Add "action" mode for github/gh-aw-actions external actions repo by Copilot · Pull Request #20776 · github/gh-aw

Copilot · 2026-03-13T06:16:19Z

Adds a new action pin mode that references github/gh-aw-actions/setup and github/gh-aw-actions/setup-cli at the same release version — a separate repository from the existing release mode which SHA-pins within github/gh-aw.

Changes

action_mode.go: New ActionModeAction = "action" constant, IsAction() predicate, IsValid() updated
action_reference.go: New GitHubActionsOrgRepo = "github/gh-aw-actions" constant; ResolveSetupActionReference() handles action mode with SHA pinning via resolver (falls back to version-tag if unavailable); new convertToExternalActionsRef() converts any local ./actions/<name> path to a SHA-pinned github/gh-aw-actions/<name>@<sha> # <version> reference when possible, falling back to github/gh-aw-actions/<name>@<version> gracefully
maintenance_workflow.go: generateInstallCLISteps() uses github/gh-aw-actions/setup-cli@<version> in action mode
copilot_setup.go:
- getActionRef() attempts SHA resolution for github/gh-aw-actions/setup-cli in action mode (falls back to version-tag)
- generateCopilotSetupStepsYAML() uses a single shared template for both release and action modes, varying only the action repo path
- renderCopilotSetupUpdateInstructions() correctly shows action-mode instructions
- ensureCopilotSetupStepsWithUpgrade() creates a SHA resolver for both release and action modes
- upgradeSetupCliVersionInContent() handles action mode upgrades using github/gh-aw-actions/setup-cli; setupCliUsesPattern updated to match both github/gh-aw/actions/setup-cli and github/gh-aw-actions/setup-cli
compile_compiler_setup.go: Validation error updated to list 'action' as a valid option

Behavior at a glance

Mode	`setup` reference	SHA pinned	Checkout needed
`dev`	`./actions/setup` (local)	✗	✓
`release`	`github/gh-aw/actions/setup@<sha> # <version>`	✓	✗
`action`	`github/gh-aw-actions/setup@<sha> # <version>` (or `@<version>` if SHA unavailable)	if possible	✗

Usage:

gh aw compile --action-mode action workflow.md

Original prompt

Add a new action pin mode "action" that resolves to using the github/gh-aw-actions/setup (and setup-cli) custom actions (same release number)

📱 Kick off Copilot coding agent tasks wherever you are with GitHub Mobile, available on iOS and Android.

✨ PR Review Safe Output Test - Run 23051296351

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Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

…n-mode

pelikhan · 2026-03-13T12:37:46Z

@copilot the "action" mode should also sha pin if possible.

pelikhan · 2026-03-13T12:38:46Z

pkg/cli/copilot_setup.go

 	// Determine the action reference - use SHA-pinned or version tag in release mode, @main in dev mode
 	actionRef := getActionRef(actionMode, version, resolver)

+	if actionMode.IsAction() {


@copilot reuse the same template, just update the action being used. See line 73

Done in cb0eb57. generateCopilotSetupStepsYAML now uses a single template for both release and action modes — only the action repo path (github/gh-aw/actions/setup-cli vs github/gh-aw-actions/setup-cli) differs. Also fixed renderCopilotSetupUpdateInstructions which was incorrectly falling through to the curl command for action mode.

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-03-13T12:48:29Z

@copilot the "action" mode should also sha pin if possible.

Done in f7e5821. Action mode now attempts SHA pinning via the resolver (same as release mode):

ResolveSetupActionReference(): tries resolver.ResolveSHA("github/gh-aw-actions/setup", tag) — falls back to version-tag if unavailable
convertToExternalActionsRef(): tries GetActionPinWithData for all action paths in the external repo — falls back to version-tag gracefully (never returns empty on pin failure)
getActionRef() in copilot_setup.go: tries resolver.ResolveSHA("github/gh-aw-actions/setup-cli", version) — falls back to version-tag

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

https://api.github.com/repos/github/gh-aw-actions/git/ref/tags/v1.0.0
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw-actions/git/ref/tags/v1.0.0 --jq .object.sha (http block)
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw-actions/git/ref/tags/v1.0.0 --jq .object.sha -json GO111MODULE 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go env -json GO111MODULE 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE node (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/github/gh-aw-actions/git/ref/tags/v1.2.3
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw-actions/git/ref/tags/v1.2.3 --jq .object.sha pare.go mat.go (http block)
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw-actions/git/ref/tags/v1.2.3 --jq .object.sha INVALID,NEW -j DROP GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE o fix."; \ exitGO111MODULE env -json GO111MODULE 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE node (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v1.0.0
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v1.0.0 --jq .object.sha (http block)
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v1.0.0 --jq .object.sha 0 -j ACCEPT GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go env -json GO111MODULE 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE node (http block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

pelikhan · 2026-03-13T12:51:47Z

@copilot also add support for codepath that adds the setup-cli action (same logic)

