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Official agent skill

Squad Conventions

by microsoft in microsoft/waza

Core conventions and patterns used in the Squad codebase. An agent skill from microsoft/waza.

OfficialMITAuto-check passed

Install Squad Conventions

skills CLI
$ npx skills add microsoft/waza --skill squad-conventions -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install microsoft/waza squad-conventions --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/waza.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.squad/skills/squad-conventions .claude/skills/squad-conventions && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
squad-conventions
GitHub stars
1.4k
Used in
4 other repos
Token cost
~851 tokens
SKILL.md length
358 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
16
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Core conventions and patterns used in the Squad codebase. An agent skill from microsoft/waza.

  • SKILL.md covers Context, Patterns, Examples and Anti-Patterns
  • Calls npm and node

What it does

Squad Conventions is an agent skill from microsoft/waza, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Core conventions and patterns used in the Squad codebase

Its SKILL.md is about 850 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It works with Node.js and npm. The repository describes itself as: CLI / Framework for Agent Skills - create, test, measure and improve skill quality and effectiveness. The licence is MIT.

Example prompts

  • “/squad-conventions”

Requirements

  • Node.js

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 774df00. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • npm
    • node

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use npm, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Squad Conventions loads about 851 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 19 tokens; SKILL.md has 358 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~19
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~851

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from microsoft/waza at commit 774df00, republished under its MIT licence (© microsoft). 358 words, ~851 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/squad-conventions/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
squad-conventions
description
Core conventions and patterns used in the Squad codebase
domain
project-conventions
confidence
high
source
manual

Context

These conventions apply to all work on the Squad CLI tool (create-squad). Squad is a zero-dependency Node.js package that adds AI agent teams to any project. Understanding these patterns is essential before modifying any Squad source code.

Patterns

Zero Dependencies

Squad has zero runtime dependencies. Everything uses Node.js built-ins (fs, path, os, child_process). Do not add packages to dependencies in package.json. This is a hard constraint, not a preference.

Node.js Built-in Test Runner

Tests use node:test and node:assert/strict — no test frameworks. Run with npm test. Test files live in test/. The test command is node --test test/.

Error Handling — fatal() Pattern

All user-facing errors use the fatal(msg) function which prints a red ✗ prefix and exits with code 1. Never throw unhandled exceptions or print raw stack traces. The global uncaughtException handler calls fatal() as a safety net.

ANSI Color Constants

Colors are defined as constants at the top of index.js: GREEN, RED, DIM, BOLD, RESET. Use these constants — do not inline ANSI escape codes.

File Structure
  • .squad/ — Team state (user-owned, never overwritten by upgrades)
  • .squad/templates/ — Template files copied from templates/ (Squad-owned, overwritten on upgrade)
  • .github/agents/squad.agent.md — Coordinator prompt (Squad-owned, overwritten on upgrade)
  • templates/ — Source templates shipped with the npm package
  • .squad/skills/ — Team skills in SKILL.md format (user-owned)
  • .squad/decisions/inbox/ — Drop-box for parallel decision writes
Show full SKILL.md (145 more words)Show less
Windows Compatibility

Always use path.join() for file paths — never hardcode / or \ separators. Squad must work on Windows, macOS, and Linux. All tests must pass on all platforms.

Init Idempotency

The init flow uses a skip-if-exists pattern: if a file or directory already exists, skip it and report "already exists." Never overwrite user state during init. The upgrade flow overwrites only Squad-owned files.

Copy Pattern

copyRecursive(src, target) handles both files and directories. It creates parent directories with { recursive: true } and uses fs.copyFileSync for files.

Examples

javascript
// Error handling
function fatal(msg) {
  console.error(`${RED}✗${RESET} ${msg}`);
  process.exit(1);
}

// File path construction (Windows-safe)
const agentDest = path.join(dest, '.github', 'agents', 'squad.agent.md');

// Skip-if-exists pattern
if (!fs.existsSync(ceremoniesDest)) {
  fs.copyFileSync(ceremoniesSrc, ceremoniesDest);
  console.log(`${GREEN}✓${RESET} .squad/ceremonies.md`);
} else {
  console.log(`${DIM}ceremonies.md already exists — skipping${RESET}`);
}

Anti-Patterns

  • Adding npm dependencies — Squad is zero-dep. Use Node.js built-ins only.
  • Hardcoded path separators — Never use / or \ directly. Always path.join().
  • Overwriting user state on init — Init skips existing files. Only upgrade overwrites Squad-owned files.
  • Raw stack traces — All errors go through fatal(). Users see clean messages, not stack traces.
  • Inline ANSI codes — Use the color constants (GREEN, RED, DIM, BOLD, RESET).

