Add `on.skip-author-associations` pre-activation gating by `author_association` by Copilot · Pull Request #31836 · github/gh-aw

Copilot · 2026-05-13T01:30:24Z

New Feature

This adds a frontmatter trigger guard for skipping runs by author association on specific events, compiled into a job-level if so matching runs are skipped before pre-activation logic executes.
The feature supports both single-string and array forms per event, using github.event.author_association.

What does this feature do?
- Introduces on.skip-author-associations (event → association list mapping).
- Supports:
  - single string: issue_comment: contributor
  - string array: pull_request_review_comment: [first_time_contributor, none]
- Normalizes configured associations case-insensitively (lower/upper input accepted).
Why is this feature needed?
- Allows policy-level skipping for known low-value event/association combinations without invoking runtime checks.
- Reduces unnecessary run cost by compiling directly into the pre-activation job condition.
Implementation details
- Schema: added on.skip-author-associations with per-event value type string | string[].
- Compiler extraction: parses and normalizes associations to canonical uppercase.
- Job generation: emits pre-activation if terms using github.event_name + github.event.author_association.
- Lock rendering/docs: comments skip-author-associations in rendered on: section; updated frontmatter and maintainer docs.
- Workflow adoption: updated ai-moderator workflow to use the new field.

on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]
  pull_request_review_comment:
    types: [created]
  skip-author-associations:
    issue_comment: contributor
    pull_request_review_comment: [first_time_contributor, none]

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

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds a new frontmatter trigger guard (on.skip-author-associations) that is compiled into a pre-activation job-level if expression to skip runs early based on (event_name, author_association) combinations.

Changes:

Introduces on.skip-author-associations extraction + normalization into WorkflowData.
Emits a job-level pre-activation if guard compiled from configured event → association lists.
Updates schema/docs and adopts the feature in the ai-moderator workflow; adds unit tests.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
pkg/workflow/skip_author_associations_test.go	Adds tests for extraction and lockfile compilation output.
pkg/workflow/role_checks.go	Extracts/normalizes `on.skip-author-associations` from frontmatter.
pkg/workflow/frontmatter_extraction_yaml.go	Attempts to comment out `skip-author-associations` in rendered `on:` YAML.
pkg/workflow/compiler_types.go	Adds `SkipAuthorAssociations` to `WorkflowData`.
pkg/workflow/compiler_pre_activation_job.go	Builds skip-author-associations condition and combines it into the pre-activation job `if`.
pkg/workflow/compiler_orchestrator_workflow.go	Wires extraction into workflow compilation.
pkg/workflow/compiler_jobs.go	Ensures pre-activation job is generated when skip-author-associations is configured.
pkg/parser/schemas/main_workflow_schema.json	Adds schema for `on.skip-author-associations`.
docs/src/content/docs/reference/frontmatter.md	Documents the new frontmatter field.
docs/src/content/docs/guides/maintaining-repos.md	Adds maintainer guidance for association-based early skipping.
.github/workflows/ai-moderator.md	Adopts `skip-author-associations` in the source workflow frontmatter.
.github/workflows/ai-moderator.lock.yml	Updates generated lock workflow output (currently invalid YAML per stored comment).

Copilot's findings

Tip

Add Copilot custom instructions for smarter, more guided reviews. Learn how to get started.

Files reviewed: 12/12 changed files
Comments generated: 7

+		associationIsSkipped := BuildFunctionCall(
+			"contains",
+			BuildFunctionCall("fromJSON", BuildStringLiteral(string(associationJSON))),
+			BuildPropertyAccess("github.event.author_association"),
+		)


+		// Check if we're entering skip-author-associations object
+		if !inPullRequest && !inIssues && !inDiscussion && !inIssueComment && !inSkipAuthorAssociations {
+			if strings.HasPrefix(trimmedLine, "skip-author-associations:") && trimmedLine == "skip-author-associations:" {
+				inSkipAuthorAssociations = true
+			}
+		}


+    issue_comment:
+    - owner
+    - member
+    - collaborator
+    issues:
+    - owner
+    - member
+    - collaborator
+    pull_request:
+    - owner
+    - member
+    - collaborator


