[q] fix(aw-failure-investigator): only open sub-issues for fixes, close fixed issues (#26779)

[github-actions]

Addresses feedback from @pelikhan in #26779: too many issues are being opened per run.

Changes

.github/workflows/aw-failure-investigator.md

Safe-outputs config:

• create-issue max: 8 → 2 — parent report issues are now rare (only when P0 failures have no existing tracking)
• Added update-issue safe-output (target: *, max: 10) — enables the agent to close stale/fixed issues
• link-sub-issue max: 20 → 10 — keeps sub-issue creation focused

Prompt changes:

• Step 5 rewritten: agent now closes fixed issues first, then adds sub-issues to the most recent open parent rather than always creating a new one
• New decision rule: only create a new parent report issue when P0 failures have no existing tracking coverage
• New decision rule: prefer closing stale issues over creating new ones when volume is high
• Updated description and mission statement to reflect conservative policy

Behavior Before vs After

	Before	After
Parent issues per 6h run	Up to 8	Max 1, only if truly needed
Sub-issues per run	Up to 20	Up to 10, linked to existing parent when possible
Closing fixed issues	❌ Not supported	✅ Via update-issue safe-output

Validation

✅ Compiled successfully: ./gh-aw compile aw-failure-investigator

Note: .lock.yml will be regenerated automatically after merge.

• Fixes [aw-failures] Failure Investigation Report – April 17, 2026 (last 6h) #26779

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Warning

Protected Files — Push Permission Denied

This was originally intended as a pull request, but the patch modifies protected files. A human must create the pull request manually.

Protected files

• .github/workflows/aw-failure-investigator.md

The push was rejected because GitHub Actions does not have workflows permission to push these changes, and is never allowed to make such changes, or other authorization being used does not have this permission.

Create the pull request manually

# Download the patch from the workflow run
gh run download 24545376809 -n agent -D /tmp/agent-24545376809

# Create a new branch
git checkout -b q/aw-failure-investigator-sub-issues-only-2532f3b7d8d52e6b main

# Apply the patch (--3way handles cross-repo patches)
git am --3way /tmp/agent-24545376809/aw-q-aw-failure-investigator-sub-issues-only.patch

# Push the branch and create the pull request
git push origin q/aw-failure-investigator-sub-issues-only-2532f3b7d8d52e6b
gh pr create --title '[q] fix(aw-failure-investigator): only open sub-issues for fixes, close fixed issues (#26779)' --base main --head q/aw-failure-investigator-sub-issues-only-2532f3b7d8d52e6b --repo github/gh-aw

🎩 Equipped by Q · ● 1.6M · ◷

• expires on Apr 19, 2026, 3:05 AM UTC