© microsoft, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in .squad/skills/squad-conventions of microsoft/waza.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 774df00

Used in 4 other repositories

We found 7 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 4 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in microsoft/waza, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Squad Conventions next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Squad Conventions compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Squad Conventions this skillmicrosoft/waza1.4k4 repos~851Automated safety check: PassMIT
Knap Markdown Templateskepano/obsidian-skills49k2 repos~986Automated safety check: PassMIT
Chrome CDP Browser Controlzenstory-ai/oh-story-claudecode7.3k2 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Dashi PPT Presentation Generatorchuspeeism/dashi-ppt-skill9.2k—~3.9kAutomated safety check: PassAGPL-3.0
Sap Extension Creatorheshengtao/super-agent-party2.7k—~6kAutomated safety check: PassAGPL-3.0
EasyEDA Pro API Bridgeeasyeda/easyeda-api-skill855—~7.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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More from microsoft/waza

All 16 skills in this repo

  • Squad Commands Menu

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    Shows a categorized, interactive menu of common Squad operations, such as install, upgrade and team management, and collects arguments before running anything.

    1.4k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~2.7k tokens
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  • Squad Agent Collaboration Patterns

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    Shared collaboration rules for a team of squad agents covering worktree awareness, writing decisions to an inbox, cross-agent requests and reviewer lockout.

    1.4k GitHub starsUsed in 4 repos~500 tokens
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  • waza azd Extension Publisher

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    Walks through releasing a new version of the waza azd extension: changelog from commits, semver bump with your confirmation, and a release PR.

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  • Squad Git Branching Workflow

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    Official

    Dev-first branching model for the Squad project: feature work branches from dev, issue branches follow a naming rule and parallel issues use git worktrees.

    1.4k GitHub starsUsed in 4 repos~1.5k tokens
    Auto-check passed

  • Waza Skill Evaluator

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    Evaluates agent skills with a Go CLI that runs YAML-defined benchmarks, compares runs and scores the quality of SKILL.md frontmatter.

    1.4k GitHub stars~2k tokensUpdated yesterday
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  • Reviewer Protocol

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    Reviewer rejection workflow and strict lockout semantics. An agent skill from microsoft/waza.

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Works with

Questions about Squad Conventions

What does Squad Conventions do?

Core conventions and patterns used in the Squad codebase. An agent skill from microsoft/waza. Squad Conventions is an agent skill from microsoft/waza, published by the product's own GitHub organization.

How do I install Squad Conventions in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add microsoft/waza --skill squad-conventions -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.squad/skills/squad-conventions in microsoft/waza) into .claude/skills/squad-conventions in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Squad Conventions in Codex?

Run `npx skills add microsoft/waza --skill squad-conventions -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.squad/skills/squad-conventions in microsoft/waza) into .agents/skills/squad-conventions in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Squad Conventions in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add microsoft/waza --skill squad-conventions -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/squad-conventions, .gemini/skills/squad-conventions, .github/skills/squad-conventions and .opencode/skills/squad-conventions in your project.

What does Squad Conventions need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Squad Conventions needs the command-line tools its instructions call (npm and node). Our summary lists: Node.js.

Does Squad Conventions access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use npm, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Squad Conventions safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Squad Conventions use?

Squad Conventions is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Squad Conventions use?

About 851 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.4k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Squad Conventions?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Squad Conventions: Knap Markdown Templates (kepano/obsidian-skills, 49k stars), Chrome CDP Browser Control (zenstory-ai/oh-story-claudecode, 7.3k stars), Dashi PPT Presentation Generator (chuspeeism/dashi-ppt-skill, 9.2k stars) and Sap Extension Creator (heshengtao/super-agent-party, 2.7k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Squad Conventions?

microsoft (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in microsoft/waza, which has 1,400 GitHub stars. The repository holds 16 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: microsoft/waza on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.