From 2007acc9ec0b391573b752b825facd11821c848c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "copilot-swe-agent[bot]" <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2026 04:41:00 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Initial plan


From 3e8c561e3559764013cdea31c934b97b021036e9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "copilot-swe-agent[bot]" <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2026 04:47:12 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] docs: strengthen skip-if-match guidance for scheduled
 issue-creating workflows

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/sessions/125c4a56-30b2-49be-8ade-e163c076698d

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 .github/aw/create-agentic-workflow.md  | 10 ++++++++++
 .github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md | 14 ++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 24 insertions(+)

diff --git a/.github/aw/create-agentic-workflow.md b/.github/aw/create-agentic-workflow.md
index 3efb3829729..8b9b2327732 100644
--- a/.github/aw/create-agentic-workflow.md
+++ b/.github/aw/create-agentic-workflow.md
@@ -828,6 +828,16 @@ Based on the parsed requirements, determine:
    - **No action needed** → `safe-outputs: noop:` - **IMPORTANT**: When the agent successfully completes but determines nothing needs to be done, use `noop` to signal completion. This is critical for transparency—it shows the agent worked AND that no output was necessary.
    - **Daily reporting workflows** (creates issues/discussions): Add `close-older-issues: true` or `close-older-discussions: true` to prevent clutter
    - **Daily improver workflows** (creates PRs): Add `skip-if-match:` with a filter to avoid opening duplicate PRs (e.g., `'is:pr is:open in:title "[workflow-name]"'`)
+   - **Scheduled workflows that create issues**: Add `skip-if-match:` to avoid creating duplicate issues on every run. Pair with `expires:` so resolved issues are cleaned up automatically. Example:
+     ```yaml
+     on:
+       skip-if-match: 'is:issue is:open in:title "[workflow-name]"'
+     safe-outputs:
+       create-issue:
+         title-prefix: "[workflow-name] "
+         expires: 7   # auto-close after 7 days
+     ```
+     Without `skip-if-match`, a scheduled workflow that creates issues will open a new issue on every run even if an identical issue is already open.
    - **New workflows** (when creating, not updating): Consider enabling `missing-tool: create-issue: true` to automatically track missing tools as GitHub issues that expire after 1 week
 5. **Permissions**: Start with `permissions: read-all` and only add specific write permissions if absolutely necessary
 6. **Repository Access Roles**: Consider who should be able to trigger the workflow:
diff --git a/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md b/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md
index 3187d51d602..905b323617a 100644
--- a/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md
+++ b/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md
@@ -610,6 +610,20 @@ The YAML frontmatter supports these fields:
     **Auto-Expiration**: The `expires` field auto-closes issues after a time period. Supports integers (days) or relative formats (2h, 7d, 2w, 1m, 1y). Generates `agentics-maintenance.yml` workflow that runs at minimum required frequency based on shortest expiration time: 1 day or less → every 2 hours, 2 days → every 6 hours, 3-4 days → every 12 hours, 5+ days → daily.
     When using `safe-outputs.create-issue`, the main job does **not** need `issues: write` permission since issue creation is handled by a separate job with appropriate permissions.
 
+    **Deduplication for Scheduled Workflows**: When a `schedule:` trigger is combined with `create-issue`, use `skip-if-match:` in the `on:` block to prevent opening a duplicate issue on every run. Pair with `expires:` so stale issues are cleaned up automatically:
+
+    ```yaml
+    on:
+      schedule: daily on weekdays
+      skip-if-match: 'is:issue is:open in:title "[my-workflow] "'
+    safe-outputs:
+      create-issue:
+        title-prefix: "[my-workflow] "
+        expires: 7   # auto-close after 7 days
+    ```
+
+    Without `skip-if-match`, the workflow creates a new issue on every scheduled run even when an identical open issue already exists.
+
     **Temporary IDs and Sub-Issues:**
     When creating multiple issues, use `temporary_id` (format: `aw_` + 3-8 alphanumeric chars) to reference parent issues before creation. References like `#aw_abc123` in issue bodies are automatically replaced with actual issue numbers. Use the `parent` field to create sub-issue relationships: