands/SKILL.md',
-    destination: '../.copilot/skills/squad-commands/SKILL.md',
+    source: 'skills/squad/SKILL.md',
+    destination: '../.copilot/skills/squad/SKILL.md',
     overwriteOnUpgrade: true,
-    description: 'In-chat command discovery — categorized menu of Squad operations',
+    description: 'Squad command catalog — invokable via /squad slash command',
   },
   {
     source: 'skills/squad-version-check/SKILL.md',