…ease and action modes Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-03-13T13:04:04Z

@copilot also add support for codepath that adds the setup-cli action (same logic)

Done in 4f1fb1b. Changes to the upgrade codepath:

ensureCopilotSetupStepsWithUpgrade: SHA resolver is now created for both IsRelease() and IsAction() modes
setupCliUsesPattern: Updated regex now matches both github/gh-aw/actions/setup-cli and github/gh-aw-actions/setup-cli
upgradeSetupCliVersionInContent: Now handles action mode (previously bailed out for non-release), using github/gh-aw-actions/setup-cli as the action repo path

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds a new action pin mode that references custom actions from the github/gh-aw-actions external repository instead of the existing github/gh-aw/actions/ path, with SHA pinning when possible and graceful fallback to version tags.

Changes:

New ActionModeAction constant with IsAction() predicate and updated validation across action_mode.go, compile_compiler_setup.go
action_reference.go and copilot_setup.go updated to resolve setup/setup-cli references to github/gh-aw-actions/ repo with SHA pinning support
maintenance_workflow.go generates install steps using the external actions repo in action mode

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
`pkg/workflow/action_mode.go`	Adds `ActionModeAction` constant, `IsAction()` method, updates `IsValid()`
`pkg/workflow/action_reference.go`	Adds `GitHubActionsOrgRepo` constant, action mode handling in `ResolveSetupActionReference` and new `convertToExternalActionsRef`
`pkg/workflow/maintenance_workflow.go`	Action mode branch in `generateInstallCLISteps`
`pkg/cli/copilot_setup.go`	Action mode support in `getActionRef`, YAML generation, upgrade logic, and regex pattern
`pkg/cli/compile_compiler_setup.go`	Updated error message to include `'action'`
`pkg/workflow/compiler_custom_actions_test.go`	Tests for action mode validation, compilation, and reference resolution

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pkg/cli/copilot_setup.go

 // and quoted refs produced by some YAML marshalers (e.g. "...@sha # vX.Y.Z").
 var setupCliUsesPattern = regexp.MustCompile(
-	`(?m)^(\s+uses:[ \t]*)"?(github/gh-aw/actions/setup-cli@[^"\n]*)"?([ \t]*)$`)
+	`(?m)^(\s+uses:[ \t]*)"?(github/gh-aw(?:-actions)?/(?:actions/)?setup-cli@[^"\n]*)"?([ \t]*)$`)


Initial plan

4c5dd1c

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and pelikhan Mar 13, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan March 13, 2026 06:16 View session

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits March 13, 2026 06:21

Initial plan: add ActionModeAction for gh-aw-actions repo

6cc7b31

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Add ActionModeAction for github/gh-aw-actions repository

4cefa26

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Add new action pin mode for github actions~~ Add "action" mode for github/gh-aw-actions external actions repo Mar 13, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan March 13, 2026 06:37

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan March 13, 2026 06:37

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into copilot/add-action-pi…

89101ca

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Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan March 13, 2026 12:37 View session

pelikhan reviewed Mar 13, 2026

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github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Mar 13, 2026

Smoke Test: Claude - 23050937333 #20783

Closed

Add SHA pinning support for action mode (github/gh-aw-actions)

f7e5821

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan March 13, 2026 12:49

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan March 13, 2026 12:49

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan March 13, 2026 12:49 View session

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Mar 13, 2026

Smoke Test: Claude - 23051296351 #20786

Closed

Refactor generateCopilotSetupStepsYAML to use single template for rel…

cb0eb57

…ease and action modes Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan March 13, 2026 12:56

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan March 13, 2026 12:56 View session

Add action mode support to setup-cli upgrade codepath

4f1fb1b

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan March 13, 2026 13:05

pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review March 13, 2026 13:06

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 13, 2026 13:06

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of pelikhan March 13, 2026 13:07 View session

pelikhan approved these changes Mar 13, 2026

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pelikhan merged commit 2794315 into main Mar 13, 2026
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Copilot AI reviewed Mar 13, 2026

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pelikhan deleted the copilot/add-action-pin-mode branch March 13, 2026 13:08

This was referenced Mar 13, 2026

[docs] Update documentation for features from 2026-03-13 #20812

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[aw] No-Op Runs #20284

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Add "action" mode for github/gh-aw-actions external actions repo#20776

Add "action" mode for github/gh-aw-actions external actions repo#20776
pelikhan merged 7 commits intomainfrom
copilot/add-action-pin-mode

Copilot AI commented Mar 13, 2026 •

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Copilot AI commented Mar 13, 2026 •

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Copilot AI commented Mar 13, 2026 •

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