Annotations with both startLine and endLine reported as only on endLine in PR’s Files tab

[jtojnar]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

Body

The issue previously reported in https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/129899 still exists. When I add something like the following to my workflow:

      - run: |
          echo '::error file=src/controllers/Items/Sync.php,line=55,endLine=60::test foo'

I see the following annotation in the Files tab on a PR:

Note that it says “on line R60” rather than “on lines R55–R60”.

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[whoismehfooz]

Hi,

The workflow command in the example uses line=55,endLine=60, not startLine=55,endLine=60.

Could you try using startLine explicitly and see whether the annotation displays the full range?

- run: |
    echo "::error file=src/controllers/Items/Sync.php,startLine=55,endLine=60::test foo"

If it still shows only the end line, this may be a limitation or bug in how the Files tab renders multi-line annotations.

I hope this helps!

[jtojnar]

According to docs, line is correct. And either way

      echo '::error file=src/controllers/Items/Sync.php,startLine=55,endLine=60::test foo'

has the same result of only the endLine being mentioned.

[whoismehfooz]

Thanks for confirming! That makes sense. So the documented line parameter is correct, but both line=55,endLine=60 and startLine=55,endLine=60 currently produce the same result in the PR Files tab.

It looks like the issue is with how multi-line annotations are rendered rather than the workflow syntax. Hopefully GitHub can improve this behavior in a future update.

[jtojnar]

It is not clear from the behaviour if this is an issue of rendering or something lower in the stack. And just for completeness, the same result occurs when only endLine is set:

  echo '::error file=src/controllers/Items/Sync.php,endLine=60::test foo'

I am opening this discussion in hope that GitHub will notice it and fix it.

[jtojnar]

@amasen02

This is an intentional design choice in GitHub's PR diff renderer: Multi-line annotations in the PR "Files changed" tab are anchored to the bottom of the code span (endLine / right side line R60). This ensures the comment box renders cleanly below the full block of code rather than breaking up the lines above it.

Review comments can be attached to multiple lines and they are displayed below the range just fine, and the heading then reads “Comment on lines R55 to R60” as expected.

The card's title pill reflects the DOM anchor line (R60), while the full line range (R55 through R60) receives the subtle red error highlight band across the diff margin.

That is not true for me. The only difference is the presence of the annotation box.

If you open the Checks tab (or the workflow run details view), GitHub renders the annotation with its formal range: Lines 55–60.

That does not seem to be the case. The workflow run summary just shows `src/controllers/Items/Sync.php#L55` (at least it is a start line here).