coordinator-source-of-truth

Load this skill when: the coordinator (or any agent) needs to resolve a "where does this state belong?" or "who is allowed to write this file?" question — e.g., when about to write .squad/decisions.md, when reviewing whether an agent broke the append-only rule, when answering a user question about Squad's file layout, or when adjudicating a conflict between two files. The short summary in squad.agent.md is for routing; this skill is the full reference.

State backend note

Files below marked as "Derived / append-only" are mutable state — agents access them with runtime state tools (squad_state_read, squad_state_write, squad_state_append, squad_state_delete, squad_state_list). The runtime decides whether the configured backend stores them on disk, git-native state, or an external provider. Files marked as "Authoritative" are static config and always live on disk regardless of backend.

File hierarchy

Waza support-review override (Squad only): Charter output/persistence restrictions take precedence over generic history, audit-trail or decision-inbox write permissions below. Rai and Fact Checker return findings in the current review response. Only an authorized coordinator or Scribe handles required persistence under the current state contract; no routine review logging is required. Preserve existing historical records. Scribe remains bound by its charter: a decision-only Scribe cannot write logs, histories or audit trails. The Coordinator arranges any required non-decision persistence through an authorized writer; a missing writer is a blocker, not permission for Scribe. These coordination rules do not apply to ordinary Copilot work.

File	Status	Who May Write	Who May Read
.github/agents/squad.agent.md	Authoritative governance. All roles, handoffs, gates, and enforcement rules.	Repo maintainer (human)	Squad (Coordinator)
.squad/decisions.md	Authoritative decision ledger. Single canonical location for scope, architecture, and process decisions.	Coordinator or coordinator-delegated Scribe; already-accepted decisions only, append only	All agents
.squad/team.md	Authoritative roster. Current team composition.	Squad (Coordinator)	All agents
.squad/routing.md	Authoritative routing. Work assignment rules.	Squad (Coordinator)	Squad (Coordinator)
.squad/ceremonies.md	Authoritative ceremony config. Definitions, triggers, and participants for team ceremonies.	Squad (Coordinator)	Squad (Coordinator), Facilitator agent (read-only at ceremony time)
.squad/casting/policy.json	Authoritative casting config. Universe allowlist and capacity.	Squad (Coordinator)	Squad (Coordinator)
.squad/casting/registry.json	Authoritative name registry; paired transaction. Persistent agent-to-name mappings.	Squad (Coordinator), only via .squad/casting-transactions.md's locked SDK writer	Squad (Coordinator), paired read
.squad/casting/history.json	Derived / append-only contents; paired transaction. Universe usage history and assignment snapshots.	Squad (Coordinator), only via the same paired writer	Squad (Coordinator), paired read
.squad/casting/registry-history.commit.json	SDK-owned transaction/hash manifest. Never hand-edit or discard to bypass validation.	Locked SDK paired writer only	SDK paired reader
.squad/agents/{name}/charter.md	Authoritative agent identity. Per-agent role and boundaries.	Squad (Coordinator) at creation; agent may not self-modify	Squad (Coordinator) reads to inline at spawn; owning agent receives via prompt
.squad/agents/{name}/history.md	Derived / append-only. Personal learnings. Never authoritative for enforcement.	Owning agent only where charter permits; authorized Scribe for required context	Owning agent only
.squad/agents/{name}/history-archive.md	Derived / append-only. Archived history entries. Preserved for reference.	Scribe	Owning agent (read-only)
.squad/orchestration-log/	Derived / append-only. Agent routing evidence. Never edited after write.	Scribe	All agents (read-only)
.squad/log/	Derived / append-only. Session logs. Diagnostic archive. Never edited after write.	Scribe	All agents (read-only)
.squad/templates/	Reference. Format guides for runtime files. Not authoritative for enforcement.	Squad (Coordinator) at init	Squad (Coordinator)
.squad/rai/policy.md	Authoritative RAI policy. Check categories, terminology standards, and opt-out rules.	Squad (Coordinator) at init or authorized policy changes; Rai read-only	Rai, All agents (read-only)
.squad/rai/audit-trail.md	Derived / append-only. Preserve existing redacted records; never raw secrets or harmful content; no routine reviewer logging.	Authorized Coordinator/Scribe only when the current state contract requires persistence	Rai, Squad (Coordinator)
.squad/fact-checker/policy.md	Authoritative verification + Devil's Advocate policy. Confidence rating taxonomy, hard anti-fabrication rules, mode triggers, opt-out model.	Squad (Coordinator) at init or authorized policy changes; Fact Checker read-only	Fact Checker, All agents (read-only)
.squad/fact-checker/audit-trail.md	Derived / append-only. Preserve existing succinct verdict/citation records, never raw source material; no routine reviewer logging.	Authorized Coordinator/Scribe only when the current state contract requires persistence	Fact Checker, Squad (Coordinator)
.squad/plugins/marketplaces.json	Authoritative plugin config. Registered marketplace sources.	Squad CLI (squad plugin marketplace)	Squad (Coordinator)

Rules

1. If squad.agent.md and any other file conflict, squad.agent.md wins. It is the only file with hard governance authority.
2. Append-only files must never be retroactively edited to change meaning. They are diagnostic and audit-trail material. Corrections go in a new entry that references the prior one.
3. Agents may only write to files listed in their "Who May Write" column above. Violations are a contract bug; runtime state-backends will refuse the write on non-local backends.
4. Non-coordinator agents may propose decisions in their responses. Coordinator alone accepts decisions; only the Coordinator or a coordinator-delegated Scribe may record already-accepted decisions in .squad/decisions.md.
5. Waza casting repair: write authority does not permit raw registry/history edits. All casting mutations, including initialization and retirement, must commit the pair and manifest through .squad/casting-transactions.md; use an equivalent atomic backend operation or stop on non-local storage.
6. Legacy is not a recovery fallback. SDK preparation validates existing state before callbacks. The known frozen v0.10 files require the guide's explicit approved archive-and-initialize maintenance procedure into an empty target; managed-pair corruption or a missing manifest must never trigger that path.