Init Mode

---
name: "init-mode"
description: "Team initialization flow (Phase 1 proposal + Phase 2 creation)"
domain: "orchestration"
confidence: "high"
source: "extracted"
tools:
  - name: "ask_user"
    description: "Confirm team roster with selectable menu"
    when: "Phase 1 proposal — requires explicit user confirmation"
---

## Context

Init Mode activates when `.squad/team.md` does not exist, or exists but has zero roster entries under `## Members`. The coordinator proposes a team (Phase 1), waits for user confirmation, then creates the team structure (Phase 2).

## Patterns

### Phase 1: Propose the Team

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 {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).
   - **Default to descriptive names** (Lead, Frontend, Backend, Tester, etc.) unless the user requests a themed universe.
   - If the user requests a specific universe (built-in or custom), allocate character names from that universe. For custom universes not in the allowlist, use your knowledge of the source material and apply spoiler-safety rules.
   - If the user asks for themed names without specifying a universe, auto-select from built-in universes using the scoring algorithm (size_fit + shape_fit + resonance_fit + LRU).
   - Scribe is always "Scribe" — exempt from casting.
   - Ralph is always "Ralph" — exempt from casting.
4. Propose the team with their cast names. Example (names will vary per cast):

```
🏗️  Lead         — Lead          Scope, decisions, code review
⚛️  Frontend     — Frontend Dev  React, UI, components
🔧  Backend      — Backend Dev   APIs, database, services
🧪  Tester       — Tester        Tests, quality, edge cases
📋  Scribe       — (silent)      Memory, decisions, session logs
🔄  Ralph        — (monitor)     Work queue, backlog, keep-alive
```

5. Use the `ask_user` tool to confirm the roster. Provide choices so the user sees a selectable menu:
   - **question:** *"Look right?"*
   - **choices:** `["Yes, cast this team", "Add someone", "Change a role"]`

**⚠️ STOP. Your response ENDS here. Do NOT proceed to Phase 2. Do NOT create any files or directories. Wait for the user's reply.**

### Phase 2: Create the Team

**Trigger:** The user replied to Phase 1 with confirmation ("yes", "looks good", or similar affirmative), OR the user's reply to Phase 1 is a task (treat as implicit "yes").

> If the user said "add someone" or "change a role," go back to Phase 1 step 3 and re-propose. Do NOT enter Phase 2 until the user confirms.

6. Create the `.squad/` directory structure (see `.squad/templates/` for format guides or use the standard structure: team.md, routing.md, ceremonies.md, decisions.md, decisions/inbox/, casting/, agents/, orchestration-log/, skills/, log/).

**Casting state initialization:** Copy `.squad/templates/casting-policy.json` to `.squad/casting/policy.json` (or create from defaults). Create `registry.json` (entries: persistent_name, universe, created_at, legacy_named: false, status: "active") and `history.json` (first assignment snapshot with unique assignment_id).

**Seeding:** Each agent's `history.md` starts with the project description, tech stack, and the user's name so they have day-1 context. Agent folder names are the cast name in lowercase (e.g., `.squad/agents/ripley/`). The Scribe's charter includes maintaining `decisions.md` and cross-agent context sharing.

**Team.md structure:** `team.md` MUST contain a section titled exactly `## Members` (not "## Team Roster" or other variations) containing the roster table. This header is hard-coded in GitHub workflows (`squad-heartbeat.yml`, `squad-issue-assign.yml`, `squad-triage.yml`, `sync-squad-labels.yml`) for label automation. If the header is missing or titled differently, label routing breaks.

**Merge driver for append-only files:** Create or update `.gitattributes` at the repo root to enable conflict-free merging of `.squad/` state across branches:
```
.squad/decisions.md merge=union
.squad/agents/*/history.md merge=union
.squad/log/** merge=union
.squad/orchestration-log/** merge=union
```
The `union` merge driver keeps all lines from both sides, which is correct for append-only files. This makes worktree-local strategy work seamlessly when branches merge — decisions, memories, and logs from all branches combine automatically.

7. Say: *"✅ Team cast. Try: '{FirstCastName}, set up the project structure'"*

8. **Post-setup input sources** (optional — ask after team is created, not during casting):
   - PRD/spec: *"Do you have a PRD or spec document? (file path, paste it, or skip)"* → If provided, follow PRD Mode flow
   - GitHub issues: *"Is there a GitHub repo with issues I should pull from? (owner/repo, or skip)"* → If provided, follow GitHub Issues Mode flow
   - Human members: *"Are any humans joining the team? (names and roles, or just AI for now)"* → If provided, add per Human Team Members section
   - Copilot agent: *"Want to include @copilot? It can pick up issues autonomously. (yes/no)"* → If yes, follow Copilot Coding Agent Member section and ask about auto-assignment
   - These are additive. Don't block — if the user skips or gives a task instead, proceed immediately.

## Examples

**Example flow:**
1. Coordinator detects no team.md → Init Mode
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 uses descriptive naming by default
6. Proposes: Lead (Lead), Frontend (Frontend Dev), Backend (Backend Dev), Tester (Tester), Scribe, Ralph
7. Uses `ask_user` with choices → user selects "Yes, cast this team"
8. Coordinator creates `.squad/` structure, initializes casting state, seeds agents
9. Says: *"✅ Team cast. Try: 'Lead, set up the project structure'"*

## Anti-Patterns

- ❌ Creating files before user confirms Phase 1
- ❌ Mixing agents from different universes in the same cast
- ❌ Skipping the `ask_user` tool and assuming confirmation
- ❌ Proceeding to Phase 2 when user said "add someone" or "change a role"
- ❌ Using `## Team Roster` instead of `## Members` as the header (breaks GitHub workflows)
- ❌ Forgetting to initialize `.squad/casting/` state files
- ❌ Reading or storing `git config user.email` (PII violation)
- ❌ Rejecting a user's universe choice because it is not in the built-in allowlist
- ❌ Auto-selecting a themed universe when the user didn't ask for one (use descriptive names by default)