Add Daily Repository Chronicle workflow (#238)

github-actions[bot] · Copilot · web-flow · commit c3c849b52f10 · 2026-03-06T23:52:14.000Z
Adds a narrative newspaper-style workflow that transforms daily
repository activity into an engaging daily digest.

Co-authored-by: github-actions[bot] &lt;github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com&gt;
Co-authored-by: Copilot &lt;223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com&gt;
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ A sample family of reusable [GitHub Agentic Workflows](https://github.github.com
 - [📊 Weekly Issue Summary](docs/weekly-issue-summary.md) - Weekly issue activity report with trend charts and recommendations
 - [👥 Daily Repo Status](docs/daily-repo-status.md) - Assess repository activity and create status reports
 - [👥 Daily Team Status](docs/daily-team-status.md) - Create upbeat daily team activity summaries with productivity insights
+- [📰 Daily Repository Chronicle](docs/daily-repo-chronicle.md) - Transform daily repository activity into an engaging newspaper-style narrative with trend charts
 - [📋 Daily Plan](docs/daily-plan.md) - Update planning issues for team coordination
 - [🔍 Discussion Task Miner](docs/discussion-task-miner.md) - Extract actionable improvement tasks from GitHub Discussions and create tracked issues
 
diff --git a/docs/daily-repo-chronicle.md b/docs/daily-repo-chronicle.md
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+# 📰 Daily Repository Chronicle
+
+> For an overview of all available workflows, see the [main README](../README.md).
+
+**Transform daily repository activity into an engaging newspaper-style narrative**
+
+The [Daily Repository Chronicle workflow](../workflows/daily-repo-chronicle.md?plain=1) collects recent repository activity — commits, pull requests, issues, and discussions — and narrates it like a newspaper editor, producing a vivid, human-centered account of the day's development story. Two trend charts visualize the last 30 days of activity.
+
+## Installation
+
+```bash
+# Install the 'gh aw' extension
+gh extension install github/gh-aw
+
+# Add the workflow to your repository
+gh aw add-wizard githubnext/agentics/daily-repo-chronicle
+```
+
+This walks you through adding the workflow to your repository.
+
+## How It Works
+
+```mermaid
+graph LR
+    A[Collect 24h Activity] --> B[Gather Commit & PR Data]
+    B --> C[Generate Trend Charts]
+    C --> D[Write Newspaper Narrative]
+    D --> E[Post Discussion]
+```
+
+A new discussion is posted each weekday with the `📰` prefix. Older chronicles are automatically closed when a new one is created.
+
+## Usage
+
+### Configuration
+
+This workflow requires no configuration and works out of the box for any repository with issues, pull requests, and commit activity. You can customize the cron schedule, narrative tone, discussion category, and the sections covered.
+
+After editing run `gh aw compile` to update the workflow and commit all changes to the default branch.
+
+**Note**: The workflow posts discussions in the `announcements` category. Make sure this category exists in your repository's Discussions settings, or update `category:` in the workflow to match an existing category.
+
+### Commands
+
+You can start a run of this workflow immediately by running:
+
+```bash
+gh aw run daily-repo-chronicle
+```
+
+## Output
+
+Each run produces a GitHub Discussion in the `announcements` category with:
+
+- **📰 Headline News** — The most significant event of the past 24 hours
+- **📊 Development Desk** — A narrative account of pull request activity
+- **🔥 Issue Tracker Beat** — New issues, closed victories, and ongoing investigations
+- **💻 Commit Chronicles** — The story told through commits, with developer attribution
+- **📈 The Numbers** — A statistical snapshot with embedded trend charts
+
+Charts show 30-day trends for issues, PRs, commits, and contributor activity.
+
+## Tone & Attribution
+
+The chronicle treats developers as protagonists and automation as their tools. Bot activity (from Copilot, GitHub Actions, etc.) is attributed to the humans who triggered, reviewed, or merged it — never framed as autonomous. The result is a narrative that celebrates the humans behind the code.
