> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dashsquad.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Squad > What a squad member is, how to configure one, and how they work in Dash. A squad member is part of your AI team. It has a model to think with, instructions to follow, and tools to get work done. You tell it what to do, and it figures out how. ## What is a squad member? A squad member combines four things: 1. **A model** — the AI brain (Claude, GPT, Gemini, etc.) 2. **A system prompt** — instructions that shape the agent's personality and behavior 3. **Tools** — capabilities like running commands, reading files, or searching the web 4. **Skills** — reusable workflows the agent can discover and use on demand When you send a message, the squad member reads it, reasons about what to do, uses tools if needed, and responds. It does this autonomously — no hand-holding required. ## Squad member configuration You configure each squad member in Desktop's **Deploy** wizard (and edit it later from the squad member's **Configuration** tab). Behind the scenes, a squad member's saved configuration looks like this: ```json theme={null} { "name": "assistant", "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514", "systemPrompt": "You are a helpful assistant that specializes in research.", "tools": ["bash", "read", "write", "edit", "grep", "find", "web_search"], "maxTokens": 4096, "fallbackModels": ["openai/gpt-4o", "google/gemini-2.0-flash"] } ``` | Field | Type | Required | Description | | ---------------- | ---------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `model` | `string` | yes | The AI model to use (e.g. `anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514`, `openai/gpt-4o`, `google/gemini-2.0-flash`) | | `systemPrompt` | `string` | yes | Instructions that tell the agent who it is and how to behave | | `tools` | `string[]` | no | Which tools the agent can use. See [Tools](/tools) for the full list | | `maxTokens` | `number` | no | Maximum response length in tokens (default: `4096`) | | `workspace` | `string` | no | Directory where the agent operates (default: `~/.dash/workspaces/`) | | `fallbackModels` | `string[]` | no | Backup models to try if the primary model fails | Desktop saves your squad members to `~/.dash/gateway/agents.json` and the HQ restores them on restart. ## Available models Dash supports models from several providers. Set the `model` field using the `provider/model` format: * Claude Opus 4 * Claude Sonnet 4 * Claude Haiku 4.5 * GPT-4o * o3 mini * Gemini 2.0 Flash * Kimi K2.6 * Kimi K2.7 Code * openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-r1 * openrouter/qwen/qwen3-max * openrouter/x-ai/grok-4.3 See [AI Providers](/ai-providers) for credentials setup and model routing details. ## Available tools Pick the tools your squad member needs. Each tool gives a specific capability: | Tool | What it does | | ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | `bash` | Run terminal commands on the system | | `read` | Read files from the project | | `write` | Create new files in the project | | `edit` | Make changes to existing files | | `ls` | See what files and folders exist | | `find` | Find files by name or pattern | | `grep` | Search for text inside files | | `web_search` | Search the internet for information | | `web_fetch` | Download content from web pages | | `mcp` | Connect to external services and tools | | `create_skill`, `install_skill`, `remove_skill` | Let the agent manage its own skills | See [Tools](/tools) for detailed descriptions and sandboxing behavior. ## Fallback models If your primary model is unavailable or hits a rate limit, the squad member automatically tries the next model in the chain. ```json theme={null} { "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514", "fallbackModels": ["openai/gpt-4o", "google/gemini-2.0-flash"] } ``` The squad member tries models in order: primary first, then each fallback. This keeps your squad member running even if one provider has an outage. Each model can be from a different provider — just make sure you have the right API keys set up. ## Workspace Every squad member gets its own workspace directory. This is where tool operations happen. By default it's `~/.dash/workspaces/` — you can open that folder in Finder or your editor to drop in files for the squad member to work with, or set a custom path in the deploy wizard. The workspace directory is created automatically if it does not exist. Tools operate within this directory: * **bash** uses the workspace as its working directory * **read**, **write**, **edit** resolve file paths relative to the workspace * **File tools** are sandboxed — they cannot access files outside the workspace boundary If no workspace is configured, tools operate without path restrictions. Always set a workspace for squad members that use file or shell tools. ## Lifecycle Squad members are deployed as background processes. Each squad member goes through these states: | State | Meaning | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | `provisioning` | The squad member is starting up | | `running` | The squad member is live and accepting messages | | `stopped` | The squad member has been stopped (manually or by the system) | | `error` | Something went wrong during startup or runtime | You can **start**, **stop**, **restart**, and **remove** squad members at any time from Desktop's **Squad** page — click a squad member to manage it. For automation, the same operations are available on the [Management API](/api-reference#agents). ## Sessions Every conversation with a squad member is saved as a session. Sessions are stored as append-only JSONL files (one event per line) so they are easy to inspect and crash-safe. ``` ~/.dash/gateway/sessions/{agent-name}/{conversationId}/ ``` When you send a new message, the squad member loads the session history first. This means it remembers everything from the conversation — previous messages, tool results, and its own responses. Context carries across messages automatically. ## Multiple squad members You can run as many squad members as you need. Each one is independent — different model, different instructions, different tools. Deploy each from Desktop; their configurations look like this: ```json theme={null} [ { "name": "researcher", "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514", "systemPrompt": "You are a research assistant. Find information and summarize it clearly.", "tools": ["web_search", "web_fetch", "read", "write"] }, { "name": "coder", "model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-20250514", "systemPrompt": "You are a senior software engineer. Write clean, tested code.", "tools": ["bash", "read", "write", "edit", "find", "grep"] }, { "name": "ops", "model": "openai/gpt-4o", "systemPrompt": "You manage infrastructure and deployments.", "tools": ["bash", "read"] } ] ``` Each squad member gets its own workspace, session history, and set of tools. Route messages to the right squad member through [Messaging Apps](/messaging-apps) or by name in the [Chat API](/chat-with-your-agent). ## What's next Learn about each tool and how workspace sandboxing works. Set up API keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google. Deploy and manage squad members from the desktop app or CLI. Squad member settings, the data directory layout, and standalone HQ flags.