# Add, change, and pause squad members > See who is in your squad and add a squad member through your lead. Rename a squad member, choose its model, edit its instructions, set who checks its work, and pause or resume it. ## Who is in your squad Your squad has one lead and other squad members. The setup conversation creates up to 8 besides your lead. After setup, you can keep adding squad members, with no limit. - **Your lead** talks with you in **Chat** and adds squad members when you ask. It hands each new task to the squad member whose role fits it. You named it during setup. - **Every other squad member** has one role, such as Research or Content, and does that work. Each squad member has a first name and a handle: the @ name made from it (Iris becomes @iris). It also has a role, a character, and a model, the AI it runs on. | Limit | Value | | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------- | | Squad members from setup | 1 to 8, besides your lead | | Squad members you add after setup | No limit | | A first name | 2 to 32 characters | | Checks on one squad member's work | Up to 3 | | The line that says what a check does | 12 to 160 characters | ## Open the Squad page Click **Squad** in the sidebar, or press ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows), type "Squad", and select it. Your lead sits in a wide card at the top, with a card for each other squad member below. | Part of a card | What it shows | | ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Status dot and line | The task it is on now, "No active task", or "Paused" | | Clock | When it last updated a task, such as "5m ago", or "Never active" | | Model | The model it uses. Not on your lead's card. | | Pause button | Pauses or resumes it. Not on your lead's card. | If your squad can't load, you see "Agents could not be loaded". Click **Try again**. ## Open a squad member's profile Click a card. The profile opens on the right, with: - The name, **Rename**, and the role. Your lead's profile also says **Lead**. - The status: **Working**, **Idle**, or **Waiting on you** (one of its tasks is blocked on a question for you). - **Pause** or **Resume** at the top. - **Default Model**, **Capabilities**, **Agent Files**, and **Activity**. - On every squad member except your lead: **Checks on [name]'s work** and **Helped on**. **Activity** has two tabs. **Attention** lists its tasks that wait for review or are blocked, with the reason. **Timeline** lists the task it is on now and the 5 tasks it updated last. ## Add a squad member in Chat You add a squad member by asking your lead, once setup has built your squad. ### Step 1: Open your lead in Chat Open **Chat** and choose your lead. ### Step 2: Ask for one squad member Say what you need, such as "Add someone to handle customer support." Ask for one at a time. ### Step 3: Read your lead's reply Your lead picks a broad role, such as Research or Content, and a character. It also picks a first name in the style of your squad's other names. It asks you for a name only when those names follow no pattern. Your lead tells you when the squad member is ready. It shows up on **Squad** within 10 seconds. ## Add a squad member from a task When you create a task that no squad member's role covers, your lead can ask you before anyone starts. You get a ticket titled "Add [name] for this work?". | Option | What happens | | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Create [name]** | Adds the squad member in the role the ticket names and gives it the task. The task moves to **Queued**. | | **Keep this with the lead once** | Your squad stays as it is, and your lead does this one task. | If the squad member can't be created, your lead takes the task, and the task thread says why. ## Rename a squad member ### Step 1: Click Rename Open the profile and click **Rename** next to the name. The **Rename [name]** panel opens. ### Step 2: Type the new first name Type it in **New first name** and click **Review**. ### Step 3: Confirm The panel shows the old and new names with their handles, such as "Iris (@iris) → Nova (@nova)". The old handle keeps working. Click **Rename agent**. You see "Iris is now Nova". The squad member keeps its tasks, docs, chats, memory, and schedules. You rename your lead the same way. ### Rules for a new name A new name is: - 2 to 32 characters; - one first name, with no last name and no role; - different from the current name. If it isn't, you see "Enter a different first name."; - not a name or handle already in use by you or a squad member. ### Rename in Chat You can also ask any squad member in **Chat** to rename someone. It shows the old and new names and handles, and renames after you confirm in your next message. ## Choose the model a squad member uses Each squad member can run on its own AI model, separate from the rest of your squad. 1. Under **Default Model**, click the model button. The list holds the models of the AI providers you connected in **Settings > Model Providers**. With more than 10, **Search models...