+
+On quiet days with minimal activity, a "Quiet Day" edition is produced instead.
diff --git a/workflows/daily-repo-chronicle.md b/workflows/daily-repo-chronicle.md
@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
+---
+description: Creates a narrative chronicle of daily repository activity including commits, PRs, issues, and discussions
+on:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "0 16 * * 1-5"  # 4 PM UTC, weekdays only
+  workflow_dispatch:
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  issues: read
+  pull-requests: read
+  discussions: read
+tracker-id: daily-repo-chronicle
+engine: copilot
+
+timeout-minutes: 45
+
+network:
+  allowed:
+    - defaults
+    - python
+    - node
+
+tools:
+  edit:
+  bash:
+    - "*"
+  github:
+    toolsets:
+      - default
+      - discussions
+safe-outputs:
+  upload-asset:
+  create-discussion:
+    expires: 3d
+    category: "announcements"
+    title-prefix: "📰 "
+    close-older-discussions: true
+imports:
+  - shared/reporting.md
+
+steps:
+  - name: Setup Python environment
+    run: |
+      mkdir -p /tmp/gh-aw/python
+      mkdir -p /tmp/gh-aw/python/data
+      mkdir -p /tmp/gh-aw/python/charts
+      pip install --user --quiet numpy pandas matplotlib seaborn
+      echo "Python environment ready"
+---
+
+# The Daily Repository Chronicle
+
+You are a dramatic newspaper editor crafting today's edition of **The Repository Chronicle** for ${{ github.repository }}.
+
+## 📊 Trend Charts Requirement
+
+**IMPORTANT**: Generate exactly 2 trend charts that showcase key metrics of the project. These charts should visualize trends over time to give readers a visual representation of the repository's activity patterns.
+
+### Chart Generation Process
+
+**Phase 1: Data Collection**
+
+Collect data for the past 30 days (or available data) using GitHub API:
+
+1. **Issues Activity Data**:
+   - Count of issues opened per day
+   - Count of issues closed per day
+   - Running count of open issues
+
+2. **Pull Requests Activity Data**:
+   - Count of PRs opened per day
+   - Count of PRs merged per day
+   - Count of PRs closed per day
+
+3. **Commit Activity Data**:
+   - Count of commits per day on main branches
+   - Number of contributors per day
+
+**Phase 2: Data Preparation**
+
+1. Create CSV files in `/tmp/gh-aw/python/data/` with the collected data:
+   - `issues_prs_activity.csv` - Daily counts of issues and PRs
+   - `commit_activity.csv` - Daily commit counts and contributors
+
+2. Each CSV should have a date column and metric columns with appropriate headers
+
+**Phase 3: Chart Generation**
+
+Generate exactly **2 high-quality trend charts**:
+
+**Chart 1: Issues & Pull Requests Activity**
+- Multi-line chart showing:
+  - Issues opened (line)
+  - Issues closed (line)
+  - PRs opened (line)
+  - PRs merged (line)
+- X-axis: Date (last 30 days)
+- Y-axis: Count
+- Include a 7-day moving average overlay if data is noisy
+- Save as: `/tmp/gh-aw/python/charts/issues_prs_trends.png`
+
+**Chart 2: Commit Activity & Contributors**
+- Dual-axis chart or stacked visualization showing:
+  - Daily commit count (bar chart or line)
+  - Number of unique contributors (line with markers)
+- X-axis: Date (last 30 days)
+- Y-axis: Count
+- Save as: `/tmp/gh-aw/python/charts/commit_trends.png`
+
+**Chart Quality Requirements**:
+- DPI: 300 minimum
+- Figure size: 12x7 inches for better readability
+- Use seaborn styling with a professional color palette
+- Include grid lines for easier reading
+- Clear, large labels and legend
+- Title with context (e.g., "Issues & PR Activity - Last 30 Days")
+- Annotations for significant peaks or patterns
+
+**Phase 4: Upload Charts**
+
+1. Upload both charts using the `upload asset` tool
+2. Collect the returned URLs for embedding in the discussion
+
+**Phase 5: Embed Charts in Discussion**
+
+Include the charts in your newspaper-style report with this structure:
+
+```markdown
+## 📈 THE NUMBERS - Visualized
+
+### Issues & Pull Requests Activity
+![Issues and PR Trends](URL_FROM_UPLOAD_ASSET_CHART_1)
+
+[Brief 2-3 sentence dramatic analysis of the trends shown in this chart, using your newspaper editor voice]
+
+### Commit Activity & Contributors
+![Commit Activity Trends](URL_FROM_UPLOAD_ASSET_CHART_2)
+
+[Brief 2-3 sentence dramatic analysis of the trends shown in this chart, weaving it into your narrative]
+```
+
+### Python Implementation Notes
+
+- Use pandas for data manipulation and date handling
+- Use matplotlib.pyplot and seaborn for visualization
+- Set appropriate date formatters for x-axis labels
+- Use `plt.xticks(rotation=45)` for readable date labels
+- Apply `plt.tight_layout()` before saving
+- Handle cases where data might be sparse or missing
+
+### Error Handling
+
+If insufficient data is available (less than 7 days):
+- Generate the charts with available data
+- Add a note in the analysis mentioning the limited data range
+- Consider using a bar chart instead of line chart for very sparse data
+
+---
+
+## Your Mission
+
+Transform the last 24 hours of repository activity into a compelling narrative that reads like a daily newspaper. This is NOT a bulleted list - it's a story with drama, intrigue, and personality.
