# 2026-03-25T18:11 — GNC (Runtime, sonnet)

**Task:** Research our 0.9.1 changes  
**Mode:** background  
**Status:** ✅ COMPLETE

## Outcome

Root cause analysis of Squad 0.9.0/0.9.1 routing regression. Report in `.squad/decisions/inbox/gnc-internal-research.md`.

## Findings Summary

**Regression introduced in v0.9.0 (March 22).** v0.9.0 → v0.9.1 was CI/publish fixes only — identical coordinator prompts.

### Root Causes by Symptom

**Symptom 1: Coordinator doing domain work**
- Primary: Prompt saturation/instruction fatigue
- Coordinator prompt grew 33% (711→946 lines, 8,867→11,837 words)
- New content (personal squad, worktree lifecycle, gap analysis) adds inline coordinator responsibilities
- Dilutes core routing constraint buried at line 1016 of 946-line prompt

**Symptom 2: Routing feels broken**
- Primary: Workstream → Personal Squad replacement broke existing routing configs
- Contributing: Skills path changed (.copilot/skills/ → .squad/skills/)
- Contributing: Prompt weight competing with routing rules

**Symptom 3: Agent names vanishing**
- Root cause: Missing `name` parameter in spawn templates
- v0.9.0 and v0.9.1 shipped WITHOUT the `name` parameter
- Shell relied on fragile regex extraction from `description`
- **Fix exists (commit 561b1a3, issue #577) but hasn't shipped** — adds mandatory `name` parameter + multi-pattern parser

### Unreleased Fix Available

Commit 561b1a3 on dev branch includes:
- Mandatory `name: "{name}"` parameter in ALL spawn templates
- Multi-pattern fallback name parser (agent-name-parser.ts)
- 30 tests for name extraction

### Template Status

`scripts/sync-templates.mjs` correctly propagates from `.squad-templates/` to all 4 targets. All copies are in sync — no template drift.

### Recommended Follow-Up

**P0 — Ship immediately:** Merge #577 (agent name fix) — directly addresses symptom 3.

**P1 — Next release:**
1. Audit coordinator prompt weight (consider moving worktree lifecycle, personal squad governance, gap analysis to skills)
2. Reinforce routing constraint near top of template
3. Create routing regression tests

**P2 — Track/validate:**
1. Create routing regression tests with historical prompts
2. Document workstream→personal squad migration for users
3. Implement "prompt budget" metric (alert if growth >5% per release)

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*Logged by Scribe at 2026-03-25T18:11Z*