** shows at the top. 2. Pick a model. You see "Default model updated", or "Failed to update default model" if it didn't save. The model runs its tasks and replies from then on. Finished work doesn't change. > **Note:** Clicking **Save Defaults** under **Model Defaults** in **Settings > Model Providers** switches your whole squad to the default model. Pick one squad member's own model again after that. ## Edit a squad member's instructions **Agent Files** holds one file, **Agent instructions**: the squad member's personality, values, goals, and behavior. Your lead writes it. 1. Click **Open** next to **Agent instructions**. 2. Click **Edit**, change the text, and click **Save**. **Cancel** stops editing without saving. A save that changes the name or role in the file fails. Use **Rename** for the name. What the squad member remembers is on **Memory**, not here. ## What each squad member can use | What | How it is set | | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Skills | **Capabilities** lists the skills turned on for it, and **Built in** the ones its role gives it. Click a skill to read it. See [Add and manage skills](/docs/skills). | | Apps | Every connected app account, up to that account's access level | | Website logins | Every login saved in **Settings > Passwords & Logins** | | Schedules | Each scheduled job runs as one squad member. See [Schedule work on the Calendar](/docs/calendar). | ## Choose who checks a squad member's work On every squad member except your lead, **Checks on [name]'s work** names other squad members. They add their part before [name] asks you to approve a piece of work. ### Step 1: Click Add a check Click **Add a check** under **Checks on [name]'s work**. ### Step 2: Pick a role In **Squad member**, pick a role. The list holds every other role in your squad and who holds it. ### Step 3: Say what they check or add In **What they check or add**, write one line of 12 to 160 characters, such as "reads every draft the way a new customer would". ### Step 4: Pick the work it covers Under **Which work it covers**, tick one or more: **Articles, pages and newsletters**, **Posts and replies**, **Emails and messages**, **Other Docs**. A new check starts with **Articles, pages and newsletters** and **Other Docs**, shown as "Covers Docs". ### Step 5: Save Click **Add check**, then **Save checks**. You see "Saved." **Undo changes** drops edits you haven't saved. ### How a check works For each piece the check covers, the squad member in the check's role adds its part on the task. Or [name] says in one line why the check doesn't apply. A check names a role, not a person, so it works only when exactly one other squad member holds that role. Otherwise it is skipped, and says why: | The check says | What it means | | -------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | "No squad member in this role" | No one holds the role. | | "More than one squad member holds this role" | Two or more squad members hold it. | To change what a check covers, click **Change**, tick at least one box, and click **Done**. To drop a check, click **Remove**. Then click **Save checks**. At 3 checks, **Add a check** goes away. ### Helped on **Helped on** lists the tasks where this squad member helped another one. Click one to open it. ## Pause or resume a squad member Pausing stops a squad member from starting new work until you resume it. - On a card, click the pause button (**Pause agent**). Click it again to resume. - In a profile, click **Pause** or **Resume**. This works for your lead too. You see "[name] paused" or "[name] resumed". If it fails, you see "Could not change pause state". While a squad member is paused: - It starts no new work. Its queued tasks wait, and their cards on **Tasks** say "Paused · agent". - New comments and requests for it wait until you resume it. - A task it is already running keeps going. - It still answers you in **Chat**. - The rest of your squad keeps working. To pause everyone at once, click **Pause squad** on **Tasks**. See [Track work on Tasks](/docs/tasks#pause-the-whole-squad). ## Characters and colors Each squad member has a small animated character, picked from its role, and a color no one else in your squad has. Your lead is a gold ball in wraparound sunglasses. A character cheers when its squad member finishes a task, and nudges while it waits on you. When your device is set to reduce motion, characters stay still. ## What the Squad page doesn't do - It has no add button. Ask your lead in **Chat**. - You can't remove a squad member or your lead. Pause it instead. To start over with a new squad, see [Reset your workspace](/docs/billing#reset-your-workspace). - You can't change a squad member's role. - You can't give one squad member different app access, or keep a saved login from one squad member. - You can't choose a character or a color. ## Related pages - [Chat with your squad](/docs/chat) - [Answer questions and approve drafts](/docs/tickets) - [Manage what your squad remembers](/docs/memory) - [Connect apps through Integrations](/docs/integrations) - [Store passwords and logins for your squad](/docs/passwords-and-logins) - [Schedule work on the Calendar](/docs/calendar) - [Connect the AI account your squad runs on](/docs/connect-your-ai)