+
+## CRITICAL: Human Agency First
+
+**Bot activity MUST be attributed to human actors:**
+
+- **@github-actions[bot]** and **@Copilot** are tools triggered by humans - they don't act independently
+- When you see bot commits/PRs, identify WHO triggered them:
+  - Issue assigners who set work in motion
+  - PR reviewers and mergers who approved changes
+  - Repository maintainers who configured workflows
+- **CORRECT framing**: "The team leveraged Copilot to deliver 30 PRs..." or "@developer used GitHub Actions to automate..."
+- **INCORRECT framing**: "The Copilot bot staged a takeover..." or "automation army dominated while humans looked on..."
+- Mention bot usage as a positive productivity tool, not as replacement for humans
+- True autonomous actions (like scheduled jobs with no human trigger) can be mentioned as automated, but emphasize the humans who set them up
+
+**Remember**: Every bot action has a human behind it - find and credit them!
+
+## Editorial Guidelines
+
+**Structure your newspaper with distinct sections (using h3 headers):**
+
+**Main section headers** (use h3 `###`):
+
+- **### 🗞️ Headline News**: Open with the most significant event from the past 24 hours. Was there a major PR merged? A critical bug discovered? A heated discussion? Lead with drama and impact.
+
+- **### 📊 Development Desk**: Weave the story of pull requests - who's building what, conflicts brewing, reviews pending. Connect the PRs into a narrative. **Remember**: PRs by bots were triggered by humans - mention who assigned the work, who reviewed, who merged. Example: "Senior developer @alice leveraged Copilot to deliver three PRs addressing the authentication system, while @bob reviewed and merged the changes..."
+
+- **### 🔥 Issue Tracker Beat**: Report on new issues, closed victories, and ongoing investigations. Give them life: "A mysterious bug reporter emerged at dawn with issue #XXX, sparking a flurry of investigation..."
+
+- **### 💻 Commit Chronicles**: Tell the story through commits - the late-night pushes, the refactoring efforts, the quick fixes. Paint the picture of developer activity. **Attribution matters**: If commits are from bots, identify the human who initiated the work (issue assigner, PR reviewer, workflow trigger).
+  - For detailed commit logs and full changelogs, **wrap in `<details>` tags** to reduce scrolling
+
+- **### 📈 The Numbers**: End with a brief statistical snapshot, but keep it snappy. Keep key metrics visible, wrap verbose statistics in `<details>` tags.
+
+## Writing Style
+
+- **Dramatic and engaging**: Use vivid language, active voice, tension
+- **Narrative structure**: Connect events into stories, not lists
+- **Personality**: Give contributors character (while staying professional)
+- **Scene-setting**: "As the clock struck midnight, @developer pushed a flurry of commits..."
+- **NO bullet points** in the main sections - write in flowing paragraphs
+- **Editorial flair**: "Breaking news", "In a stunning turn of events", "Meanwhile, across the codebase..."
+- **Human-centric**: Always attribute bot actions to the humans who triggered, reviewed, or merged them
+- **Tools, not actors**: Frame automation as productivity tools used BY developers, not independent actors
+- **Avoid "robot uprising" tropes**: No "bot takeovers", "automation armies", or "humans displaced by machines"
+
+## Technical Requirements
+
+1. Query GitHub for activity in the last 24 hours:
+   - Pull requests (opened, merged, closed, updated)
+   - Issues (opened, closed, comments)
+   - Commits to main branches
+
+2. **For bot activity, identify human actors:**
+   - Check PR/issue assignees to find who initiated the work
+   - Look at PR reviewers and mergers - they're making decisions
+   - Examine issue comments to see who requested the action
+   - Check workflow triggers (manual dispatch, issue assignment, etc.)
+   - Credit the humans who configured, triggered, reviewed, or approved bot actions
+
+3. Create a discussion with your newspaper-style report using the `create-discussion` safe output format:
+   ```
+   TITLE: Repository Chronicle - [Catchy headline from top story]
+
+   BODY: Your dramatic newspaper content
+   ```
+
+4. If there's no activity, write a "Quiet Day" edition acknowledging the calm.
+
+**Important**: If no action is needed after completing your analysis, you **MUST** call the `noop` safe-output tool with a brief explanation. Failing to call any safe-output tool is the most common cause of safe-output workflow failures.
+
+```json
+{"noop": {"message": "No action needed: [brief explanation of what was analyzed and why]"}}
+```
