Squad for Mac is in private beta. It is not available to download yet. This page describes how the app works in the beta, so that you know what to expect. Details can change before the app is public.
The main window
The sidebar lists Today, Email, and Docs, then your agents under Your squad. The other screens open from the place where they belong, most of them from Today. At the top of such a screen, a link names the place that you came from and takes you back there. The Go menu lists the sidebar screens, each with a shortcut, and then the screens that open on demand.
Other shortcuts:
- Attach (⌘⇧A) attaches a file to your message.
- Search Squad… (⌘K) opens the command palette.
- Next New Reply (⌥⌘↓) opens the next conversation with a reply that you have not read.
- Back (⌘[) and Forward (⌘]) in the Go menu move between the screens and items that you opened, as in Safari. ⌘← and ⌘→ do the same while you are not typing in a box. A trackpad swipe, with the fingers that your Mac’s “Swipe between pages” setting uses, and a mouse’s back and forward buttons do the same too.
- New task (⌘⇧N) on Tasks, in the board view. A Viewer does not have it.
- New email (⌘⇧N) on Email, for the owner or an Administrator, when the squad has an inbox.
- Delegate… (⌘N) opens the Delegate panel. A Viewer does not have it. See Delegate from any app.
- Open Squad brings the main window to the front. ⌘1 to ⌘3 also bring it forward, on a screen.
- On Email, J and K move to the next or the previous email.
- On History, D, W, M, and S switch to Day, Week, Month, and Schedule. The left and right arrows move to an older or a newer period, except in Month. T comes back to today. Esc closes the run that you opened. In Week, a day with more runs than its column holds shows a link with the number and more, which opens that day.
- The letter shortcuts on Email, History, and Needs you do not act while you type in a box. The letters go into the box.
- Bigger (⌘+) and Smaller (⌘−) in the View menu change the text size. Actual Size (⌘0) resets it. Squad remembers the size between launches.
The sidebar
- The + button beside Your squad asks your lead to hire a teammate. A Viewer does not see it.
- Your group chats and your pins show below your agents.
- Today shows the number of things that need you. Email shows the number of unread emails, and Docs the number of new and updated docs.
- When an update is available, a card says so, with Update. When it is downloaded, the card says that Squad is ready and shows Restart to update. See Updates.
Today
- Under Needs you, Today shows what only you can fix, then the first few questions. When more wait, the link under them opens Needs you. See Needs you and Limits and defaults.
- For the owner and Administrators, work that did not finish today shows under Needs you, with one sentence that says what did not finish. When a connection expired, the button is Reconnect followed by the app’s name. Otherwise, See what happened opens that agent’s runs in History. Selecting the X sets that item aside. A later failure shows as a new item.
- Ideas for your squad suggests work for your squad. It shows in a new squad’s first days, or when nothing waits for you and nobody is working. Select See all ideas for the full list. See Limits and defaults.
- At the end of Today, Share your squad’s day opens the share card. See Share your squad’s day.
The Dock icon
The Dock icon shows a badge with the number of things that need you, in every squad that you are in. With Replies and mentions on in your Mac notifications, it also counts the conversations with replies that you have not seen. With nothing to count, there is no badge.Keyboard navigation
Tab reaches every control in the app, whatever your Mac’s Keyboard navigation setting is. The order follows the screen: first the sidebar, then the screen, column by column. In a list, Tab moves through every row in reading order, also in a list beside another column, such as the conversations beside a chat. Tab also reaches the buttons on chat cards. Space and Return press the control in focus. Shift-Tab moves back.Docs
To clear the new and updated marks on docs without opening each one, right-click Docs in the sidebar and choose Mark all docs as read, or select Mark all as read in the Docs header. A doc’s menu also has Mark as read. The marks are kept on this Mac. To narrow the list, open Filter beside the search. Under Show, pick Every kind or one kind of doc. This part shows when your squad has more than one kind. Under Order, pick Recently edited, Name (A to Z), or Longest. After you pick a kind, the button shows that kind’s name.Text in messages
You can select text across a whole message. A bar over the selection offers:- Quote in reply: puts the passage, quoted, at the top of your draft.
