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Review and update GitHub agentic workflows instruction files#4414

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pelikhan merged 2 commits intomainfrom
copilot/update-github-workflows-instructions
Nov 20, 2025
Merged

Review and update GitHub agentic workflows instruction files#4414
pelikhan merged 2 commits intomainfrom
copilot/update-github-workflows-instructions

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Copilot AI commented Nov 20, 2025

Review and Update GitHub Agentic Workflows Instruction Files

Objective: Update the .github/instructions/github-agentic-workflows.instructions.md file to align with the current state of documentation, main frontmatter schema, and existing workflows.

Analysis Findings

Missing Schema Fields in Instruction File:

  • tracker-id - Optional identifier to tag all created assets
  • secret-masking - Configuration for secret redaction behavior
  • runtimes - Runtime environment version overrides
  • jobs - Groups together all the jobs in the workflow
  • timeout_minutes - Deprecated field (hyphenated version is preferred)
  • githubActionsStep - Internal type definition (not user-facing)
  • imports - Documented elsewhere but should be in main schema section
  • mcp-servers - Documented elsewhere but should be in main schema section

Documentation Sources:

  • Main schema: /home/runner/work/gh-aw/gh-aw/pkg/parser/schemas/main_workflow_schema.json
  • Full reference doc: /home/runner/work/gh-aw/gh-aw/docs/src/content/docs/reference/frontmatter-full.md
  • Frontmatter doc: /home/runner/work/gh-aw/gh-aw/docs/src/content/docs/reference/frontmatter.md
  • Current instruction file: /home/runner/work/gh-aw/gh-aw/.github/instructions/github-agentic-workflows.instructions.md

Changes Made

Added to Agentic Workflow Specific Fields section:

  1. tracker-id - Optional identifier for tagging created assets

    • Must be 8+ characters (alphanumeric, hyphens, underscores)
    • Inserted in body/description of all assets
    • Examples: "workflow-2024-q1", "team-alpha-bot"
  2. secret-masking - Configuration for secret redaction

    • Custom redaction steps for masking secrets in generated files
    • Includes example with sed command
  3. runtimes - Runtime environment version overrides

    • Customize Node.js, Python, or other runtime versions
    • Properties: version, action-repo, action-version
    • Includes Node.js and Python configuration examples
  4. jobs - Standard GitHub Actions jobs configuration

    • For advanced multi-job workflows
    • Most agentic workflows auto-generate jobs
  5. imports - Brief reference with link to detailed section

    • Format and usage overview
    • Note about agent files under .github/agents/
  6. mcp-servers - Brief reference with link to detailed section

    • Custom MCP server definitions

All additions are aligned with the main JSON schema and include practical examples.

Validation

  • ✅ Project builds successfully
  • ✅ All unit tests pass
  • ✅ gh-aw CLI functions correctly
  • ✅ No breaking changes introduced

The instruction file now comprehensively documents all user-facing frontmatter fields from the schema, providing AI agents and developers with complete reference material for working with GitHub Agentic Workflows.

Original prompt

Review and update GitHub agentic workflows instruction files with respect to the current state of documentation and the main front matter schema as well as the existing workflows.


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@pelikhan
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@copilot continue work

- Added tracker-id field documentation with examples
- Added secret-masking field with custom redaction steps example
- Added runtimes field with Node.js and Python examples
- Added jobs field for advanced multi-job workflows
- Added brief references to imports and mcp-servers fields
- All fields aligned with main_workflow_schema.json

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>
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Copilot AI commented Nov 20, 2025

@copilot continue work

Completed updating the GitHub agentic workflows instruction file. Added all missing schema fields with documentation and examples in commit 8860d59:

  • tracker-id - Optional identifier for tagging assets (8+ char requirement, examples included)
  • secret-masking - Secret redaction configuration with custom step example
  • runtimes - Runtime version overrides (Node.js, Python examples)
  • jobs - Standard GitHub Actions jobs for advanced workflows
  • imports and mcp-servers - Brief references added with links to detailed sections

All fields are aligned with the main JSON schema and include practical examples. Build and tests pass successfully.

Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Review and update GitHub agentic workflows instruction files Review and update GitHub agentic workflows instruction files Nov 20, 2025
@pelikhan pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review November 20, 2025 19:11
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings November 20, 2025 19:11
@pelikhan pelikhan merged commit 17c6be4 into main Nov 20, 2025
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@pelikhan pelikhan deleted the copilot/update-github-workflows-instructions branch November 20, 2025 19:11
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Pull Request Overview

This PR updates the GitHub Agentic Workflows instruction files to comprehensively document all user-facing frontmatter fields from the main JSON schema. The changes ensure that AI agents and developers have complete reference material for working with agentic workflows.

  • Added documentation for six previously undocumented schema fields: tracker-id, secret-masking, runtimes, jobs, imports, and mcp-servers
  • Aligned documentation with the authoritative main workflow schema (main_workflow_schema.json)
  • Included practical examples for each new field to help users understand their usage

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

File Description
.github/instructions/github-agentic-workflows.instructions.md Added comprehensive documentation for tracker-id, secret-masking, runtimes, jobs, imports, and mcp-servers fields with examples and usage guidance
pkg/cli/templates/github-agentic-workflows.instructions.md Applied identical updates to the template version to maintain consistency across instruction files

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@@ -71,6 +71,64 @@ The YAML frontmatter supports these fields:
- Available roles: `admin`, `maintainer`, `write`, `read`, `all`
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The roles field documentation lists read as an available role, but according to the main workflow schema (pkg/parser/schemas/main_workflow_schema.json lines 3203-3204), the valid roles are: ["admin", "maintainer", "maintain", "write", "triage"].

The documentation should be updated to reflect the correct available roles. Note that maintain is an alternative to maintainer, and triage is included but read is not.

Suggested change
- Available roles: `admin`, `maintainer`, `write`, `read`, `all`
- Available roles: `admin`, `maintainer`, `maintain`, `write`, `triage`, `all`
- `maintain` is an alternative spelling for `maintainer`
- `triage` is also supported
- `read` is **not** a valid role

Copilot uses AI. Check for mistakes.
@@ -71,6 +71,64 @@ The YAML frontmatter supports these fields:
- Available roles: `admin`, `maintainer`, `write`, `read`, `all`
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Copilot AI Nov 20, 2025

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The roles field documentation lists read as an available role, but according to the main workflow schema (pkg/parser/schemas/main_workflow_schema.json lines 3203-3204), the valid roles are: ["admin", "maintainer", "maintain", "write", "triage"].

The documentation should be updated to reflect the correct available roles. Note that maintain is an alternative to maintainer, and triage is included but read is not.

Suggested change
- Available roles: `admin`, `maintainer`, `write`, `read`, `all`
- Available roles: `admin`, `maintainer`, `maintain` (alias for `maintainer`), `write`, `triage`

Copilot uses AI. Check for mistakes.
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3 participants