# How SquadRoom works > Learn who is on your squad, how work moves, and where and when your squad works. See what you pay for, what SquadRoom doesn't do, and where each place in the dashboard is. ## Who is on your squad - **You.** You own the workspace, hand out work, answer questions, and approve what your squad brings you. - **Your lead.** The squad member you name during setup. It builds the squad with you and hands each new task to the right squad member. It also keeps one-time work that no one else covers. - **Your squad members.** One for each problem you name in setup. Each has a role, its own goals, and its own default model. Your lead recommends the smallest squad that covers your problems. One squad member can be enough. To add one later, ask your lead in Chat. ## How work moves 1. **You ask.** Send a message in **Chat**, or click **New Task** on **Tasks**. A new task goes to your lead, who hands it to the right squad member. 2. **One squad member owns it.** The task waits in **Queued**, then moves to **In Progress** on its own. Its card shows what is happening now. It can ask others for help, but it stays the owner. 3. **It asks when it needs you.** It opens a ticket with 1 to 3 asks: an approval, a decision, or a question. The task waits in **Blocked** until you answer. 4. **It finishes with a report.** The task moves to **Done**. The report says what was done, lists the **Documents saved with this Report**, and shows under **Latest outcomes** on the Dashboard. 5. **You correct it if needed.** On a finished task, type what to change and click **Request changes**. The same squad member takes it back. Work your squad suggests along the way waits on **Tasks > Suggestions**. Start it, or dismiss it to archive it. ## The parts of SquadRoom | Part | What it is | Where you find it | Its page | | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | Dashboard | What needs you, work in progress, and the latest reports, on one page | **Dashboard** | [Use the Dashboard](/docs/dashboard) | | Chat | Conversations with one squad member at a time, one thread per new message | **Chat** | [Chat with your squad](/docs/chat) | | Tasks | Work with one owner, from request to report, on a board: **Queued**, **In Progress**, **Blocked**, **Done** | **Tasks** | [Track work on Tasks](/docs/tasks) | | Tickets | What your squad needs from you: an approval, a decision, or a question | **Tasks > Tickets**, and **Needs you** on the Dashboard | [Answer questions and approve drafts](/docs/tickets) | | Docs | Everything your squad writes, and your uploads. Every save keeps a version. | **Docs** | [Find and manage Docs](/docs/docs) | | Calendar | Scheduled jobs: work that repeats on a schedule | **Calendar** | [Schedule work on the Calendar](/docs/calendar) | | Squad | Your lead and each squad member, with its current work and its model | **Squad** | [Add, change, and pause squad members](/docs/squad) | | Skills | Written methods your squad follows | **Skills** | [Add and manage skills](/docs/skills) | | Playbooks | Ready-made repeat work, such as the Morning Brief | **Skills > Playbooks** | [Run a playbook](/docs/playbooks) | | Memory | What your squad learned from you, one fact per card: **Rules**, **About you**, **Projects**, **References**, **Lessons** | **Memory** | [Manage what your squad remembers](/docs/memory) | | Integrations | The apps your squad can use, such as Gmail, Slack, and Notion. The list has 56. | **Settings > Integrations** | [Connect apps through Integrations](/docs/integrations) | | Telegram | Your own bot, to message your squad and get scheduled results in Telegram | **Settings > Messaging** | [Reach your squad from Telegram](/docs/telegram) | Each app you connect starts at **Read only**. **Read + Write** lets your squad make changes, except ones that can delete or damage things. **Full access** allows everything. You choose the level for each app. ## Where the work runs Your whole squad works on your workspace's own private computer in the cloud. Only you and your squad can reach it. It searches the web, reads your connected apps, writes docs, and runs scheduled jobs there. It stays on, so work carries on after you close the tab. Your API keys and sign-in tokens are the secret codes that let your squad use your AI accounts. SquadRoom stores them encrypted and never shows them again after you save them. ## What you pay