Fix create-agentic-workflow agent prompting patterns #6999

Copilot · 2025-12-19T19:32:49Z

Fix create-agentic-workflow agent prompting patterns

✅ All Requirements Implemented

1. Workflow .md file location in .github/workflows folder

Status: Already present, verified in multiple locations (lines 33, 225, 283, 330-331)
Enhancement: Added explicit instruction in prompt.md to always create workflows in .github/workflows/ folder

2. Do not recommend GitHub remote mode

Status: Already present with clear warning at line 198
Enhancement: Added same warning to prompt.md for consistency

3. Use fuzzy schedule syntax for daily/weekly schedules

Status: ✅ FIXED
Changes: Updated from cron: daily to schedule: daily, added schedule: weekly support
Impact: Clearer syntax, better scheduling documentation, removed unnecessary weekend caveats

4. Copilot is the default, do not add to template

Status: ✅ FIXED
Changes: Removed engine: copilot from example templates, updated guidance text
Impact: Cleaner templates, explicit instruction not to include default engine

5. Add close-older-issue/discussion flag for daily reporting workflows

Status: ✅ FIXED
Changes: Added guidance in "Safe Outputs" section and security best practices
Impact: Prevents clutter from daily reports by auto-closing older items

6. Use skip-if-match for daily improver workflows that create PRs

Status: ✅ FIXED
Changes: Added guidance with example filter pattern in "Safe Outputs" section
Impact: Prevents duplicate PR creation from scheduled workflows

7. Always add workflow_dispatch trigger

Status: ✅ FIXED
Changes: Updated all trigger examples, added explicit "ALWAYS include" instruction
Impact: All workflows can be manually triggered for testing/debugging

Files Modified

.github/agents/create-agentic-workflow.agent.md
pkg/cli/templates/create-agentic-workflow.agent.md
~~pkg/cli/templates/create-agentic-workflow.prompt.md~~ (deleted - duplicate file)

Testing & Verification

✅ Build succeeded: make build
✅ Unit tests passed: make test-unit
✅ No breaking changes
✅ Templates properly synced

Additional Improvements

Enhanced GitHub tool documentation to show read-only best practices
Clarified safe-outputs usage vs direct GitHub tool mutations
Improved scheduling documentation with weekly schedule support
Made workflow_dispatch more prominent in all examples
Removed duplicate .prompt.md file per feedback

Original prompt

Fix prompting issues in the create-agentic-workflow custom custom agent.md:

the agentic workflow .md file should ALWAYS be in .github/workflows folder

do not recommend GitHub remote

for daily, weekly schedules, use fuzzy schedule syntax:

schedule: daily

copilot is the default, do not add to template

if a workflow is a form of daily reporting, add the close-older-issue/discussion: true flag

if a workflow is a daily improver that creates a pull request, use skip-if-match with a filter to avoid opening 2 PRs at the same time

always add workflow_dispatch

💡 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.

- Update scheduling guidance to use fuzzy schedule syntax: schedule: daily/weekly - Remove recommendation for GitHub remote mode (already present) - Remove engine: copilot from templates (it's the default) - Add guidance to always include workflow_dispatch trigger - Add guidance for close-older-issues/discussions flag for daily reporting workflows - Add guidance for skip-if-match filter for daily improver workflows that create PRs - Update GitHub tool examples to show read-only operations with safe-outputs for writes Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

pelikhan · 2025-12-19T19:44:43Z

pkg/cli/templates/create-agentic-workflow.prompt.md

   - What should trigger the workflow (`on:` — e.g., issues, pull requests, schedule, slash command)?
   - What should the agent do (comment, triage, create PR, fetch API data, etc.)?
   - ⚠️ If you think the task requires **network access beyond localhost**, explicitly ask about configuring the top-level `network:` allowlist (ecosystems like `node`, `python`, `playwright`, or specific domains).
   - 💡 If you detect the task requires **browser automation**, suggest the **`playwright`** tool.


@copilot delete this file, it is a duplicate of the .agent.md file.

Done. Deleted the duplicate file in d6b7fc5.

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:48:09Z

🎉 Yo ho ho! Smoke Copilot Safe Inputs found the treasure and completed successfully! ⚓💰

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:48:11Z

✨ The prophecy is fulfilled... Smoke Codex has completed its mystical journey. The stars align. 🌟

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:48:11Z

🤖 DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE: Smoke Copilot No Firewall STATUS: ALL_UNITS_OPERATIONAL. MISSION_SUCCESS.

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:48:13Z

✅ Firewall validation complete... Smoke Codex Firewall confirmed network sandboxing is operational. 🛡️

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:48:13Z

🎉 Yo ho ho! Changeset Generator found the treasure and completed successfully! ⚓💰

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:48:14Z

🎬 THE END — Smoke Claude MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED! The hero saves the day! ✨

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:48:14Z

📰 VERDICT: Smoke Copilot has concluded. All systems operational. This is a developing story. 🎤

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:50:30Z

Smoke Test Results

Last 2 Merged PRs:

Fix workflow issue form to generate .md and .lock.yml files like campaign generator #6993: Fix workflow issue form to generate .md and .lock.yml files like campaign generator
Update CLI tools: Claude Code 2.0.73, Copilot 0.0.371, Codex 0.75.0, GitHub MCP Server v0.26.3 #6965: Update CLI tools: Claude Code 2.0.73, Copilot 0.0.371, Codex 0.75.0, GitHub MCP Server v0.26.3

Test Results:

