Brownfield · takeover · modernisation

AI that takes over your
existing codebase

Most AI coding tools start from a blank canvas. Your business doesn't — it runs on software that already exists. Squadship's AI squad indexes what you have, documents it as built, agrees the change with your stakeholders, and ships it as reviewed pull requests in your own Git. Taking over an existing codebase is what we call Tuesday.

Request a demo What is Squadship? →

How a takeover actually works

Not a chat window pointed at your repo — a survey, a record, a plan, and then the work.

1 · Index & survey

  • Every repository indexed on your own infrastructure
  • Flows, components and data paths mapped — with citations into the code
  • Questions answered from the code itself, not from tribal memory

2 · The as-built record

  • An as-built PRD: what the system actually does today
  • Your team corrects it — the record becomes shared ground truth
  • The documentation debt nobody ever paid, paid first

3 · Agree the change

  • A change PRD for what you want built, migrated or fixed
  • Every open decision chased to a signed answer
  • Scope, estimate and plan locked before the work starts

4 · Ship through your Git

  • Work lands as pull requests on item branches in your repository
  • Adversarial validation reviews and tests every change
  • Traceability from each requirement to its code, tests and release

Built for the codebases nobody wants to touch

Legacy systems, departed authors, prototypes that grew up too fast — the situations where "just prompt an app builder" was never the answer.

Where this fits

  • A production system whose original team has moved on
  • A product that needs new features without breaking what works
  • A migration — framework, database, architecture — with an audit trail
  • A vibe-coded prototype that now has real users and real risk

Why it's safe

  • Nothing merges without human review — the squad opens PRs, your team holds the keys
  • On your infrastructure: code never leaves your network
  • Your own LLM API key — your provider terms, your spend
  • Decision log and signed baselines behind every change

Common questions

Can AI really work on our existing codebase, not just new projects?
Yes — that's Squadship's home ground. The squad indexes your entire codebase, surveys it, writes an as-built picture of what exists today and a change PRD for what you want, and then works in your repository through pull requests your team reviews. Existing products are a first-class door, not an import feature.
What does Squadship need access to?
Your Git repositories, on your infrastructure — the platform deploys on your own servers, so the code never leaves your network. Only task-relevant excerpts reach the LLM, under your own API key and provider terms.
Our codebase is old and undocumented. Does that matter?
Undocumented is the normal case. The squad's first output on a takeover is the documentation nobody wrote: an indexed, citable map of flows and components, and an as-built PRD your team can correct. Work is planned against that record, not against guesses.
We built a prototype in a prompt-to-app tool. Can Squadship make it production-ready?
Yes — a vibe-coded prototype is just a small brownfield project. Bring the repository in; the squad surveys it, writes the change PRD for productionising it (requirements, hardening, tests), and delivers the work as reviewed pull requests.

Point the squad at your codebase

A live demo on a real codebase — or yours. A 15-day pilot on your infrastructure with success criteria agreed up front.

Request a demo