iterative-retrieval SKILL.md skillA
This file is byte-identical to the first copy the registry indexed, one of 4 indexed copies. Same content hash, so the same checks give both the same grade.
iterative-retrieval from bradygaster/squad is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add bradygaster/squad/iterative-retrieval@git:20260328.87e9381Pins git:20260328.87e9381 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- bradygaster/squad
- Path
packages/squad-cli/templates/skills/iterative-retrieval/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 1
- Latest version
- git:20260328.87e9381, committed Mar 28, 2026
- Size
- 6,341 bytes
- Repository stars
- 3,298
- License
- MIT
Max-3-cycle protocol for agent sub-tasks with WHY context and coordinator validation. Use when spawning sub-agents to complete scoped work.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Iterative Retrieval Skill
Squad agents frequently spawn sub-agents to complete scoped work. Without structure, these
handoffs become vague, cycles multiply, and outputs land without being checked. The
**Iterative Retrieval Pattern** caps cycles at 3, mandates WHY context in every spawn, and
requires the coordinator to validate agent output before closing an issue.
---
## Spawn Prompt Template
Every agent spawn must include the following four sections. Copy and fill in the template:
```
## Task
{What you need done — concrete and bounded}
## WHY this matters
{The motivation and context. What system or user goal does this serve? What breaks if skipped?}
## Success criteria
{How you will know the output is correct. Be explicit — list acceptance criteria, not vibes.}
Example:
- [ ] File X exists and contains Y
- [ ] No regressions in existing tests
- [ ] PR is open targeting main with description matching the issue
## Escalation path
{What the agent should do if uncertain or stuck. "Stop and ask me" is valid.}
Example:
- If requirements are ambiguous → stop, comment on the issue, set label status:needs-decision
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add bradygaster/squad/iterative-retrieval@sha256:a1ac94cbaed7ddbfThe line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260328.87e9381, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_3uqwt6ncecbgwycd)
2 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Mar 28, 2026.
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (6341 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
bradygaster/squad · 3,298 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-22 · branch dev
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_3uqwt6ncecbgwycd GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=bradygaster/squad/iterative-retrieval GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/a1ac94cbaed7ddbf49cc452f4045521d33a0303458c63c356bd523941ee4f22c
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.
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