feat: append slash command run-again hint to generated footer when applicable (#35337)

Author: Copilot

actions/setup/js/messages.test.cjs

@@ -456,6 +456,88 @@ describe("messages.cjs", () => {
 
       expect(result).toBe("> Custom: [Test Workflow](https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123) · gpt55 5K");
     });
+
+    it("should append slash command hint when slashCommand is provided", async () => {
+      const { getFooterMessage } = await import("./messages.cjs");
+
+      const result = getFooterMessage({
+        workflowName: "Test Workflow",
+        runUrl: "https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123",
+        slashCommand: "review-bot",
+      });
+
+      expect(result).toBe("> Generated by [Test Workflow](https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123)\n> <sub>Comment <em>/review-bot</em> to run again</sub>");
+    });
+
+    it("should not append slash command hint when slashCommand is not provided", async () => {
+      const { getFooterMessage } = await import("./messages.cjs");
+
+      const result = getFooterMessage({
+        workflowName: "Test Workflow",
+        runUrl: "https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123",
+      });
+
+      expect(result).not.toContain("<sub>");
+      expect(result).not.toContain("<em>");
+    });
+
+    it("should include slash command hint after tokens and history link", async () => {
+      process.env.GH_AW_EFFECTIVE_TOKENS = "5000";
+      const historyUrl = "https://github.com/search?q=repo:test";
+
+      const { getFooterMessage } = await import("./messages.cjs");
+
+      const result = getFooterMessage({
+        workflowName: "Test Workflow",
+        runUrl: "https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123",
+        historyUrl,
+        slashCommand: "deploy",
+      });
+
+      expect(result).toBe(`> Generated by [Test Workflow](https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123) · 5K · [◷](${historyUrl})\n> <sub>Comment <em>/deploy</em> to run again</sub>`);
+    });
+
+    it("should NOT include slash command hint in custom footer templates", async () => {
+      process.env.GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUT_MESSAGES = JSON.stringify({
+        footer: "> Custom: [{workflow_name}]({run_url})",
+      });
+
+      const { getFooterMessage } = await import("./messages.cjs");
+
+      const result = getFooterMessage({
+        workflowName: "Test Workflow",
+        runUrl: "https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123",
+        slashCommand: "review-bot",
+      });
+
+      expect(result).toBe("> Custom: [Test Workflow](https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123)");
+      expect(result).not.toContain("<sub>");
+    });
+
+    it("should use slashCommandPlaceholder as hint text when provided", async () => {
+      const { getFooterMessage } = await import("./messages.cjs");
+
+      const result = getFooterMessage({
+        workflowName: "Test Workflow",
+        runUrl: "https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123",
+        slashCommand: "review-bot",
+        slashCommandPlaceholder: "to review this PR",
+      });
+
+      expect(result).toBe("> Generated by [Test Workflow](https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123)\n> <sub>Comment <em>/review-bot</em> to review this PR</sub>");
+    });
+
+    it("should fall back to 'to run again' when slashCommandPlaceholder is not provided", async () => {
+      const { getFooterMessage } = await import("./messages.cjs");
+
+      const result = getFooterMessage({
+        workflowName: "Test Workflow",
+        runUrl: "https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123",
+        slashCommand: "review-bot",
+      });
+
+      expect(result).toContain("to run again");
+    });
   });
 
