Add --codespaces flag to init command for devcontainer generation with additional repository support

[Copilot]

Add --codespaces flag to init command for devcontainer generation with additional repository support

Summary

Adds --codespaces flag to gh aw init for generating devcontainer.json configured for agentic workflows in GitHub Codespaces.

Changes

• New flag: gh aw init --codespaces creates .devcontainer/gh-aw/devcontainer.json (in subfolder to avoid conflicts with existing devcontainer configurations)
• Flexible syntax: Flag supports three usage patterns:
  • --codespaces - Current repo only (no value needed)
  • --codespaces repo - Current repo + single additional repo
  • --codespaces repo,repo2 - Current repo + comma-separated list of additional repos
• Simplified syntax: Owner is automatically extracted from git remote and prepended to repository names
• Backward compatible: Full owner/repo format supported, but owner must match current repo's organization
• Validation: Returns error if specified owner doesn't match current repo's owner
• Configuration: Universal image with proper permissions following GitHub Codespaces documentation
  • Current repo: actions:write, contents:write, discussions:read, issues:read, pull-requests:write, workflows:write
  • Additional repos: actions:read, contents:read, discussions:read, issues:read, pull-requests:read, workflows:read
  • Note: Permissions can only be set for repositories in the same organization
• Setup: postCreateCommand installs gh-aw CLI and @github/copilot globally
• Extensions: Preconfigures GitHub.copilot and GitHub.copilot-chat VSCode extensions
• Build integration: Added to Makefile recompile target to automatically generate devcontainer during build process

Implementation

• pkg/cli/devcontainer.go: Core logic for devcontainer.json generation with support for additional repositories, includes documentation references, automatic owner extraction from git remote, and owner validation
• pkg/cli/init_command.go: String flag with NoOptDefVal for optional value support
• pkg/cli/init.go: Integration into InitRepository flow with codespaceEnabled boolean
• Makefile: Uses --codespaces in recompile target to generate devcontainer during build
• Tests cover idempotency, permission configuration, extension setup, additional repository handling, owner validation, and all usage patterns
• File location: .devcontainer/gh-aw/devcontainer.json to prevent overriding existing devcontainer configurations

Usage

# Basic usage - creates devcontainer with current repo only
gh aw init --codespaces

# With single additional repository (owner automatically prepended from git remote)
gh aw init --codespaces repo1

# With multiple repositories (comma-separated)
gh aw init --codespaces repo1,repo2

# Backward compatible: full owner/repo format works if owner matches
gh aw init --codespaces myorg/repo1,myorg/repo2

# Validation: Error if owner doesn't match
gh aw init --codespaces otherorg/repo1  # Error: not in same organization

Build Integration

The make recompile target now includes the --codespaces flag:

recompile: sync-templates build
	./$(BINARY_NAME) init --codespaces
	./$(BINARY_NAME) compile --validate --verbose --purge

This ensures that .devcontainer/gh-aw/devcontainer.json is automatically created during the build process with permissions configured for the current repository.

Generated devcontainer.json

Location: .devcontainer/gh-aw/devcontainer.json

{
  "name": "Agentic Workflows Development",
  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/universal:latest",
  "customizations": {
    "codespaces": {
      "repositories": {
        "myorg/myrepo": { 
          "permissions": { 
            "actions": "write",
            "contents": "write",
            "discussions": "read",
            "issues": "read",
            "pull-requests": "write",
            "workflows": "write" 
          } 
        },
        "myorg/repo1": { 
          "permissions": { 
            "actions": "read",
            "contents": "read",
            "discussions": "read",
            "issues": "read",
            "pull-requests": "read",
            "workflows": "read"
          } 
        },
        "myorg/repo2": { 
          "permissions": { 
            "actions": "read",
            "contents": "read",
            "discussions": "read",
            "issues": "read",
            "pull-requests": "read",
            "workflows": "read"
          } 
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "postCreateCommand": "curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/githubnext/gh-aw/refs/heads/main/install-gh-aw.sh | bash && npm install -g @github/copilot"
}

Permissions Reference

Permissions are configured according to GitHub Codespaces documentation:

• Current repository: Receives standard codespace write access (actions:write, contents:write, pull-requests:write) plus workflows:write to enable triggering GitHub Actions, plus read access for issues and discussions
• Additional repositories: Receive standard codespace read access for all configured permissions (actions, contents, discussions, issues, pull-requests, workflows)
• Note: Repository permissions can only be set for repositories in the same organization as the codespace repository. The command validates this constraint and returns an error if violated.