+	assert.Contains(t, preActivationSection, "github.event.author_association")
+	assert.Contains(t, preActivationSection, "github.event_name == 'issue_comment'")
+	assert.Contains(t, preActivationSection, "github.event_name == 'pull_request_review_comment'")
+	assert.Contains(t, preActivationSection, "CONTRIBUTOR")
+	assert.Contains(t, preActivationSection, "FIRST_TIME_CONTRIBUTOR")
+	assert.Contains(t, preActivationSection, "NONE")
+	assert.Contains(t, preActivationSection, "!(")
+	assert.Contains(t, preActivationSection, "||")
+	assert.Contains(t, preActivationSection, "&&")
+
+	assert.Contains(t, lockContentStr, "# skip-author-associations:")
+	assert.NotContains(t, lockContentStr, "skip-author-association:")


+### Skip Author Associations (`on.skip-author-associations`)
+
+Skip workflow execution at the pre-activation job level when a specific event is triggered by an author with a matching `github.event.author_association`.
+
+```yaml wrap
+on:
+  issue_comment:
+    types: [created]
+  pull_request_review_comment:
+    types: [created]
+  skip-author-associations:
+    issue_comment: contributor
+    pull_request_review_comment: [first_time_contributor, none]
+```
+
+**Behavior**:
+
+- Compiles to a job-level `if` expression (no pre-activation script step cost for matched skips)
+- Uses `github.event.author_association`
+- Values are case-insensitive in frontmatter (`contributor` and `CONTRIBUTOR` are treated the same)


+    issue_comment: [owner, member, collaborator]
+```
+
+This compiles into a pre-activation job-level `if` guard (using `github.event.author_association`), so matching runs are skipped before agent execution starts.


            },
+            "skip-author-associations": {
+              "type": "object",
+              "description": "Skip workflow execution when github.event.author_association matches configured associations for specific events. Keys are event names (for example: issue_comment, pull_request_review_comment, issues, pull_request). Values accept a single string or an array of strings. Association values are case-insensitive in frontmatter.",


pelikhan · 2026-05-13T01:50:49Z

@copilot merge main and review all comments and recompile

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

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

Copilot · 2026-05-13T02:06:55Z

@copilot merge main and review all comments and recompile

Done in bcedfc7.

Merged main, addressed the requested review follow-ups (event-specific author_association paths, valid commented skip-author-associations lock rendering, tests/docs/schema updates), and recompiled ai-moderator.lock.yml.

Copilot AI and others added 3 commits May 13, 2026 01:13

WIP: add skip-author-association support

8f5fbc0

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

Add on.skip-author-associations pre-activation skip guard

d925358

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

Refine skip-author-associations behavior and tests

9c7f5a1

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

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and pelikhan May 13, 2026

Copilot AI changed the title ~~Add on.skip-author-associations pre-activation skip condition~~ Add on.skip-author-associations pre-activation gating by author_association May 13, 2026

Copilot created this pull request from a session on behalf of pelikhan May 13, 2026 01:31 View session

Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan May 13, 2026 01:31

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan May 13, 2026 01:31

pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review May 13, 2026 01:39

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 13, 2026 01:39

github-actions Bot mentioned this pull request May 13, 2026

[Contribution Check Report] Contribution Check — 2026-05-13 #31838

Closed

Copilot AI reviewed May 13, 2026

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan May 13, 2026 01:50 View session

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits May 13, 2026 01:55

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into copilot/add-skip-auth…

2ed72d1

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

Fix skip-author-associations event paths and lock rendering

bcedfc7

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

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan May 13, 2026 02:07

pelikhan merged commit e3dce43 into main May 13, 2026

pelikhan deleted the copilot/add-skip-author-association-field branch May 13, 2026 02:08

This was referenced May 13, 2026

[docs] Update glossary - daily scan #31924

Merged

[docs] Update documentation for features from 2026-05-13 #31928

Merged

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

Add `on.skip-author-associations` pre-activation gating by `author_association`#31836

Add `on.skip-author-associations` pre-activation gating by `author_association`#31836
pelikhan merged 5 commits into
mainfrom
copilot/add-skip-author-association-field

Copilot AI commented May 13, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Uh oh!

pelikhan commented May 13, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI commented May 13, 2026

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants

Conversation

Copilot AI commented May 13, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

New Feature

What does this feature do?

Why is this feature needed?

Implementation details

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull request overview

Copilot's findings

Uh oh!

pelikhan commented May 13, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI commented May 13, 2026

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants

Copilot AI commented May 13, 2026 •

edited

Loading