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A nested Squad is a Squad that is a member of another Squad. Its members approve among themselves using their own threshold, and the result counts as a single vote in the other Squad. This is useful when two or more organizations share a joint treasury and each side needs to sign off independently.
Nested Squads are not used by most teams. If every signer can be a direct member, add them as wallets instead.

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How it works

In this guide, Squad A is the nested Squad and Squad B is the Squad it is a member of.
  • Squad A is one member of Squad B, whatever the number of members in Squad A.
  • A member of Squad A opens Squad B “as” Squad A and votes on a transaction.
  • That vote becomes a transaction in Squad A. Squad A’s members approve and execute it like any other transaction.
  • Once it is executed, Squad A’s vote is counted on the transaction in Squad B.
A nested Squad can only vote on existing transactions. It cannot create or execute transactions in the other Squad, change its settings, or manage its members. Always keep direct wallet members with the Proposer and Executor permissions in Squad B.

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Add a Squad as a member

To make Squad A a member of Squad B:
1

Copy Squad A's vault address

Open Squad A, navigate to Settings, and copy the Squads Vault address. Use this address, not the Multisig account address.
2

Add it to Squad B

Open Squad B, navigate to Members, and select Add member. Paste the address in Public key.The app detects that the address is a Squad. It shows Squad A’s name, member count, and threshold, with the note “This address is a Squad. Adding it makes the whole Squad one member”.If no Squad preview appears, check that you pasted Squad A’s Squads Vault address before you continue.
3

Choose the permission and a tag

On a Pro plan, select only the Voter permission. A nested Squad can only vote, so the other permissions have no use. On a Basic plan, new members receive all three permissions, and the nested Squad can still only vote.Under Tag, pick a color to recognize this Squad in the Squad list. The tag is saved in your browser only. Other members choose their own.
4

Initiate and approve

Select Initiate. Squad B’s members approve and execute the transaction like any other member change.
On the Members page, nested Squads are listed under Squads, separately from Wallets. You can edit, replace, or remove a nested Squad in the same way as a wallet member. See Manage members.

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Vote as a nested Squad

To vote in Squad B on behalf of Squad A, you need a wallet that is a member of Squad A with the Proposer permission there.
1

Open Squad B as Squad A

Connect your wallet and open the Squad selector. Squad A appears indented under Squad B. Select that nested row.Squad B opens, and the selector shows Signed in as with Squad A’s name. On desktop, a badge with Squad A’s name sits next to the page title. Hover it to read “You’re viewing Squad B as Squad A”.
2

Vote on the transaction

Open the transaction and select Approve or Reject. To cancel a transaction that is already approved, select Cancel. If you are not signed in, the app asks you to sign in first.The app confirms with “Transaction created in” followed by Squad A’s name. Select View to open Squad A’s Transactions page.
3

Approve and execute it in Squad A

The vote appears in Squad A’s Transactions page. Its details show the Target Squad and a link, Open the target transaction. Squad A’s members approve it to Squad A’s own threshold, then a member with the Executor permission executes it. If you have the Voter permission in Squad A, your own approval is included when you start the vote.
4

The vote is counted in Squad B

Once Squad A’s transaction is executed, the vote applies to the transaction in Squad B. Squad A is listed as a voter in the transaction’s Progress tab.
While Squad A’s vote is waiting, the vote buttons on that transaction in Squad B are disabled for everyone acting as Squad A, with the message “Already sent”. This prevents a duplicate vote. They become available again if Squad A rejects or cancels its transaction. To stop acting as Squad A, open the Squad selector and select Squad B’s own row.

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What a nested Squad cannot do

While you act as a nested Squad, everything except voting is unavailable in Squad B. The app shows the reason: “nested Squads can only vote on existing transactions”. Nesting works one level deep. If Squad A is a member of Squad B, and Squad B is a member of Squad C, a wallet that is only in Squad A cannot act in Squad C.

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Fees

The vote is a transaction in Squad A, so Squad A’s setup decides who pays. If Squad A has the Fee Relayer enabled, it covers the fees. Otherwise the connected wallet pays. Squad B’s Fee Relayer is not used. A cancel vote also needs a small amount of SOL in Squad A’s vault.
Do I need SquadsX to use a nested Squad?No. Voting on behalf of a nested Squad is built into the app through the Squad selector.Does a nested Squad count as one vote or several?One. However many members Squad A has, it is a single member of Squad B and casts a single vote.Can a nested Squad execute a transaction once it is approved?No. A direct wallet member of Squad B with the Executor permission must execute it.