Generic GitHub-based development workflows for Squad teams. Codifies PR lifecycle, release process, testing strategy, and team ceremonies.
squad plugin install github/sabbour/github-squad-workflows(Or clone and link locally for development.)
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| pr-workflow | Issue → branch → PR → review → merge lifecycle with Design Proposal gates |
| release-process | Version bumping, changelog updates, tagging, GitHub releases |
| testing-strategy | Unit + E2E testing patterns with validation engine approach |
Skills are task recipes. When an agent needs to cut a release or open a PR, they reference the corresponding skill to follow standard steps.
| Ceremony | Description |
|---|---|
| sprint-lifecycle | Full sprint cycle navigator — links planning through release to retro with entry/exit criteria |
| sprint-planning | MMM-driven backlog selection, milestone creation, capacity planning |
| design-review | Pre-implementation DP + architecture + security review gate with mandatory feedback loop |
| retrospective | Post-release sprint retro with velocity metrics; feeds action items into next planning |
Ceremonies are team rituals. They run at key moments (before code starts, after a release) to align on decisions and improve process.
| Directive | Description |
|---|---|
| workflow-conventions | MMM process, branch naming, squash-merge rules, security gates, metrics |
Directives are rules. They codify non-negotiable process conventions — no exceptions unless explicitly overridden.
- Sprint lifecycle is the heartbeat — Planning → Design Review → Implementation → Testing → Release → Retro → repeat.
- Design first, code second — Post a Design Proposal before writing code. Get Lead + Security approval with no outstanding comments.
- Feedback loop until clean — Address all reviewer comments, resolve threads, re-review. Repeat until both Lead and Security Reviewer approve with zero open comments.
- Lead does not code — The Lead reviews and triages; implementation routes to domain specialists.
- Squash-merge, always — Keep main linear. Version bumps in separate PRs.
- MMM: Mission → Milestone → Metric — Every sprint starts with a mission. Every milestone is shippable. Every cycle measures success.
- Two gates before merge — Lead (architecture) + Security (safety). Both must approve.
- All CI checks must pass — No exceptions. Fix failures before merging.
- Release at sprint end — Semver based on declared bumps: patch for fixes, minor for features, major for breaking changes (requires explicit confirmation).
Each skill, ceremony, and directive is a standalone .md file. Teams customize by:
- Copying the entire plugin to their
.squad/extensions/directory - Referencing skills in agent charters and team routines
- Running ceremonies on a fixed cadence (e.g., design review weekly, retro post-release)
- Extending directives with project-specific rules (UI standards, deployment gates, etc.)
Extracted from 200+ team decisions across the Kickstart project — a production AI onboarding experience for deploying apps to Azure Kubernetes Service. Generalized to work with any GitHub-based Squad team.
MIT