Original prompt

Add a "--codespace" flag to "init" command that creates a custom devcontainer.json file for agentic workflows in the project.

• uses universal image
• configures permissions to allow workflows: write so that actions can be triggers
• read access to githubnext/gh-aw releases
• pre install "gh aw" extension cli
• pre install @github/copilot

---

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

[pelikhan]

@copilot the codespaces flag takes a list of additional repository specs for which read permissions will be given

[pelikhan]

@copilot the permissions for the current repo should be : all the default codespaces permissions + workspace: write

[Copilot]

@copilot the codespaces flag takes a list of additional repository specs for which read permissions will be given

Updated! The --codespace flag now accepts a comma-separated list of repository specs for read access. Usage: gh aw init --codespace owner/repo1,owner/repo2. All specified repositories will receive contents: read permissions in the generated devcontainer.json. Commit: 2d20e01

[pelikhan]

@copilot the other repos should have default codespace permissions but readonly + workflow read

[Copilot]

@copilot the permissions for the current repo should be : all the default codespaces permissions + workspace: write

Updated! The current repository now receives default Codespaces permissions (contents:write, pull-requests:write) plus workflows:write. Previously it only had workflows:write. Commit: ce22062

[Copilot]

@copilot the other repos should have default codespace permissions but readonly + workflow read

Updated! Additional repositories now receive default Codespaces read permissions (contents:read, pull-requests:read) plus workflows:read. Previously they only had contents:read. Commit: 3cb6f9b

[pelikhan]

@copilot the command must create a devcontainer.json ina non-default location (subfolder) so that it does not override any existing devcontainer.json

[Copilot]

@copilot the command must create a devcontainer.json ina non-default location (subfolder) so that it does not override any existing devcontainer.json

Updated! The devcontainer.json is now created at .devcontainer/gh-aw/devcontainer.json instead of .devcontainer/devcontainer.json. This subfolder approach prevents overriding any existing devcontainer configurations. Verified with tests that show the original devcontainer.json is preserved when present. Commit: c6339fa

[pelikhan]

@copilot also give actions:write to current repo

[Copilot]

@copilot also give actions:write to current repo

Added! Current repository now has actions:write permission. Full permissions for current repo: actions:write, contents:write, discussions:read, issues:read, pull-requests:write, workflows:write. Commit: 0fdc94d

[pelikhan]

@copilot if the user gives an org, validate it is the same org as the current repo

# Backward compatible: full owner/repo format still works
gh aw init --codespaces owner/repo1,owner/repo2

[Copilot]

@copilot if the user gives an org, validate it is the same org as the current repo

...

Added validation! When using full owner/repo format, the command now validates that the owner matches the current repository's owner. Returns error: repository 'otherorg/repo1' is not in the same organization as the current repository (expected owner: 'myorg') if validation fails. Added test coverage. Commit: 7edb484

[pelikhan]

@copilot add the --codespace flag on the init command that gets run as part of the project build.

[Copilot]

@copilot add the --codespace flag on the init command that gets run as part of the project build.

Added! The make recompile target now includes --codespaces , flag, which creates .devcontainer/gh-aw/devcontainer.json with permissions configured for the current repository during the build process. The comma syntax triggers devcontainer creation with no additional repositories beyond the current one. Commit: e100cdd

[pelikhan]

@copilot add support for no argument with --codespaces which means "current repo only"

[Copilot]

Implemented! The --codespaces flag now supports being used without arguments for current repo only. Use --codespaces= (with equals sign but no value) to create devcontainer with just the current repository. The Makefile has been updated to use this syntax. Commit: b217ad1

[pelikhan]

@copilot Flag syntax should be:

--codespaces
--codespaces repo
--codespaces repo,repo2

[Copilot]

@copilot Flag syntax should be:

--codespaces...

Updated! The flag now supports all three syntax patterns:

• --codespaces (current repo only)
• --codespaces repo (space-separated, single repo)
• --codespaces repo,repo2 (comma-separated list)

The Makefile now uses --codespaces instead of --codespaces=. All tests passing. Commit: 873d0ee