Configuration

Every setting here is operator-controlled and read from the environment at startup. None of it is reachable from caller input or model output — that separation is the point, not an implementation detail.

Configuration is validated at startup and fails closed. A feature enabled without its backing store does not degrade quietly; the server refuses to start and tells you which variable is missing. Treat a startup failure as the design working.

Authentication

Variable	Required	Notes
`SQUAD_MCP_AUDIENCE`	yes	The resource-server token audience. No default — an audience-less server would accept tokens minted for anything.
`SQUAD_MCP_ALLOWED_ISSUERS`	—	Comma-separated issuer allow-list.
`SQUAD_MCP_ALLOWED_TENANTS`	—	Comma-separated tenant allow-list.
`SQUAD_MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	—	Strict allow-list. A literal `*` is rejected at startup.

Model backend

Variable	Default	Notes
`SQUAD_MCP_MODEL_ENDPOINT`	—	Must also appear in the allow-list below, or startup fails.
`SQUAD_MCP_ALLOWED_MODEL_ENDPOINTS`	—	The endpoints this server may ever call. Exfiltration defence.
`SQUAD_MCP_MODEL_DEPLOYMENT`	—	The Azure OpenAI deployment name.
`SQUAD_MCP_MODEL_API_VERSION`	`2024-10-21`
`SQUAD_MCP_TENANT_CONCURRENCY`	built-in	Per-tenant concurrent run cap.
`SQUAD_MCP_TENANT_COST_CEILING_USD`	built-in	Per-tenant spend ceiling. Set this before real users.
`SQUAD_MCP_SESSION_IDLE_MS`	built-in	Idle session eviction.

The async pipeline

Variable	Default	Notes
`SQUAD_MCP_REMOTE_PIPELINE_ENABLED`	`false`	Off by default. The default remote surface is the advisory tools.
`SQUAD_MCP_RUN_STATE_BACKEND`	`file`	`file` (single replica) or `table` (Azure Table, cross-replica CAS).
`SQUAD_MCP_RUN_STATE_DIR`	—	Required for the `file` backend.
`SQUAD_MCP_STORAGE_ACCOUNT`	—	Required for the `table` backend, renders, memory, and overflow.
`SQUAD_MCP_RUN_TABLE_NAME`	`squadruns`
`SQUAD_MCP_WORKER_ENABLED`	`false`	Background worker for runs over ~4 minutes. Requires the `table` backend.
`SQUAD_MCP_RUN_ENCRYPTION_KEY_B64`	—	Base64 key. When set, per-stage artifacts, the Council Verdict, and caller `request`/`context` are AES-256-GCM encrypted at rest.
`SQUAD_MCP_ADVISORY_AUTOPILOT_ENABLED`	`false`	Lets advisory-only runs proceed unattended. Narrows the gate; never removes it for impactful roles.

SQUAD_MCP_ADVISORY_AUTOPILOT_ENABLED is not a gate override. It is scoped to runs whose roles land no impactful action. A run that touches a backlog executor, a deployer, an IaC author, or Azure diagnostics still holds for an operator regardless of this setting.

Squad memory

The server writes the same .copilot-tracking/squad/ tree the squad produces locally — research notes, plans, verdicts, the run ledger — so a remote run leaves the same durable trail as a local one, and history can be read back automatically on the next run instead of being retyped into the prompt.

Variable	Default	Notes
`SQUAD_MCP_ENABLE_MEMORY`	`false`	Master switch for the memory broker tools.
`SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_BACKEND`	`table`	`table`, `file`, or `graph`.
`SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_TABLE_NAME`	`squadmemory`
`SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_DIR`	—	Required for the `file` backend.
`SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_GRAPH_DRIVE_ID`	—	Required for `graph`: the SharePoint or OneDrive document library.
`SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_GRAPH_ROOT_PATH`	—	Folder path within that library.
`SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_GRAPH_ENCRYPT`	`false`	Field-level encryption before content leaves for Graph.
`SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_AUTO_ENABLED`	`false`	Write memory automatically as a run progresses, rather than on an explicit tool call.
`SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_DEFAULT_PROJECT`	`default`	Lower-kebab-case; it is a store partition segment.
`SQUAD_MCP_ENABLE_ARTIFACTS`	`false`	Persist the squad ledger — `team.md`, `routing.md`, `state.json`, and the append-only logs. Requires memory.

Several destinations at once

SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_TARGETS takes a JSON array of named destinations, and SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_DEFAULT_TARGET names the one used when the caller does not choose. Target names are lower-kebab-case because they are the caller-facing selector. This is how one deployment serves, say, an engineering SharePoint library and a separate customer-facing one without the caller being able to reach across.

Overflow to blob

Table entities have a size ceiling, so a large artifact would otherwise fail the write. With SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_OVERFLOW_ENABLED, anything past SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_OVERFLOW_THRESHOLD_BYTES (default 32 KiB) spills into SQUAD_MCP_MEMORY_OVERFLOW_CONTAINER with a pointer left in the entity.

Deterministic render

Variable	Default	Notes
`SQUAD_MCP_ENABLE_RENDER_PPTX`	`false`	Enables `squad_render_pptx`.
`SQUAD_MCP_RENDER_PYTHON_PATH`	—	Required when enabled — the in-image `python-pptx` interpreter.
`SQUAD_MCP_RENDER_SCRIPTS_DIR`	—	Required when enabled.
`SQUAD_MCP_RENDER_BLOB_CONTAINER`	`renders`
`SQUAD_MCP_RENDER_SAS_TTL_MINUTES`	`60`	User-delegation SAS lifetime. The SAS is never logged.
`SQUAD_MCP_RENDER_BRAND_TEMPLATE_PATH`	—	Optional branded `.pptx` template.

Business tools

Variable	Default	Notes
`SQUAD_MCP_ENABLE_BUSINESS_TOOLS`	`false`	Enables `squad_business_plan` and `squad_backlog`. Requires a model endpoint.

This list is the shape of the surface, not the deployment procedure. Exact parameter wiring, Key Vault references, and the Bicep parameters live in host/RUNBOOK.md.