   describe("getFooterInstallMessage", () => {
@@ -576,6 +658,57 @@ describe("messages.cjs", () => {
       delete process.env.GH_AW_ENGINE_VERSION;
       delete process.env.GH_AW_ENGINE_MODEL;
     });
+
+    it("should include slash command hint when GH_AW_COMMANDS is set", async () => {
+      process.env.GH_AW_COMMANDS = JSON.stringify(["review-bot"]);
+
+      const { generateFooterWithMessages } = await import("./messages.cjs");
+
+      const result = generateFooterWithMessages("Test Workflow", "https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123", "", "", undefined, undefined, undefined);
+
+      expect(result).toContain("<sub>Comment <em>/review-bot</em> to run again</sub>");
+
+      delete process.env.GH_AW_COMMANDS;
+    });
+
+    it("should not include slash command hint when GH_AW_COMMANDS is not set", async () => {
+      delete process.env.GH_AW_COMMANDS;
+
+      const { generateFooterWithMessages } = await import("./messages.cjs");
+
+      const result = generateFooterWithMessages("Test Workflow", "https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123", "", "", undefined, undefined, undefined);
+
+      expect(result).not.toContain("<sub>");
+      expect(result).not.toContain("<em>");
+    });
+
+    it("should use first command from GH_AW_COMMANDS when multiple commands are configured", async () => {
+      process.env.GH_AW_COMMANDS = JSON.stringify(["deploy", "analyze"]);
+
+      const { generateFooterWithMessages } = await import("./messages.cjs");
+
+      const result = generateFooterWithMessages("Test Workflow", "https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123", "", "", undefined, undefined, undefined);
+
+      expect(result).toContain("<sub>Comment <em>/deploy</em> to run again</sub>");
+      expect(result).not.toContain("/analyze");
+
+      delete process.env.GH_AW_COMMANDS;
+    });
+
+    it("should use GH_AW_COMMAND_PLACEHOLDER as hint text when set", async () => {
+      process.env.GH_AW_COMMANDS = JSON.stringify(["review-bot"]);
+      process.env.GH_AW_COMMAND_PLACEHOLDER = "to analyze this PR";
+
+      const { generateFooterWithMessages } = await import("./messages.cjs");
+
+      const result = generateFooterWithMessages("Test Workflow", "https://github.com/test/repo/actions/runs/123", "", "", undefined, undefined, undefined);
+
+      expect(result).toContain("<sub>Comment <em>/review-bot</em> to analyze this PR</sub>");
+      expect(result).not.toContain("to run again");
+
+      delete process.env.GH_AW_COMMANDS;
+      delete process.env.GH_AW_COMMAND_PLACEHOLDER;
+    });
   });
 
   describe("generateXMLMarker", () => {

actions/setup/js/messages_footer.cjs

@@ -73,6 +73,8 @@ function buildModelPrefix(modelName) {
  * @property {number} [effectiveTokens] - Total effective token count for the run (shown as N when > 0, in compact format)
  * @property {string} [model] - Model name used for the run, used to build a compact model identifier in ET suffixes
  * @property {string} [emoji] - Optional emoji representing the workflow (from frontmatter)
+ * @property {string} [slashCommand] - Slash command name (without leading slash) for the run-again hint, when applicable
+ * @property {string} [slashCommandPlaceholder] - Custom hint text appended after the command name (replaces default "to run again")
  */
 
 /**
@@ -135,6 +137,11 @@ function getFooterMessage(ctx) {
   if (ctx.historyUrl) {
     defaultFooter += " · [◷]({history_url})";
   }
+  // Append slash command hint when applicable (workflow has a slash command trigger)
+  if (ctx.slashCommand) {
+    const hintText = ctx.slashCommandPlaceholder || "to run again";
+    defaultFooter += `\n> <sub>Comment <em>/{slash_command}</em> ${hintText}</sub>`;
+  }
   return renderTemplate(defaultFooter, templateContext);
 }
 
@@ -422,6 +429,27 @@ function generateFooterWithMessages(workflowName, runUrl, workflowSource, workfl
   // Read workflow emoji from environment variable if available.
   const emoji = process.env.GH_AW_WORKFLOW_EMOJI || undefined;
 
+  // Read slash command from GH_AW_COMMANDS (JSON array) when available.
+  // Use the first command as the hint. This is only set when the workflow has a slash command trigger.
+  let slashCommand;
+  const commandsJSON = process.env.GH_AW_COMMANDS;
+  if (commandsJSON) {
+    try {
+      const commands = JSON.parse(commandsJSON);
+      if (Array.isArray(commands) && commands.length > 0 && typeof commands[0] === "string") {
+        slashCommand = commands[0];
+      }
+    } catch {
+      // Silently ignore malformed GH_AW_COMMANDS; the hint is a non-critical enhancement
+      // and omitting it is always safe. The value is compiler-generated JSON, so this
+      // path should not occur in practice.
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Read optional footer hint placeholder from GH_AW_COMMAND_PLACEHOLDER.
+  // When set, it replaces the default "to run again" suffix in the slash command hint.
+  const slashCommandPlaceholder = process.env.GH_AW_COMMAND_PLACEHOLDER;
+
   const ctx = {
     workflowName,
     runUrl,
@@ -431,6 +459,8 @@ function generateFooterWithMessages(workflowName, runUrl, workflowSource, workfl
     historyUrl: historyUrl || undefined,
     effectiveTokens,
     emoji,
+    slashCommand,
+    slashCommandPlaceholder,
   };
 
   const { skipDetectionCaution = false } = options || {};

pkg/workflow/compiler_orchestrator_workflow.go

@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ func (c *Compiler) extractAdditionalConfigurations(
 	workflowData.RepoMemoryConfig = repoMemoryConfig
 
