> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.meetsquad.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# One-pagers

> PRDs and decision briefs Squad drafts from your evidence, with a live trail back to the quotes behind every claim.

A one-pager is the document at the end of the chain. You point Squad at an insight, pick a type, and
it drafts a first pass that cites the evidence it used. You edit it, review it, and make the call.
Every one-pager carries an `OP-` reference, a status, and a live evidence trail back to the signals,
insights, goals, and documents it draws on.

<Frame>
  <img className="block dark:hidden" src="https://mintcdn.com/squad/O_98Wy8uNjlYcgBb/images/one-pagers-light.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=O_98Wy8uNjlYcgBb&q=85&s=003927cda139e0b0b6419bbf40b6dadf" alt="One-pagers" width="2880" height="1800" data-path="images/one-pagers-light.png" />

  <img className="hidden dark:block" src="https://mintcdn.com/squad/O_98Wy8uNjlYcgBb/images/one-pagers-dark.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=O_98Wy8uNjlYcgBb&q=85&s=b34ff1d90bd4573814944883c29c273d" alt="One-pagers" width="2880" height="1800" data-path="images/one-pagers-dark.png" />
</Frame>

For where one-pagers sit in the chain, see [The evidence pipeline](/pipeline).

## The two types

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="PRD" icon="file-text">
    A product requirements draft. Use it when you have decided what to build and need a shareable
    spec: problem, users, requirements, scope. A PRD is a working document you refine and circulate.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Decision brief" icon="scale">
    A decision artefact that makes a recommendation. Use it when the call is still open. A decision
    brief lays out the cited case for and against, records how many signals support versus counter
    the idea, and leads with **Build**, **Defer**, or **Research**. It is the format behind the
    dashboard's **One pagers to review**.
  </Card>
</Columns>

You pick the type when you generate. A PRD cannot become a decision brief afterwards. Decision
briefs carry a **Decision** badge everywhere they appear, next to their recommendation.

## Generating one

Every route runs the same drafting pass. Squad reads the source evidence, drafts the body in the
background, and cites what it used.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="From the library">
    Click **Create one-pager**. The dialog offers two starts. **Start from a template** creates a
    document from a workspace template immediately. Under **Or generate with Squad**, search for the
    insight the document should be built from, choose PRD or Decision brief, and click
    **Generate**. Squad drops you on the new page while it drafts.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="From an action">
    On any action, choose **Generate PRD** or **Generate decision brief**. This is the common route,
    because the action already knows which insight it came from. See [Actions](/actions).
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="From chat">
    Starting an action opens a chat seeded with its context. Squad can research and write there,
    filing the result in your knowledge base.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

While it is **building**, the body shows a live drafting status over a blurred editor. Work
elsewhere and come back, or press **Cancel and start blank** to write it yourself.

If drafting **fails**, the body explains why (Squad could not verify the citations, or drafting
timed out) and offers **Retry** or **Start blank**. A one-pager created from an insight, action, or
prompt that still has an empty body shows a **Draft** panel in the sidebar. Use **Generate with
Squad** there, or start typing.

## The lifecycle

Five statuses, shown as a badge you can click to change (except while building):

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Building" icon="loader">
    Squad is drafting. The body is locked.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Draft" icon="pencil">
    The body is editable. This is where you rework Squad's first pass.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="In review" icon="eye">
    Submitted for someone to look at. This is the state the dashboard's **Briefs to review** and
    **One pagers to review** watch for.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Finalised" icon="circle-check">
    Settled and read-only until you move it back to draft. On a decision brief this same state reads
    **Decided**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Failed" icon="triangle-alert">
    Drafting did not produce a usable body.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

Change status from the **Status** row in the sidebar, the badge in the library, or the action menu.
Only drafts are editable. Squad rejects edits in any other status, which is why the editor is
read-only until you move a document back to **Draft**.

## Deciding a decision brief

A decision brief is finished when you make the call, not when the body is written.

Moving a brief to its terminal state reads **Mark decided** rather than "Mark as finalised".
Choosing it opens a dialog where you confirm or change the recommendation (**Build**, **Defer**, or
**Research**) and commit. The brief moves to **Decided** and its badge locks to your final call.
Until then the recommendation shows as **Pending**.

You can decide from the status badge, the action menu, or straight from the dashboard's **Calls to
make**. The row leaves that list once the call is made.

The **Info** panel shows the evidence balance the draft was built on ("N for, N against") and the
confidence at drafting time, so you can see how strong the case was before you commit.

## Evidence and citations

The sidebar **Evidence** panel groups everything the document draws on into **Goals**, **Insights**,
**Signals**, and **Documents**. Each entry is a chip that opens that entity, so you can go from a
claim in the brief to the `SI-` quote behind it in one click.

The trail is derived from the body itself. Reference an entity in the text and Squad links it as
evidence. Remove the reference and the link goes with it. The panel updates live as you edit, so it
always reflects what the current draft actually cites. A body that references nothing shows "No
evidence linked yet."

## Reviewing and editing

Open a one-pager from the library or from any linked reference. In **Draft**, the body is a full
editor. Edit the title inline, rework the draft, add or remove references. **History** shows every
change and a badge marks who last touched it, you or Squad.

When it is ready, use the action menu to **Copy as markdown** or **Download .md** to take it outside
Squad. Both appear once there is a body to export. **Delete** removes the one-pager.

## The library

The One-pagers page lists everything in the workspace, most recently updated first, as a card grid
by default with a list view available. Each card shows the `OP-` reference, the title (or
"Drafting…" while building), the source insight, a clickable status badge, and when it last changed.
Decision briefs also show their **Decision** badge and current recommendation.

Search with **Search one-pagers or OP-…** and use the **Status** filter to pull up everything **In
review**, or every **Decided** brief. The list stays live. Documents created or updated anywhere
appear here without a refresh.

## Cookbook

**Turn a strong insight into a shareable PRD.** Click **Create one-pager**, search for the insight,
choose **PRD**, and generate. Wait for it to leave **Building**, then tighten the requirements while
it is in **Draft**. Check the **Evidence** panel to confirm the claims trace to real signals. Move
it to **In review**, or copy it as markdown into your spec tool.

**Make a Build, Defer, or Research call.** On the action, choose **Generate decision brief**. Once
drafted, read the cited case and check the "for, against" balance in **Info**. Edit anything you
disagree with while it is in **Draft**, move it to **In review** so it lands in **One pagers to review**,
then click the status badge and **Mark decided**.

**Recover a draft that did not generate.** Open a one-pager in **Failed**. The body explains what
went wrong. Click **Retry** if the source still looks right, or **Start blank** to write it
yourself. Either way it keeps its `OP-` reference and its place in the library.