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Fix repo-assist: add safe output discipline and iteration limits#19516

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T-Gro merged 5 commits intomainfrom
copilot/debug-repo-assist-failure
Mar 31, 2026
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Fix repo-assist: add safe output discipline and iteration limits#19516
T-Gro merged 5 commits intomainfrom
copilot/debug-repo-assist-failure

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Copilot AI commented Mar 30, 2026 •
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Agent spent ~37 minutes creating ~25 test file variants across 5+ issues without ever calling safe output MCP tools, producing empty agent_output.json. The workflow infrastructure correctly flagged this as a failure.

Changes to .github/workflows/repo-assist.md

  • New "Safe Output Discipline" section — four rules to prevent zero-output runs:
    • Produce outputs incrementally after each work item, not batched at end
    • Call noop with explanation if no action is warranted
    • Cap test iteration at 3 build-and-test cycles per issue
    • Reserve 10 minutes for Task FINAL; wrap up after 40 minutes
  • Task 1: Emit safe outputs immediately after each issue, not deferred
  • Task 2 step 3: 3-attempt limit, single test file (no variant proliferation)
  • Task 2 steps 4/5: Create PR or comment immediately on pass/fail — do not defer

Lock file and tooling upgrade

Ran gh aw upgrade and gh aw compile to regenerate lock files (v0.64.2 → v0.64.4):

  • .github/workflows/repo-assist.lock.yml — updated frontmatter hash and action versions
  • .github/workflows/regression-pr-shepherd.lock.yml — updated action versions
  • .github/aw/actions-lock.json — updated action SHAs
  • .github/agents/agentic-workflows.agent.md — updated version references

Copilot AI linked an issue Mar 30, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request
[aw] Repo Assist failed #19515
Closed
@T-Gro
Fix repo-assist: add safe output discipline, iteration limits, and no…
f2245e8 
…op fallback

Root cause: Agent spent ~37 minutes creating ~25 test files across 5+ issues
without calling any safe output MCP tools, resulting in empty agent_output.json.

- Add "Safe Output Discipline" section with incremental output, noop fallback,
  3-attempt iteration limit per issue, and time awareness rules
- Task 1: call safe output tools immediately after each issue
- Task 2: limit build-and-test cycles to 3 per issue, create PRs immediately,
  do not create multiple test file variants

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp/sessions/cf589816-f234-44e2-9245-742907ee5d27

Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Debug Repo Assist workflow failure Fix repo-assist: add safe output discipline and iteration limits Mar 30, 2026
Copilot AI requested a review from T-Gro March 30, 2026 14:09
T-Gro
T-Gro requested changes Mar 30, 2026
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imo you must also gh aw upgrade and gh aw compile, the .lock.yml file must be carrying a diff which I do not see here.

@github-project-automation github-project-automation bot moved this from New to In Progress in F# Compiler and Tooling Mar 30, 2026
@T-Gro
Run gh aw upgrade and gh aw compile to regenerate lock files
5886b80 
Updates gh-aw from v0.64.2 to v0.64.4:
- Regenerate repo-assist.lock.yml with new frontmatter hash
- Regenerate regression-pr-shepherd.lock.yml
- Update actions-lock.json with new action SHAs
- Update agentic-workflows.agent.md version references

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp/sessions/0f6b9ce7-da31-403c-b633-6bb5f004484e

Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>
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Copilot AI commented Mar 30, 2026

imo you must also gh aw upgrade and gh aw compile, the .lock.yml file must be carrying a diff which I do not see here.

Done in 5886b80. Ran gh aw upgrade and gh aw compile — lock files now updated (v0.64.2 → v0.64.4), including the new frontmatter hash for repo-assist.lock.yml, updated action SHAs in actions-lock.json, and version references in agentic-workflows.agent.md.

Copilot AI requested a review from T-Gro March 30, 2026 14:30
@T-Gro T-Gro marked this pull request as ready for review March 30, 2026 16:36
@T-Gro T-Gro requested a review from a team as a code owner March 30, 2026 16:36
@T-Gro T-Gro requested a review from abonie March 30, 2026 16:36
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github-actions bot commented Mar 30, 2026

✅ No release notes required

@T-Gro T-Gro merged commit f3b6407 into main Mar 31, 2026
4 checks passed
@T-Gro T-Gro deleted the copilot/debug-repo-assist-failure branch March 31, 2026 09:23
This was referenced Mar 31, 2026
Merged
Merged
Copilot AI added a commit that referenced this pull request Mar 31, 2026
@T-Gro @abonie
Fix repo-assist: add safe output discipline and iteration limits (#19516
380c8a3 
)

* Initial plan

* Fix repo-assist: add safe output discipline, iteration limits, and noop fallback

Root cause: Agent spent ~37 minutes creating ~25 test files across 5+ issues
without calling any safe output MCP tools, resulting in empty agent_output.json.