 	// Extract and process mcp-scripts and safe-outputs
-	workflowData.Command, workflowData.CommandEvents, workflowData.CommandCentralized = c.extractCommandConfig(frontmatter)
+	workflowData.Command, workflowData.CommandEvents, workflowData.CommandCentralized, workflowData.CommandPlaceholder = c.extractCommandConfig(frontmatter)
 	workflowData.LabelCommand, workflowData.LabelCommandEvents, workflowData.LabelCommandDecentralized, workflowData.LabelCommandRemoveLabel = c.extractLabelCommandConfig(frontmatter)
 	workflowData.Jobs = c.extractJobsFromFrontmatter(frontmatter)
 

pkg/workflow/compiler_pre_activation_job.go

@@ -229,6 +229,9 @@ func (c *Compiler) buildPreActivationJob(data *WorkflowData, needsPermissionChec
 		// Pass commands as JSON array
 		commandsJSON, _ := json.Marshal(data.Command)
 		steps = append(steps, fmt.Sprintf("          GH_AW_COMMANDS: %q\n", string(commandsJSON)))
+		if data.CommandPlaceholder != "" {
+			steps = append(steps, fmt.Sprintf("          GH_AW_COMMAND_PLACEHOLDER: %q\n", data.CommandPlaceholder))
+		}
 		steps = append(steps, "        with:\n")
 		steps = append(steps, "          script: |\n")
 		steps = append(steps, generateGitHubScriptWithRequire("check_command_position.cjs"))

pkg/workflow/compiler_safe_outputs_job.go

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package workflow
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
@@ -670,6 +671,16 @@ func (c *Compiler) buildJobLevelSafeOutputEnvVars(data *WorkflowData, workflowID
 	// An empty/missing value is handled gracefully by getEffectiveTokensFromEnv() in messages_footer.cjs.
 	envVars["GH_AW_EFFECTIVE_TOKENS"] = fmt.Sprintf("${{ needs.%s.outputs.effective_tokens }}", constants.AgentJobName)
 
+	// Add slash command metadata so safe output handlers can render run-again footer hints.
+	if len(data.Command) > 0 {
+		if commandsJSON, err := json.Marshal(data.Command); err == nil {
+			envVars["GH_AW_COMMANDS"] = fmt.Sprintf("%q", string(commandsJSON))
+		}
+		if data.CommandPlaceholder != "" {
+			envVars["GH_AW_COMMAND_PLACEHOLDER"] = fmt.Sprintf("%q", data.CommandPlaceholder)
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Add safe output job environment variables (staged/target repo)
 	if data.SafeOutputs != nil && (c.trialMode || data.SafeOutputs.Staged) {
 		envVars["GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_STAGED"] = "\"true\""

pkg/workflow/compiler_safe_outputs_job_test.go

@@ -437,6 +437,21 @@ func TestBuildJobLevelSafeOutputEnvVars(t *testing.T) {
 			workflowID:    "test-workflow",
 			checkContains: true,
 		},
+		{
+			name: "with slash command and placeholder",
+			workflowData: &WorkflowData{
+				Name:               "Test Workflow",
+				Command:            []string{"review-bot"},
+				CommandPlaceholder: "to review this PR",
+				SafeOutputs:        &SafeOutputsConfig{},
+			},
+			workflowID: "test-workflow",
+			expectedVars: map[string]string{
+				"GH_AW_COMMANDS":            `"[\"review-bot\"]"`,
+				"GH_AW_COMMAND_PLACEHOLDER": `"to review this PR"`,
+			},
+			checkContains: true,
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tt := range tests {

pkg/workflow/compiler_safe_outputs_test.go

@@ -417,7 +417,7 @@ func TestCompilerMergeSafeJobsFromIncludedConfigs(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestExtractCommandConfig_CentralizedStrategy(t *testing.T) {
 	c := &Compiler{}
-	names, events, centralized := c.extractCommandConfig(map[string]any{
+	names, events, centralized, placeholder := c.extractCommandConfig(map[string]any{
 		"on": map[string]any{
 			"slash_command": map[string]any{
 				"name":     "deploy",
@@ -430,6 +430,24 @@ func TestExtractCommandConfig_CentralizedStrategy(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, []string{"deploy"}, names)
 	assert.Equal(t, []string{"issue_comment"}, events)
 	assert.True(t, centralized)
+	assert.Empty(t, placeholder)
+}
+
+func TestExtractCommandConfig_Placeholder(t *testing.T) {
+	c := &Compiler{}
+	names, events, centralized, placeholder := c.extractCommandConfig(map[string]any{
+		"on": map[string]any{
+			"slash_command": map[string]any{
+				"name":        "review-bot",
+				"placeholder": "to review this PR",
+			},
+		},
+	})
+
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"review-bot"}, names)
+	assert.Nil(t, events)
+	assert.False(t, centralized)
+	assert.Equal(t, "to review this PR", placeholder)
 }
 