- Ask about this, on an agent’s reply: sends “Tell me more about this:” with the passage in the same conversation. In a group chat, it goes to the group. When the app cannot send it as a plain reply, for example to a paused agent, it puts the question in your draft instead.
- Copy: copies the selection.
The side panel in chat
Beside a conversation with an agent, the side panel lists what that conversation made: files, docs, lists, emails, and tasks, newest first. Select an item to open it. A file opens in Quick Look. Right-click a file for Preview, Open, and Copy Link. The panel opens by itself once the conversation has made something, and stays beside that agent’s conversations after that. Its button, beside Chat and About at the top of the agent’s page, shows or hides it. A narrow window keeps the panel closed.A name that an agent suggests
When an agent suggests a name for a conversation, a note beside the title says so. Click the title to rename the conversation. Select Use followed by the suggested name, then Save, to take it. Select Not this one to turn it down, and it is not offered again. You see the suggestion only where you can rename the conversation. See Work with threads.The menu bar
The Squad mark sits in the menu bar, with the number of things that need you: open asks, email drafts and escalations, what only you can fix, suggested triggers, and, except for a Viewer, tasks that wait on you with no question asked yet. Click it to see who is working, what needs you, and to answer quick asks. It shows the first few asks. See Limits and defaults. When something to fix or a suggested trigger waits, a link under the asks opens it in Needs you. When nothing waits, it says “Nothing needs you.” Its ⋯ menu has Delegate… (not for a Viewer), Share your squad’s day…, History, Snooze the notch, Settings…, and Quit Squad.Needs you
Needs you puts everything that waits for you in one list. First comes what only you can fix, and the triggers that your agents suggest. Then come every open ask, every email draft that waits for your review, and every email escalation, most urgent first. Today shows the first few asks, and the link under them opens the whole list. A long list shows its first rows, and a link under them, such as Show 12 more, shows the rest. See Limits and defaults. Tasks that wait on you with no question asked yet show at the end of the list, under Waiting on you, nothing asked yet. Select Ask what it needs, or Ask them all, and the agent sends you its questions. A Viewer does not see this section. What only you can fix, and the suggestions, show as cards with the fix as the main button:- A low or full disk on the workspace computer, for everyone except a Viewer. Select Ask followed by your lead’s name and to free up space. It opens a new conversation with your lead, with the request written but not sent. You can set a low disk aside with the X. See Limits and defaults. A full disk stays until there is room. See Your cloud computer’s disk is low or full.
- Work that did not finish today, for the owner and Administrators, with Reconnect and the app’s name when a connection expired, or See what happened. The X sets it aside. See Today.
- Routines that never run as they are set up, for the owner and Administrators. Fix it opens Routines. The card stays until the routines are fixed.
- A trigger that an agent suggests, for the owner and Administrators. Select Turn it on, or Look first to open the trigger’s page. See Approve a trigger that an agent suggests.
While you type in a box, for example an answer, these letters and numbers go into the box instead.
An answer shows as done only after Squad confirms it. Undo reopens the ask. See Answer tickets.
To sort through a long list:
- When some asks have waited for more than a day, filters show: All, Over a day, and, when there are any, Over 30 days. Each shows its count.
- Show resolved shows the asks that are already answered. Hide resolved hides them again.
- With a filter on, the owner or an Administrator can select Archive and the count to archive those questions. Their tasks leave the board too.
- In the ⋯ menu, the owner or an Administrator can select Clear all and the count of open questions. This clears them without an answer, and you choose whether their tasks are archived too.
- Under Waiting on you, nothing asked yet, Clear all archives those tasks after you confirm.
- A draft has Send now, Revise with followed by the agent’s name, and Discard.
- An escalation has Tell followed by the agent’s name and what to do, and Dismiss.
Delegate from any app
Press ⌥Space in any app to open the Delegate panel on top of it. The panel opens on your lead. Type the job, pick the agent if you want another one, and send it with ⌘↩ or the send button. It starts a new conversation with that agent. Focus then goes back to the app that you were in. A Viewer cannot open the panel.- When you open the panel from Safari or a Chromium browser such as Chrome, the page that you have open goes with the message. The first time, macOS asks you to allow Squad to control the browser. To send without it, select the X on the page chip (Leave the page out).