for Your squad thinks with an AI account you connect, and your provider bills you directly: - a paid ChatGPT plan, with ChatGPT sign-in, - a Claude Pro or Max subscription, - or an API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Azure OpenAI, or OpenRouter. Your squad can't work until you connect at least one. See [Connect the AI account your squad runs on](/docs/connect-your-ai). The SquadRoom plan is $49 a month during early access and includes 1,000 research credits a month. Credits pay for built-in research on the web and on social sites. See [What SquadRoom costs and what uses credits](/docs/costs). ## When your squad works A squad member works when: - You message it in **Chat**, or message your squad's bot in Telegram. - A task is assigned to it. A task in **Queued** starts on its own when there is room. - You answer its ticket. - You comment on its task. - A scheduled job reaches its time, such as a Morning Brief you set up. - Another squad member hands it the next step of a task, or asks it for help. Your squad works on up to 2 tasks at once. To change that, open **Settings > Workspace** and pick a number under **Agent Task Concurrency**. To stop everything for a while, click **Pause squad** on **Tasks**. No task starts, no squad member wakes up, and no scheduled run starts until you click **Resume squad**. ## What SquadRoom doesn't do - It doesn't include AI model use. Your provider bills you for that, and credits never pay for it. - Your squad doesn't work on your computer. It can't see your laptop, your browser, or your files. Files reach it when you attach them in Chat with **Attach files**, upload them to **Docs**, or connect an app. - Your squad doesn't post, send, publish, or spend money until you approve it on a ticket or tell it to in Chat. See [Answer questions and approve drafts](/docs/tickets). - Your squad doesn't run on a timer by itself. Work repeats only when you set up a playbook or approve a recurring job a squad member asks for. - A suggestion doesn't run until you start it, and a **Blocked** task doesn't continue until you answer its ticket. - You can't remove a squad member or your lead. You can pause a squad member instead. ## A tour of the dashboard ### Top bar From left to right: - **SquadRoom**: opens the Dashboard. - **Search**: searches your workspace. Press Ctrl+K, or Cmd+K on a Mac, from any page. - The bell: opens **Notifications**. - The sun or moon: switches between light and dark. - Your credit count: the research credits you have left. Click it to open **Settings > Usage**. - The connection status: **ONLINE** when your browser reaches your workspace, **CONNECTING**, or **OFFLINE** when it can't. ### Sidebar **WORKSPACE** holds **Dashboard**, **Chat**, **Tasks**, **Docs**, and **Calendar**. **INTELLIGENCE** holds **Squad**, **Skills**, and **Memory**. The arrow beside **WORKSPACE** shrinks the sidebar to icons and back. Two cards can show above your name at the bottom of the sidebar: - A card about your credits, when research credits run low or a monthly limit is near. See [What SquadRoom costs and what uses credits](/docs/costs). - The tour card, after your squad is built. It follows your first task to its report. ### Account menu Click your name at the bottom of the sidebar. | Item | What it does | | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Update** | Shows only when a workspace update is **Available**. Click it, then **Update workspace**. Your squad is away for a short time, and your work, memory, squad members, and settings stay. | | **Usage** | Shows what's left on each AI account, and your **SquadRoom credits** | | **Settings** | Opens Settings: **Model Providers**, **Integrations**, **Passwords & Logins**, **Messaging**, **Usage**, **Billing**, and **Workspace**. See [Every setting, tab by tab](/docs/settings). | | **Documentation** | Opens the guide inside the app | | **Report a problem** | Sends a note to the SquadRoom team, not to your squad | | **Log out** | Signs you out. Your squad keeps working. | ### On a phone or a narrow window Below 1,024 pixels wide, the sidebar hides. Tap **Open navigation**, the menu button at the top left, to show it. ## Related pages - Set up your squad: [Set up SquadRoom and get your first report](/docs/get-started). - Write a request that comes back right: [Hand over work that comes back finished](/docs/hand-over-work).