|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: 'Agentic Workflows' |
| 3 | +description: 'Learn what GitHub Agentic Workflows are, how to use community workflows from Awesome Copilot, and how to contribute your own.' |
| 4 | +authors: |
| 5 | + - GitHub Copilot Learning Hub Team |
| 6 | +lastUpdated: 2026-02-27 |
| 7 | +estimatedReadingTime: '7 minutes' |
| 8 | +tags: |
| 9 | + - workflows |
| 10 | + - automation |
| 11 | + - github-actions |
| 12 | + - fundamentals |
| 13 | +relatedArticles: |
| 14 | + - ./automating-with-hooks.md |
| 15 | + - ./using-copilot-coding-agent.md |
| 16 | +prerequisites: |
| 17 | + - Basic understanding of GitHub Actions |
| 18 | + - Basic understanding of GitHub Copilot |
| 19 | +--- |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +Agentic Workflows are AI-powered repository automations that run coding agents in GitHub Actions. Written in markdown with natural language instructions, they let you automate tasks like issue triage, daily reports, and compliance checks — triggered by schedules, events, or slash commands. |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +This article covers what agentic workflows are, how to install and use workflows from the Awesome Copilot community, and how to contribute your own. |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +## What Are Agentic Workflows? |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +An agentic workflow is a markdown file that combines YAML frontmatter (triggers, permissions, safe outputs) with natural language instructions that a coding agent follows at runtime. The markdown file is the source: you use the `gh aw` CLI to compile it into a `.lock.yml` workflow file, and GitHub Actions runs that compiled workflow to execute a Copilot coding agent that follows the instructions autonomously. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +**Key characteristics**: |
| 30 | +- Defined in a single `.md` file — no YAML actions syntax required |
| 31 | +- Triggered by schedules, repository events, or slash commands |
| 32 | +- Run inside GitHub Actions with the Copilot coding agent |
| 33 | +- Use least-privilege permissions and safe outputs for security |
| 34 | +- Compiled to `.lock.yml` files via the `gh aw` CLI |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +### Anatomy of a Workflow File |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +```markdown |
| 39 | +--- |
| 40 | +name: "Daily Issues Report" |
| 41 | +description: "Generates a daily summary of open issues" |
| 42 | +on: |
| 43 | + schedule: daily on weekdays |
| 44 | +permissions: |
| 45 | + contents: read |
| 46 | + issues: read |
| 47 | +safe-outputs: |
| 48 | + create-issue: |
| 49 | + title-prefix: "[daily-report] " |
| 50 | + labels: [report] |
| 51 | +--- |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +## Daily Issues Report |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +Create a daily summary of open issues for the team. |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +## What to Include |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | +- New issues opened in the last 24 hours |
| 60 | +- Issues closed or resolved |
| 61 | +- Stale issues that need attention |
| 62 | +``` |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +The **frontmatter** declares the workflow's triggers, permissions, and safe outputs. The **body** contains the natural language instructions the agent follows. |
| 65 | + |
| 66 | +### When to Use Agentic Workflows |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +| Use Case | Example | |
| 69 | +|----------|---------| |
| 70 | +| Scheduled reports | Daily issue summaries, weekly org health checks | |
| 71 | +| Event-driven automation | Triage new issues, check PR relevance | |
| 72 | +| Slash commands | `/relevance-check` on an issue or PR | |
| 73 | +| Compliance checks | License audits, release readiness reviews | |
| 74 | +| Repository maintenance | Identify stale repos, track contributor activity | |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | +Agentic Workflows are ideal when you need **autonomous, event-driven automation** that goes beyond what static GitHub Actions can do — tasks that require reasoning, summarization, or context-aware decisions. |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +## Using Workflows from Awesome Copilot |
| 79 | + |
| 80 | +The [Awesome Copilot workflows page](../../workflows/) hosts a growing collection of community-contributed workflows. Here's how to install and use them. |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | +### Prerequisites |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +Install the `gh aw` CLI extension: |
| 85 | + |
| 86 | +```bash |
| 87 | +gh extension install github/gh-aw |
| 88 | +``` |
| 89 | + |
| 90 | +### Installing a Workflow |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +1. **Browse** the [workflows collection](../../workflows/) and find one that fits your needs |
| 93 | +2. **Copy** the workflow `.md` file into your repository's `.github/workflows/` directory |
| 94 | +3. **Compile** the workflow to generate the Actions lock file: |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | +```bash |
| 97 | +gh aw compile |
| 98 | +``` |
| 99 | + |
| 100 | +4. **Commit** both the `.md` source and the generated `.lock.yml` file: |
| 101 | + |