- When Squad can see your screen, a picture of the window that you were in goes with the message, so the agent can see what you see. To send without it, select the X on the screen chip (Leave your screen out). Until Squad can see your screen, a screen button beside the send button, Let Squad see your screen, asks macOS for that permission.
Talk to your squad
Hold ⌃⌥Space and speak, then let go to send. Start with an agent’s name to send the message to that agent. Without a name, it goes to the agent whose chat is open, or else to your lead. A quick tap keeps listening until you tap again. The first time, macOS asks for access to the microphone and to speech recognition. With Hear the answer on, the reply is read aloud when it arrives soon after your question. A later reply is not read aloud, and waits for you to select Play. See Limits and defaults. With Squad in the notch on, it waits in the notch. Talking again stops the reading.Siri, Shortcuts, and Spotlight
Squad adds these actions to Siri and the Shortcuts app: Delegate to Squad, What Needs Me in Squad, Show What Needs You in Squad (it opens Needs you), New Squad Task, and Make My Squad’s Recap Card. Spotlight finds your agents, your tasks that are not done, and your docs. Squad clears them from Spotlight when you sign out or switch squads.Watch the workspace computer
The owner and Administrators can watch the workspace computer while it is on. In a conversation with an agent, select Watch to keep that agent’s browser in a small window above your other apps. On Computer, Float while you work does the same for the agent that you picked. When Computer opened from a conversation, Back to the conversation takes you back. See The main window.Squad in the notch
When you are in more than one squad, the notch also counts what needs you in your other squads, up to a limit. It counts their new replies too, unless you turned off Replies and mentions in your Mac notifications. See Limits and defaults. Its peek shows a few other squads with something for you. See Limits and defaults. Select one to switch to that squad. The menu bar panel and the squad switcher show the same counts. With Squad in the notch on, your squad lives around the notch at the top of your screen. It opens when an agent needs you, so you can answer without leaving what you are doing. Questions and email items then skip the notification banner.- Chat in the notch (⌃⌥C) opens your squad’s conversations under the notch. Clicking the notch does the same. Esc closes it.
- The opened notch has Open Squad. When something waits, it also has Answer followed by the number, or Open Needs You when what waits includes something to fix or a suggested trigger. Right-click it for Chat with Your Squad, Delegate… (not for a Viewer), Hide for Now, and the snooze choices. Right-click the closed notch for Hide for now, Open Needs You when something waits, the snooze choices, and Notch settings….
- For the owner and Administrators, a working agent’s row in the opened notch has Stop when you point to it. See Stop a run from your Mac.
- The notch shows chooses what the notch shows at rest: Activity, Only changes, or Only what needs you.
- To snooze the notch, choose Snooze for 1 hour or Snooze until tomorrow. Right-click the notch or its reply card, or use Snooze the notch in the menu bar’s menu. Stop snoozing turns it back on. A snooze lasts after you quit the app. Snooze until tomorrow lasts until the next morning. See Limits and defaults.
- Stay quiet in meetings: while another app uses your microphone or camera, or your screen is shared, Squad does not speak or chime, and other news does not open the notch by itself. An answer to a question that you asked out loud still shows in the notch, with a Play button instead of being read aloud.
Notifications on your Mac
Squad shows a notification when something needs you, and, with Replies and mentions on, when someone answers you or mentions you. You can answer yes or no, pick an option, or reply from the notification itself. In Settings > Notifications > On this Mac, choose which notifications you get:- Questions: when an agent asks you something.
- Email that needs you: when an agent’s email needs your review or your answer.
- Replies and mentions: when an agent or a person in your squad answers you or mentions you. It also covers the notifications when an agent finishes a routine and when a run does not finish.
- Friday recap: a reminder on Friday to share your squad’s week. For the time, see Limits and defaults.
- Hold non-urgent decisions: urgent and high-priority questions still come at once. The others arrive as one summary, at the time that you choose in Deliver the summary at. That setting shows while this one is on. For the times, see Limits and defaults.
Settings for this Mac
In Settings, This Mac is separate from your workspace settings. It has two pages, General and Mac access. This Mac > General has:
For Mac access, see Mac access. Notifications for this Mac are under Settings > Notifications > On this Mac. See Notifications on your Mac.
