Conversation
…date instructions-janitor Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/sessions/0db7ba68-4bcb-4b40-8d2a-71bed9eda8ff Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot created this pull request from a session on behalf of
pelikhan
May 5, 2026 12:47
View session
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Pull request overview
Splits the large GitHub Agentic Workflows reference into smaller topic-focused docs and updates the instructions-janitor workflow to maintain the expanded .github/aw/ set.
Changes:
- Added focused reference docs for syntax, safe outputs, triggers, and context/template expressions.
- Reduced
github-agentic-workflows.mdto a compact entrypoint with examples, principles, and cross-links. - Expanded
instructions-janitorto audit multiple instruction files, track file sizes, and route updates to the appropriate sub-file.
Show a summary per file
| File | Description |
|---|---|
.github/workflows/instructions-janitor.md |
Broadens the janitor workflow’s scope, file-size policy, and maintenance instructions. |
.github/workflows/instructions-janitor.lock.yml |
Regenerated compiled workflow reflecting the janitor workflow changes. |
.github/aw/triggers.md |
New trigger reference covering events, fuzzy schedules, fork handling, and command-style triggers. |
.github/aw/syntax.md |
New frontmatter/schema reference extracted from the monolithic guide. |
.github/aw/safe-outputs.md |
New safe-outputs reference documenting handler types and global configuration. |
.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md |
Shrinks the main guide into a concise overview and index to sub-files. |
.github/aw/context.md |
New context-expression and template-conditional reference. |
Copilot's findings
Tip
Add Copilot custom instructions for smarter, more guided reviews. Learn how to get started.
- Files reviewed: 6/7 changed files
- Comments generated: 6
|
|
||
| **File size limits for agentic consumption:** | ||
| - **Main file** (`github-agentic-workflows.md`): Hard limit 250 lines. This is auto-loaded for all workflow files — keep it compact. | ||
| - **Sub-files**: Soft limit 500 lines, hard limit 1000 lines. Files approaching the hard limit should be reviewed for split opportunities. |
Comment on lines
+176
to
+183
| - **`ignored-roles:`** - Roles exempt from rate limiting (array, default: `[admin, maintain, write]`). Set to `[]` to apply to all users. | ||
| - Example: | ||
|
|
||
| ```yaml | ||
| rate-limit: | ||
| max: 5 | ||
| window: 60 | ||
| ignored-roles: [admin, maintain] |
| - Example: `bots: [dependabot[bot], renovate[bot], github-actions[bot]]` | ||
| - Bot must be active (installed) on repository to trigger workflow | ||
| - **`strict:`** - Enable enhanced validation for production workflows (boolean, defaults to `true`) | ||
| - Must be `true` |
| ``` | ||
|
|
||
| ### Output Processing Pattern (Recommended) | ||
| Always run `gh aw compile` after modifying frontmatter. Markdown body changes take effect immediately. |
Comment on lines
+64
to
+66
| - `upgrade` — Upgrade gh-aw version and dependencies (opens a PR) | ||
| - `safe_outputs` — Replay safe outputs from a previous run | ||
| - `create_labels` — Create any labels referenced in `safe-outputs` |
|
|
||
| **CI Triggering**: By default, PRs created with `GITHUB_TOKEN` do not trigger CI workflow runs. To trigger CI, set `github-token-for-extra-empty-commit` to a PAT with `Contents: Read & Write` permission, or to `"app"` to use the configured GitHub App. Alternatively, set the magic secret `GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN` to a suitable PAT — this is automatically used without requiring explicit configuration in the workflow. | ||
|
|
||
| When using `output.create-pull-request`, the main job does **not** need `contents: write` or `pull-requests: write` permissions since PR creation is handled by a separate job with appropriate permissions. |
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Summary
Splits the monolithic
github-agentic-workflows.md(2959 lines, ~150KB) into focused sub-files optimized for agentic consumption, and updates the instructions-janitor workflow to maintain all of them.Changes
New files
.github/aw/syntax.md.github/aw/safe-outputs.md.github/aw/triggers.md.github/aw/context.md{{#if}}template conditionalsUpdated files
.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md(2959 → 193 lines)applyTodirective remains so it auto-loads for all workflow files.github/workflows/instructions-janitor.md.github/aw/*.mdfiles, not justgithub-agentic-workflows.mdwc -l .github/aw/*.md) with documented target sizes and split decision criteriasyntax.md, safe-outputs →safe-outputs.md, etc.)cat .github/aw/*.md,wc -l .github/aw/*.md,ls .github/aw/Design Principles
applyTofor workflow editing contexts; sub-files are loaded on demandnetwork.md,memory.md,experiments.md