| 102 | +```bash |
| 103 | +git add .github/workflows/daily-issues-report.md |
| 104 | +git add .github/workflows/daily-issues-report.lock.yml |
| 105 | +git commit -m "Add daily issues report workflow" |
| 106 | +``` |
| 107 | + |
| 108 | +### Running a Workflow |
| 109 | + |
| 110 | +Workflows run automatically based on their configured triggers. You can also: |
| 111 | + |
| 112 | +- **Trigger manually**: `gh aw run <workflow>` |
| 113 | +- **Monitor runs**: `gh aw status` and `gh aw logs` |
| 114 | +- **Validate locally**: `gh aw compile --validate --no-emit <workflow>.md` |
| 115 | + |
| 116 | +### Customizing a Workflow |
| 117 | + |
| 118 | +Since workflows are plain markdown, customizing them is straightforward: |
| 119 | + |
| 120 | +- **Edit the instructions** in the body to adjust what the agent does |
| 121 | +- **Change triggers** in the `on:` frontmatter to control when it runs |
| 122 | +- **Adjust permissions** to match your repository's needs |
| 123 | +- **Modify safe outputs** to control what the agent can create or update |
| 124 | + |
| 125 | +After editing, recompile with `gh aw compile` to regenerate the lock file. |
| 126 | + |
| 127 | +## Contributing Workflows |
| 128 | + |
| 129 | +Sharing your workflows with the community helps others automate their repositories. Here's how to contribute. |
| 130 | + |
| 131 | +### Step 1: Create the Workflow File |
| 132 | + |
| 133 | +Create a new `.md` file in the `workflows/` directory of the [Awesome Copilot repository](https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot). Use a descriptive, lowercase, hyphenated filename: |
| 134 | + |
| 135 | +``` |
| 136 | +workflows/my-new-workflow.md |
| 137 | +``` |
| 138 | + |
| 139 | +### Step 2: Add Frontmatter |
| 140 | + |
| 141 | +Include the required frontmatter fields: |
| 142 | + |
| 143 | +```yaml |
| 144 | +--- |
| 145 | +name: "My New Workflow" |
| 146 | +description: "A clear description of what this workflow does" |
| 147 | +on: |
| 148 | + schedule: daily |
| 149 | +permissions: |
| 150 | + contents: read |
| 151 | +safe-outputs: |
| 152 | + create-issue: |
| 153 | + title-prefix: "[my-workflow] " |
| 154 | + labels: [automated] |
| 155 | +--- |
| 156 | +``` |
| 157 | + |
| 158 | +**Required fields**: |
| 159 | +- `name` — human-readable workflow name |
| 160 | +- `description` — concise summary of the workflow's purpose |
| 161 | + |
| 162 | +**Workflow fields**: |
| 163 | +- `on` — trigger configuration (schedules, events, slash commands) |
| 164 | +- `permissions` — GitHub API scopes (use least-privilege) |
| 165 | +- `safe-outputs` — guardrails for what the agent can create or modify |
| 166 | + |
| 167 | +### Step 3: Write Clear Instructions |
| 168 | + |
| 169 | +The body of the file contains the natural language instructions the agent follows. Be specific and structured: |
| 170 | + |
| 171 | +```markdown |
| 172 | +## Task Overview |
| 173 | + |
| 174 | +Describe the main goal clearly. |
| 175 | + |
| 176 | +## Steps |
| 177 | + |
| 178 | +1. First, gather the relevant data |
| 179 | +2. Then, analyze and summarize |
| 180 | +3. Finally, create the output (issue, comment, etc.) |
| 181 | + |
| 182 | +## Output Format |
| 183 | + |
| 184 | +Describe the expected format of the result. |
| 185 | +``` |
| 186 | + |
| 187 | +### Step 4: Validate and Test |
| 188 | + |
| 189 | +```bash |
| 190 | +# Validate the workflow compiles correctly |
| 191 | +gh aw compile --validate --no-emit workflows/my-new-workflow.md |
| 192 | +``` |
| 193 | + |
| 194 | +### Step 5: Submit Your Contribution |
| 195 | + |
| 196 | +1. Fork the repository and create a new branch |
| 197 | +2. Add your workflow `.md` file to the `workflows/` directory |
| 198 | +3. Run `npm run build` to update the README |
| 199 | +4. Submit a pull request targeting the `staged` branch |
| 200 | + |
| 201 | +> **Important:** Only submit the `.md` source file. Do not include compiled `.lock.yml` or `.yml` files — CI will block them. |
| 202 | +
|
| 203 | +### Workflow Contribution Guidelines |
| 204 | + |
| 205 | +- **Security first** — use least-privilege permissions and safe outputs instead of direct write access |
| 206 | +- **Clear instructions** — write specific, unambiguous natural language in the workflow body |
| 207 | +- **Descriptive names** — use lowercase filenames with hyphens (e.g., `daily-issues-report.md`) |
| 208 | +- **Test locally** — validate with `gh aw compile --validate` before submitting |
| 209 | +- **Document the purpose** — the `description` field should make it clear what the workflow does and when to use it |
| 210 | + |
| 211 | +## Learn More |
| 212 | + |
| 213 | +- **Official documentation**: [GitHub Agentic Workflows](https://gh.io/gh-aw) — full specification and reference |
| 214 | +- **Browse workflows**: [Awesome Copilot Workflows](../../workflows/) — community-contributed collection |
| 215 | +- **Contributing guide**: [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#adding-agentic-workflows) — detailed contribution guidelines |
| 216 | +- **Related**: [Automating with Hooks](../automating-with-hooks/) — deterministic automation for Copilot agent sessions |
| 217 | +- **Related**: [Using the Copilot Coding Agent](../using-copilot-coding-agent/) — the agent that powers agentic workflows |
| 218 | + |
| 219 | +--- |
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