 // TestApplyDefaultTools tests default tool application logic

pkg/workflow/compiler_types.go

@@ -503,6 +503,7 @@ type WorkflowData struct {
 	Command                        []string                        // for /command trigger support - multiple command names
 	CommandEvents                  []string                        // events where command should be active (nil = all events)
 	CommandCentralized             bool                            // when true, slash_command uses centralized dispatch routing via workflow_dispatch
+	CommandPlaceholder             string                          // optional footer hint text from slash_command.placeholder
 	CommandOtherEvents             map[string]any                  // for merging command with other events
 	LabelCommand                   []string                        // for label-command trigger support - label names that act as commands
 	LabelCommandEvents             []string                        // events where label-command should be active (nil = all: issues, pull_request, discussion)

pkg/workflow/compiler_yaml.go

@@ -972,6 +972,9 @@ func (c *Compiler) generateOutputCollectionStep(yaml *strings.Builder, data *Wor
 		if commandsJSON, err := json.Marshal(data.Command); err == nil {
 			fmt.Fprintf(yaml, "          GH_AW_COMMANDS: %q\n", string(commandsJSON))
 		}
+		if data.CommandPlaceholder != "" {
+			fmt.Fprintf(yaml, "          GH_AW_COMMAND_PLACEHOLDER: %q\n", data.CommandPlaceholder)
+		}
 	}
 
 	yaml.WriteString("        with:\n")

pkg/workflow/frontmatter_extraction_yaml.go

@@ -982,8 +982,8 @@ func (c *Compiler) extractExpressionFromIfString(ifString string) string {
 }
 
 // extractCommandConfig extracts command configuration from frontmatter including name, events,
-// and centralized routing strategy for slash_command.
-func (c *Compiler) extractCommandConfig(frontmatter map[string]any) (commandNames []string, commandEvents []string, commandCentralized bool) {
+// centralized routing strategy, and optional footer placeholder for slash_command.
+func (c *Compiler) extractCommandConfig(frontmatter map[string]any) (commandNames []string, commandEvents []string, commandCentralized bool, commandPlaceholder string) {
 	frontmatterLog.Print("Extracting command configuration from frontmatter")
 	// Check new format: on.slash_command or on.slash_command.name (preferred)
 	// Also check legacy format: on.command or on.command.name (deprecated)
@@ -1015,13 +1015,14 @@ func (c *Compiler) extractCommandConfig(frontmatter map[string]any) (commandName
 				// Check if command is a string (shorthand format)
 				if commandStr, ok := commandValue.(string); ok {
 					frontmatterLog.Printf("Extracted command name (shorthand): %s", commandStr)
-					return []string{commandStr}, nil, false // nil means default (all events)
+					return []string{commandStr}, nil, false, "" // nil means default (all events)
 				}
 				// Check if command is a map with a name key (object format)
 				if commandMap, ok := commandValue.(map[string]any); ok {
 					var names []string
 					var events []string
 					centralized := false
+					placeholder := ""
 
 					if nameValue, hasName := commandMap["name"]; hasName {
 						// Handle string or array of strings
@@ -1047,14 +1048,23 @@ func (c *Compiler) extractCommandConfig(frontmatter map[string]any) (commandName
 						}
 					}
 
-					frontmatterLog.Printf("Extracted command config: names=%v, events=%v, centralized=%v", names, events, centralized)
-					return names, events, centralized
+					// Extract optional placeholder for footer hint text
+					if placeholderRaw, hasPlaceholder := commandMap["placeholder"]; hasPlaceholder {
+						if placeholderStr, ok := placeholderRaw.(string); ok {
+							if trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(placeholderStr); trimmed != "" {
+								placeholder = trimmed
+							}
+						}
+					}
+
+					frontmatterLog.Printf("Extracted command config: names=%v, events=%v, centralized=%v, placeholder=%q", names, events, centralized, placeholder)
+					return names, events, centralized, placeholder
 				}
 			}
 		}
 	}
 
-	return nil, nil, false
+	return nil, nil, false, ""
 }
 
 // extractLabelCommandConfig extracts the label-command configuration from frontmatter