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+---
+"@bradygaster/squad-cli": patch
+---
+
+docs: Add KEDA external scaler template for GitHub issue-driven autoscaling
+
+New template documenting how to use keda-copilot-scaler for scaling
+agent pods to zero when idle, with rate-limit-aware polling.
+
+Closes #516
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+# KEDA External Scaler for GitHub Issue-Driven Agent Autoscaling
+
+> Scale agent pods to zero when idle, up when work arrives — driven by GitHub Issues.
+
+## Overview
+
+When running Squad on Kubernetes, agent pods sit idle when no work exists. [KEDA](https://keda.sh) (Kubernetes Event-Driven Autoscaler) solves this for queue-based workloads, but GitHub Issues isn't a native KEDA trigger.
+
+The `keda-copilot-scaler` is a KEDA External Scaler (gRPC) that bridges this gap:
+1. Polls GitHub API for issues matching specific labels (e.g., `squad:copilot`)
+2. Reports queue depth as a KEDA metric
+3. Handles rate limits gracefully (Retry-After, exponential backoff)
+4. Supports composite scaling decisions
+
+## Quick Start
+
+### Prerequisites
+- Kubernetes cluster with KEDA v2.x installed
+- GitHub personal access token (PAT) with `repo` scope
+- Helm 3.x
+
+### 1. Install the Scaler
+
+```bash
+helm install keda-copilot-scaler oci://ghcr.io/tamirdresher/keda-copilot-scaler \
+  --namespace squad-scaler --create-namespace \
+  --set github.owner=YOUR_ORG \
+  --set github.repo=YOUR_REPO \
+  --set github.token=YOUR_TOKEN
+```
+
+Or with Kustomize:
+```bash
+kubectl apply -k https://github.com/tamirdresher/keda-copilot-scaler/deploy/kustomize
+```
+
+### 2. Create a ScaledObject
+
+```yaml
+apiVersion: keda.sh/v1alpha1
+kind: ScaledObject
+metadata:
+  name: picard-scaler
+  namespace: squad
+spec:
+  scaleTargetRef:
+    name: picard-deployment
+  minReplicaCount: 0          # Scale to zero when idle
+  maxReplicaCount: 3
+  pollingInterval: 30         # Check every 30 seconds
+  cooldownPeriod: 300         # Wait 5 minutes before scaling down
+  triggers:
+  - type: external
+    metadata:
+      scalerAddress: keda-copilot-scaler.squad-scaler.svc.cluster.local:6000
+      owner: your-org
+      repo: your-repo
+      labels: squad:copilot    # Only count issues with this label
+      threshold: "1"           # Scale up when >= 1 issue exists
+```
+
+### 3. Verify
+
+```bash
+# Check the scaler is running
+kubectl get pods -n squad-scaler
+
+# Check ScaledObject status
+kubectl get scaledobject picard-scaler -n squad
+
+# Watch scaling events
+kubectl get events -n squad --watch
+```
+
+## Scaling Behavior
+
+| Open Issues | Target Replicas | Behavior |
+|------------|----------------|----------|
+| 0 | 0 | Scale to zero — save resources |
+| 1–3 | 1 | Single agent handles work |
+| 4–10 | 2 | Scale up for parallel processing |
+| 10+ | 3 (max) | Maximum parallelism |
+
+The threshold and max replicas are configurable per ScaledObject.
+
+## Rate Limit Awareness
+
+The scaler tracks GitHub API rate limits:
+- Reads `X-RateLimit-Remaining` from API responses
+- Backs off when quota is low (< 100 remaining)
+- Reports rate limit metrics as secondary KEDA triggers
+- Never exhausts API quota from polling
+
+## Integration with Squad
+
+### Machine Capabilities (#514)
+
+Combine with machine capability labels for intelligent scheduling:
+
+```yaml
+# Only scale pods on GPU-capable nodes
+spec:
+  template:
+    spec:
+      nodeSelector:
+        node.squad.dev/gpu: "true"
+  triggers:
+  - type: external
+    metadata:
+      labels: squad:copilot,needs:gpu
+```
+
+### Cooperative Rate Limiting (#515)
+
+The scaler exposes rate limit metrics that feed into the cooperative rate limiting system:
+- Current `X-RateLimit-Remaining` value
+- Predicted time to exhaustion (from predictive circuit breaker)
+- Can return 0 target replicas when rate limited → pods scale to zero
+
+## Architecture
+
+```
+GitHub API                    KEDA                    Kubernetes
+┌──────────┐              ┌──────────┐           ┌──────────────┐
+│  Issues   │◄── poll ──►│  Scaler   │──metrics─►│ HPA / KEDA   │
+│  (REST)   │             │  (gRPC)   │           │ Controller   │
+└──────────┘              └──────────┘           └──────┬───────┘
+                                                        │
+                                                  scale up/down
+                                                        │
+                                                 ┌──────▼───────┐
+                                                 │ Agent Pods    │
+                                                 │ (0–N replicas)│
+                                                 └──────────────┘
+```
+
+## Configuration Reference
+
+| Parameter | Default | Description |
+|-----------|---------|-------------|
+| `github.owner` | — | Repository owner |
+| `github.repo` | — | Repository name |
+| `github.token` | — | GitHub PAT with `repo` scope |
+| `github.labels` | `squad:copilot` | Comma-separated label filter |
+| `scaler.port` | `6000` | gRPC server port |
+| `scaler.pollInterval` | `30s` | GitHub API polling interval |
+| `scaler.rateLimitThreshold` | `100` | Stop polling below this remaining |
+
+## Source & Contributing
+
+- **Repository:** [tamirdresher/keda-copilot-scaler](https://github.com/tamirdresher/keda-copilot-scaler)
+- **License:** MIT
+- **Language:** Go
+- **Tests:** 51 passing (unit + integration)
+- **CI:** GitHub Actions
+
+The scaler is maintained as a standalone project. PRs and issues welcome.
+
+## References
+
+- [KEDA External Scalers](https://keda.sh/docs/latest/concepts/external-scalers/) — KEDA documentation
+- [Squad on AKS](https://github.com/tamirdresher/squad-on-aks) — Full Kubernetes deployment example
+- [Machine Capabilities](machine-capabilities.md) — Capability-based routing (#514)
+- [Cooperative Rate Limiting](cooperative-rate-limiting.md) — Multi-agent rate management (#515)