- Add "Safe Output Discipline" section with incremental output, noop fallback,
  3-attempt iteration limit per issue, and time awareness rules
- Task 1: call safe output tools immediately after each issue
- Task 2: limit build-and-test cycles to 3 per issue, create PRs immediately,
  do not create multiple test file variants

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp/sessions/cf589816-f234-44e2-9245-742907ee5d27

Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>

* Run gh aw upgrade and gh aw compile to regenerate lock files

Updates gh-aw from v0.64.2 to v0.64.4:
- Regenerate repo-assist.lock.yml with new frontmatter hash
- Regenerate regression-pr-shepherd.lock.yml
- Update actions-lock.json with new action SHAs
- Update agentic-workflows.agent.md version references

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp/sessions/0f6b9ce7-da31-403c-b633-6bb5f004484e

Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Tomas Grosup <Tomas.Grosup@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Adam Boniecki <20281641+abonie@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: abonie <20281641+abonie@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI added a commit that referenced this pull request Mar 31, 2026
@T-Gro @abonie
Fix repo-assist: add safe output discipline and iteration limits (#19516
24bf186 
)

* Initial plan

* Fix repo-assist: add safe output discipline, iteration limits, and noop fallback

Root cause: Agent spent ~37 minutes creating ~25 test files across 5+ issues
without calling any safe output MCP tools, resulting in empty agent_output.json.

- Add "Safe Output Discipline" section with incremental output, noop fallback,
  3-attempt iteration limit per issue, and time awareness rules
- Task 1: call safe output tools immediately after each issue
- Task 2: limit build-and-test cycles to 3 per issue, create PRs immediately,
  do not create multiple test file variants

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp/sessions/cf589816-f234-44e2-9245-742907ee5d27

Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>

* Run gh aw upgrade and gh aw compile to regenerate lock files

Updates gh-aw from v0.64.2 to v0.64.4:
- Regenerate repo-assist.lock.yml with new frontmatter hash
- Regenerate regression-pr-shepherd.lock.yml
- Update actions-lock.json with new action SHAs
- Update agentic-workflows.agent.md version references

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp/sessions/0f6b9ce7-da31-403c-b633-6bb5f004484e

Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Tomas Grosup <Tomas.Grosup@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Adam Boniecki <20281641+abonie@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: abonie <20281641+abonie@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI added a commit that referenced this pull request Mar 31, 2026
@T-Gro @abonie
Fix repo-assist: add safe output discipline and iteration limits (#19516
40cdeb4 
)

* Initial plan

* Fix repo-assist: add safe output discipline, iteration limits, and noop fallback

Root cause: Agent spent ~37 minutes creating ~25 test files across 5+ issues
without calling any safe output MCP tools, resulting in empty agent_output.json.

- Add "Safe Output Discipline" section with incremental output, noop fallback,
  3-attempt iteration limit per issue, and time awareness rules
- Task 1: call safe output tools immediately after each issue
- Task 2: limit build-and-test cycles to 3 per issue, create PRs immediately,
  do not create multiple test file variants

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp/sessions/cf589816-f234-44e2-9245-742907ee5d27

Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>

* Run gh aw upgrade and gh aw compile to regenerate lock files

Updates gh-aw from v0.64.2 to v0.64.4:
- Regenerate repo-assist.lock.yml with new frontmatter hash
- Regenerate regression-pr-shepherd.lock.yml
- Update actions-lock.json with new action SHAs
- Update agentic-workflows.agent.md version references

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/dotnet/fsharp/sessions/0f6b9ce7-da31-403c-b633-6bb5f004484e

Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: T-Gro <46543583+T-Gro@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Tomas Grosup <Tomas.Grosup@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Adam Boniecki <20281641+abonie@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: abonie <20281641+abonie@users.noreply.github.com>
@dotnet-maestro dotnet-maestro bot mentioned this pull request Apr 1, 2026
Merged
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[aw] Repo Assist failed

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