feat: add footer: false support to add-comment safe output

actions/setup/js/add_comment.cjs

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  * @typedef {import('./types/handler-factory').HandlerFactoryFunction} HandlerFactoryFunction
  */
 
-const { generateFooterWithMessages } = require("./messages_footer.cjs");
+const { generateFooterWithMessages, generateXMLMarker } = require("./messages_footer.cjs");
 const { getRepositoryUrl } = require("./get_repository_url.cjs");
 const { replaceTemporaryIdReferences, loadTemporaryIdMapFromResolved, resolveRepoIssueTarget } = require("./temporary_id.cjs");
 const { getTrackerID } = require("./get_tracker_id.cjs");
@@ -302,6 +302,7 @@ async function main(config = {}) {
   const commentTarget = config.target || "triggering";
   const maxCount = config.max || 20;
   const { defaultTargetRepo, allowedRepos } = resolveTargetRepoConfig(config);
+  const includeFooter = parseBoolTemplatable(config.footer, true);
 
   // Create an authenticated GitHub client. Uses config["github-token"] when set
   // (for cross-repository operations), otherwise falls back to the step-level github.
@@ -524,8 +525,13 @@ async function main(config = {}) {
     const triggeringPRNumber = context.payload.pull_request?.number;
     const triggeringDiscussionNumber = context.payload.discussion?.number;
 
-    // Use generateFooterWithMessages to respect custom footer configuration
-    processedBody += generateFooterWithMessages(workflowName, runUrl, workflowSource, workflowSourceURL, triggeringIssueNumber, triggeringPRNumber, triggeringDiscussionNumber).trimEnd();
+    if (includeFooter) {
+      // When footer is enabled, add full footer with attribution and XML markers
+      processedBody += generateFooterWithMessages(workflowName, runUrl, workflowSource, workflowSourceURL, triggeringIssueNumber, triggeringPRNumber, triggeringDiscussionNumber).trimEnd();
+    } else {
+      // When footer is disabled, only add XML marker for searchability (no visible attribution text)
+      processedBody += "\n\n" + generateXMLMarker(workflowName, runUrl);
+    }
 
     // Enforce max limits again after adding footer and metadata
     // This ensures the final body (including generated content) doesn't exceed limits

docs/src/content/docs/reference/faq.md

@@ -260,6 +260,33 @@ The easy way to fix this problem is to set a secret `GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN` wit
 
 See [Triggering CI](/gh-aw/reference/triggering-ci/) for more details on how to configure workflows to run CI checks on PRs created by agentic workflows.
 
+### How do I suppress the "Generated by..." text in workflow outputs?
+
+When workflows create or update issues, pull requests, discussions, or post comments, they append a `> Generated by [Workflow Name](run_url) for issue #N` attribution line. Use `footer: false` to hide this visible text while preserving the hidden XML markers used for search and tracking.
+
+**Hide footers globally** (all safe output types):
+
+```yaml wrap
+safe-outputs:
+  footer: false
+  add-comment:
+  create-issue:
+    title-prefix: "[ai] "
+```
+
+**Hide footers for specific output types only:**
+
+```yaml wrap
+safe-outputs:
+  footer: false            # hide for all by default
+  create-pull-request:
+    footer: true           # override: show footer for PRs only
+```
+
+Even with `footer: false`, the hidden `<!-- gh-aw-workflow-id: ... -->` XML marker is still included in the content for searchability - you can search GitHub for `"gh-aw-workflow-id: my-workflow" in:body` to find all items created by a workflow.
+
+See [Footer Control](/gh-aw/reference/footers/) for complete documentation including per-handler overrides and PR review footer options.
+
 ## Workflow Design
 