Share your squad’s day
Share your squad’s day makes an image of what your squad did today or this week, counted from its real runs, tasks, and docs. Open it from the end of Today, from the ⋯ menu in the menu bar, or from the command palette.- Choose Today or This week, and Dark or Light.
- Turn on Show my business name to add it to the card.
- Edit the Caption.
- Select Post on X, Share…, Copy image, or Save….
Updates
With Check for updates automatically on, the app checks in the background. With Download updates automatically on, it downloads updates, which install the next time Squad restarts. Download updates automatically works only while Check for updates automatically is on. See Limits and defaults for how often the app checks. A card in the sidebar shows when an update is available or ready. Both switches are on the Updates card in This Mac > General. To check now, choose Check for Updates… in the Squad menu. When an update is ready, the menu item says Restart to Update to and the version.When the app crashes or stops responding
When Squad for Mac crashes or stops responding, macOS gives the app a report the next time it opens. With Share usage and crash reports on, Squad sends that report to the Squad team after you sign in. With the switch off, Squad keeps no report and sends none, and turning it off stops a send that is under way. The switch is in Settings > This Mac > General. When the app stopped responding the last time it ran, a notice says so after you sign in.Stop a run from your Mac
You can stop a running run from the app, as the owner or an Administrator. Stop is under the agent’s working message in chat, on the run’s row in History and in its details, and on a working agent’s row in the notch when you point to it. Then select Stop the run, or Keep going. The same rules apply as on the web. See Stop a run.Mac access
With Let your squad use this Mac on, in Settings > This Mac > Mac access, your agents can ask for things on your Mac: a file in your Downloads folder, the page open in your browser, or a look at your screen. Nothing happens on your Mac until you say yes on the Mac, or until you share a folder for requests of that kind.Your Mac is not the workspace computer
Your squad works on one workspace computer in the cloud. Each agent has its own browser there. Your Mac is a different machine. Agents reach your Mac only through the Squad app, only while the app runs with Let your squad use this Mac on, and only with your approval for each request.What agents can ask for
Each request carries a one-sentence reason from the agent, and the app shows you that reason. Agents are told to ask only when a task needs your Mac.
Ask your lead
Ask an agent
You approve requests on your Mac
When an agent asks for something that no shared folder covers, the Mac app shows the request at the top of your screen or as a notification. It names the agent, what it wants, the file, folder, or address, and the agent’s reason. You choose one of these:- Allow once: the app does this one request. When the request would replace a file that exists, the prompt at the top of the screen shows Replace it instead.
- Always for this folder: the app does the request and shares the folder. For a folder listing, that is the folder itself. For a file, it is the folder that holds the file. A read shares the folder as Read only, and a write shares it as Read and save files. Later requests inside the folder that its sharing allows run without asking. The prompt at the top of the screen names the folder, for example “Always for Downloads”. When Squad cannot remember the folder, your yes still goes through for this one request, and the notch says that it was sent this once, without remembering the folder, and why.
- Deny: nothing is shared. The agent is told that you did not approve.
- See your screen. Squad never remembers screen access. Every screenshot asks you again. If Squad cannot see your screen yet, the prompt says so. Allowing the request then asks macOS for Screen Recording permission, and no screenshot is taken. The agent is told to ask again after you turn on Screen Recording for Squad.
- Replace a file that exists. The prompt says “This replaces the file that’s there.” Existing files are only replaced when you approve that exact change.
- Open a web page and read the open browser tab. Shared folders apply only to files and folders.
Shared folders
In the app’s settings, the Mac access page lists your Shared folders. Each folder is Read only or Read and save files. A request to write a file needs a folder with Read and save files.- Share a folder ahead of time with Share a folder. It is a menu with Read only and Read and save files. Squad refuses to share the whole disk, Volumes, Users, or any folder that holds your home folder.
- Stop sharing a folder with Stop sharing next to it.
- Everything else stays on the default: every request waits for your yes.
What is never shared
Your Mac refuses these requests, also inside a folder that you share. You are not asked about them.- Hidden files and folders.
- Your Library folder.
- Keychains.
- System folders.
- Anything outside your home folder, unless you share that folder.