✅ GitHub MCP - Retrieved PR data successfully
✅ File Writing - Created test file at /tmp/gh-aw/agent/smoke-test-copilot-20380827743.txt
✅ Bash Tool - Read file back successfully
✅ Playwright MCP - Navigated to github.com, verified title contains "GitHub"
❌ Safe Input gh Tool - Skipped (workflow completed with other tests)

Status: PASS (4/4 core tests)

🤖 DIAGNOSTIC REPORT GENERATED BY Smoke Copilot No Firewall fer issue #6999 🗺️

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:50:37Z

Smoke Test Results (Claude Sonnet 4.5)

Last 2 merged PRs:

Document CLI version changes: Codex 0.74.0+ and GitHub MCP Server v0.26.0+ #6994: Document CLI version changes
Document already-resolved secrets command test coverage #6990: Document already-resolved secrets test

Tests:
✅ GitHub MCP (list PRs)
✅ File writing (/tmp/gh-aw/agent)
✅ Bash verification
✅ Playwright navigation (GitHub homepage loaded)
✅ Cache memory write (/tmp/gh-aw/cache-memory)
❌ Safe Input gh tool (not available)

Status: PASS (5/6 tests passed)

💥 [THE END] — Illustrated by Smoke Claude fer issue #6999 🗺️

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:50:37Z

Smoke Test Results for Copilot Engine

Last 2 Merged PRs:

Document CLI version changes: Codex 0.74.0+ and GitHub MCP Server v0.26.0+ #6994: Document CLI version changes: Codex 0.74.0+ and GitHub MCP Server v0.26.0+
Document already-resolved secrets command test coverage #6990: Document already-resolved secrets command test coverage

Test Results:

✅ GitHub MCP (read PRs)
✅ File Writing (/tmp/gh-aw/agent/)
✅ Bash Tool
✅ GitHub MCP Default Toolset (get_me correctly fails - not in default toolsets)
✅ Cache Memory (/tmp/gh-aw/cache-memory/)

Overall: PASS

cc @pelikhan

📰 BREAKING: Report filed by Smoke Copilot fer issue #6999 🗺️

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:50:41Z

Recent merged PRs: Document CLI version changes: Codex 0.74.0+ and GitHub MCP Server v0.26.0+; [WIP] Fix markdown lint issues and inconsistencies
OpenAI domain access: ❌ (DNS blocked in sandbox)
GitHub MCP list merged PRs: ✅
File write/read /tmp/gh-aw/agent/smoke-test-codex-firewall-20380827747.txt: ✅
Blocked domain (example.com) blocked: ✅
Network: SANDBOXED
Overall: FAIL

🔥 Firewall tested by Smoke Codex Firewall fer issue #6999 🗺️

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:50:49Z

Smoke Test Results

Last 2 Merged PRs: Unable to retrieve (GitHub MCP not configured)
File Creation: ✅ Created /tmp/gh-aw/agent/smoke-test-copilot-20380827723.txt
Bash Tool: ✅ Verified file contents successfully
Serena MCP: ❌ Not configured/accessible
safeinputs-gh: ❌ Tool not available in this context

Overall Status: PARTIAL PASS (3/5 tests passed)

Ahoy! This treasure was crafted by 🏴‍☠️ Smoke Copilot Safe Inputs fer issue #6999 🗺️

github-actions · 2025-12-19T19:51:16Z

Smoke test results:

Last merged PRs: Fix workflow issue form to generate .md and .lock.yml files like campaign generator #6993 “Fix workflow issue form to generate .md and .lock.yml files like campaign generator”; Update CLI tools: Claude Code 2.0.73, Copilot 0.0.371, Codex 0.75.0, GitHub MCP Server v0.26.3 #6965 “Update CLI tools: Claude Code 2.0.73, Copilot 0.0.371, Codex 0.75.0, GitHub MCP Server v0.26.3”
✅ GitHub MCP PR fetch
✅ File write/read /tmp/gh-aw/agent
✅ Playwright title contains “GitHub”
✅ Cache memory file write/read
❌ safeinputs-gh (tool not available here)
Overall: FAIL

🔮 The oracle has spoken through Smoke Codex fer issue #6999 🗺️

The .prompt.md file is a duplicate of .agent.md and is not used anywhere in the codebase. Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Initial plan

2f5a379

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and pelikhan Dec 19, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan December 19, 2025 19:33 View session

pelikhan reviewed Dec 19, 2025

View reviewed changes

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Fix prompting issues in create-agentic-workflow~~ Fix create-agentic-workflow agent prompting patterns Dec 19, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan December 19, 2025 19:47

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan December 19, 2025 19:47

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan December 19, 2025 19:47 View session

pelikhan added the smoke label Dec 19, 2025

github-actions bot added the smoke-copilot-no-firewall label Dec 19, 2025

github-actions bot added smoke-claude smoke-copilot labels Dec 19, 2025

pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review December 19, 2025 19:51

Delete duplicate create-agentic-workflow.prompt.md file

d6b7fc5

The .prompt.md file is a duplicate of .agent.md and is not used anywhere in the codebase. Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan December 19, 2025 19:56

pelikhan merged commit a6bda33 into main Dec 19, 2025
4 checks passed

pelikhan deleted the copilot/fix-agentic-workflow-prompting branch December 19, 2025 19:56

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Dec 19, 2025

Integrate AWF for Claude engine #6905

Merged

Fix create-agentic-workflow agent prompting patterns #6999

Fix create-agentic-workflow agent prompting patterns #6999

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