 ### Should I focus on one workflow, or write many different ones?

docs/src/content/docs/reference/safe-outputs.md

@@ -236,8 +236,12 @@ safe-outputs:
     allowed-repos: ["org/repo1", "org/repo2"]  # additional allowed repositories
     hide-older-comments: true    # hide previous comments from same workflow
     allowed-reasons: [outdated]  # restrict hiding reasons (optional)
+    footer: false                # omit AI-generated footer (default: true)
 ```
 
+> [!TIP]
+> Use `footer: false` to suppress the "Generated by..." attribution line in posted comments. See [Footer Control](/gh-aw/reference/footers/) for global and per-handler options.
+
 The author of the parent issue, PR, or discussion receiving the comment is automatically preserved as an allowed mention. This means `@username` references to the issue/PR/discussion author are not neutralized when the workflow posts a reply.
 
 #### Hide Older Comments

pkg/parser/schemas/main_workflow_schema.json

@@ -5065,6 +5065,11 @@
                   "type": "boolean",
                   "description": "Controls whether the workflow requests pull-requests:write permission for add-comment and includes pull requests in the event trigger condition. Default: true (includes pull-requests:write). Set to false to disable pull request commenting."
                 },
+                "footer": {
+                  "type": "boolean",
+                  "description": "Controls whether AI-generated footer is added to the comment. When false, the visible footer content is omitted but XML markers (workflow-id, metadata) are still included for searchability. Defaults to true.",
+                  "default": true
+                },
                 "github-token": {
                   "$ref": "#/$defs/github_token",
                   "description": "GitHub token to use for this specific output type. Overrides global github-token if specified."

pkg/workflow/add_comment.go

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ type AddCommentsConfig struct {
 	Issues               *bool    `yaml:"issues,omitempty"`              // When false, excludes issues:write permission and issues from event condition. Default (nil or true) includes issues:write.
 	PullRequests         *bool    `yaml:"pull-requests,omitempty"`       // When false, excludes pull-requests:write permission and PRs from event condition. Default (nil or true) includes pull-requests:write.
 	Discussions          *bool    `yaml:"discussions,omitempty"`         // When false, excludes discussions:write permission and discussions from event condition. Default (nil or true) includes discussions:write.
+	Footer               *string  `yaml:"footer,omitempty"`              // Controls whether AI-generated footer is added. When false, visible footer is omitted but XML markers are kept.
 }
 
 // buildCreateOutputAddCommentJob creates the add_comment job
@@ -162,6 +163,10 @@ func (c *Compiler) parseCommentsConfig(outputMap map[string]any) *AddCommentsCon
 		addCommentLog.Printf("Invalid hide-older-comments value: %v", err)
 		return nil
 	}
+	if err := preprocessBoolFieldAsString(configData, "footer", addCommentLog); err != nil {
+		addCommentLog.Printf("Invalid footer value: %v", err)
+		return nil
+	}
 
 	// Pre-process templatable int fields
 	if err := preprocessIntFieldAsString(configData, "max", addCommentLog); err != nil {

pkg/workflow/compiler_safe_outputs_config.go

@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ var handlerRegistry = map[string]handlerBuilder{
 			AddIfNotEmpty("target-repo", c.TargetRepoSlug).
 			AddStringSlice("allowed_repos", c.AllowedRepos).
 			AddIfNotEmpty("github-token", c.GitHubToken).
+			AddTemplatableBool("footer", getEffectiveFooterForTemplatable(c.Footer, cfg.Footer)).
 			Build()
 	},
 	"create_discussion": func(cfg *SafeOutputsConfig) map[string]any {

pkg/workflow/safe_outputs_footer_test.go

@@ -26,13 +26,71 @@ func TestFooterConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, "false", *config.CreateIssues.Footer)
 }
 
+func TestAddCommentFooterConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("footer: false on add-comment", func(t *testing.T) {
+		compiler := NewCompiler()
+		frontmatter := map[string]any{
+			"name": "Test",
+			"safe-outputs": map[string]any{
+				"add-comment": map[string]any{"footer": false},
+			},
+		}
+		config := compiler.extractSafeOutputsConfig(frontmatter)
+		require.NotNil(t, config)
+		require.NotNil(t, config.AddComments)
+		require.NotNil(t, config.AddComments.Footer)
+		assert.Equal(t, "false", *config.AddComments.Footer, "add-comment footer should be false")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("global footer: false propagates to add-comment", func(t *testing.T) {
+		compiler := NewCompiler()
+		frontmatter := map[string]any{
+			"name": "Test",
+			"safe-outputs": map[string]any{
+				"footer":      false,
+				"add-comment": map[string]any{},
+			},
+		}
+		config := compiler.extractSafeOutputsConfig(frontmatter)
+		require.NotNil(t, config)
+		require.NotNil(t, config.Footer)
+		assert.False(t, *config.Footer, "Global footer should be false")
+
+		workflowData := &WorkflowData{
+			Name:        "Test",
+			SafeOutputs: config,
+		}
+		var steps []string
+		compiler.addHandlerManagerConfigEnvVar(&steps, workflowData)
+
+		for _, step := range steps {
+			if strings.Contains(step, "GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_HANDLER_CONFIG") {
+				parts := strings.Split(step, "GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_HANDLER_CONFIG: ")
+				if len(parts) == 2 {
+					jsonStr := strings.TrimSpace(parts[1])
+					jsonStr = strings.Trim(jsonStr, "\"")
+					jsonStr = strings.ReplaceAll(jsonStr, "\\\"", "\"")
+					var handlerConfig map[string]any
+					err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(jsonStr), &handlerConfig)
+					require.NoError(t, err)
+
+					addCommentConfig, ok := handlerConfig["add_comment"].(map[string]any)
+					require.True(t, ok, "add_comment handler config should exist")
+					assert.Equal(t, false, addCommentConfig["footer"], "add_comment should inherit global footer: false")
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	})
+}
+
 func TestGlobalFooterConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("global footer: false applies to all handlers", func(t *testing.T) {
 		compiler := NewCompiler()
 		frontmatter := map[string]any{
 			"name": "Test",
 			"safe-outputs": map[string]any{
 				"footer":              false, // Global footer control
+				"add-comment":         map[string]any{},
 				"create-issue":        map[string]any{"title-prefix": "[test] "},
 				"create-pull-request": nil,
 				"create-discussion":   nil,
@@ -69,6 +127,9 @@ func TestGlobalFooterConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 					require.NoError(t, err)
 
 					// All handlers should have footer: false from global setting
+					addCommentConfig, ok := handlerConfig["add_comment"].(map[string]any)
+					require.True(t, ok, "add_comment handler config should exist in global footer test")
+					assert.Equal(t, false, addCommentConfig["footer"], "add_comment should inherit global footer: false")
 					if issueConfig, ok := handlerConfig["create_issue"].(map[string]any); ok {
 						assert.Equal(t, false, issueConfig["footer"], "create_issue should inherit global footer: false")
 					}