fix: platform-neutral routing enforcement for VS Code (#613)

[bradygaster]

Summary

Fixes #613 — VS Code Autopilot was bypassing Squad routing because the CRITICAL RULE said 'must use the \ ask\ tool' but VS Code's dispatch tool is
unSubagent. The coordinator fell through to inline work instead of dispatching.

Changes

Fix 1: Platform-Neutral Enforcement Language (P0)

• Rewrote CRITICAL RULE from CLI-specific to dispatcher-identity framing
• Added explicit dispatch mechanism table: CLI → \ ask, VS Code →
  unSubagent, fallback → inline (last resort)
• Updated all 7 enforcement-context references throughout \squad.agent.md\
• Anti-patterns, Constraints, and Spawn sections now mention both dispatch mechanisms

Fix 2: Top-and-Bottom Reinforcement (P0)

• Added \⚠️ Routing Enforcement Reminder\ as the final section in \squad.agent.md\
• Exploits LLM prompt-boundary attention bias (start + end weighting)
• Reinforces: coordinator routes, does not build

Root Cause

The enforcement language created a logical gap:

1. Coordinator reads 'you MUST use \ ask'
2. \ ask\ tool isn't available in VS Code (it's
   unSubagent)
3. Falls through to fallback mode → works inline
4. Routing silently bypassed

The new platform-neutral language closes this gap entirely.

Verification

• ✅ All 5 copies of \squad.agent.md\ synced via \sync-templates.mjs\
• ✅ Build clean (tsc, template sync, skill sync)
• ✅ FIDO reviewed and approved — all enforcement references consistent
• ✅ Zero remaining CLI-only enforcement language in enforcement contexts

Files Changed

\
6 files changed, 158 insertions(+), 30 deletions(-)
\
Prompt-only change — zero runtime code impact.

P1 Follow-ups (not blocking)

• Template renaming (.agent.md.template) to prevent CLI 1.0.11 discovery duplication
• Prompt slimming (~950 → ~600 lines)
• VS Code dispatch block relocation (closer to CRITICAL RULE)

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Working as Procedures (Prompt Engineer)

Co-authored-by: Copilot 223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com

[bradygaster]

🔍 Squad Team Review

Reviewed by: FIDO (Quality Owner) — Pass 3 of consensus ceremony
Merge Order Position: #5 of 6 (Phase 1)
Team Consensus: 5/5 AGREE

Review Summary

This PR fixes platform-neutral routing enforcement language in squad.agent.md. The fix rewrites the CRITICAL RULE from CLI-specific ("MUST use the ask tool") to dispatcher-identity framing ("You are a DISPATCHER, not a DOER") with an explicit dispatch mechanism table (CLI → ask, VS Code →
unSubagent, fallback → inline). All 7 enforcement-context references are updated consistently across anti-patterns, constraints, spawn template, and a new top-and-bottom reinforcement section. Zero runtime code impact — prompt-only change addressing issue #613 (VS Code Autopilot bypassing Squad routing).

Dependencies

Must merge AFTER #624 (which updates the sync script to read .agent.md.template files). No conflict with #619 — they modify different sections.

Merge Plan

This PR is part of the team-agreed merge sequence:

1. fix: getPersonalSquadRoot() returns correct personal-squad path (#590) #620 — getPersonalSquadRoot() fix
2. fix: add count-based fallback to archiveDecisions() (#626) #627 — archiveDecisions() fallback
3. fix: rename template copies to prevent CLI instruction merging (#613) #624 — rename templates (infra)
4. docs: TypeDoc API reference — build pipeline, tests, navigation #611 — TypeDoc pipeline
5. fix: platform-neutral routing enforcement for VS Code (#613) #617 — routing enforcement ← YOU ARE HERE
6. chore: update model catalog in squad.agent.md (#588) #619 — model catalog
7. POST:
   ode scripts/sync-templates.mjs + delete orphan old-name files

✅ Verdict: APPROVED for merge in sequence