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fix: fetch frontmatter imports: dependencies locally during add-wizard#17765

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pelikhan merged 6 commits intomainfrom
copilot/fix-ci-coach-execution-error
Feb 22, 2026
Merged

fix: fetch frontmatter imports: dependencies locally during add-wizard#17765
pelikhan merged 6 commits intomainfrom
copilot/fix-ci-coach-execution-error

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Copilot AI commented Feb 22, 2026

gh aw add-wizard on any workflow that uses the imports: frontmatter field (e.g. ci-coach) always failed: the add flow converted relative import paths to remote workflowspecs (github/gh-aw/.github/workflows/shared/ci-data-analysis.md@<sha>), the compiler tried to download them at compile time, the download failed, and because the lock file was pre-tracked but never written, git add exited 128.

Changes

  • pkg/cli/remote_workflow.go — New fetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports (public entry point) delegates to an internal fetchFrontmatterImportsRecursive helper. The helper:

    • Accepts a shared seen map (keyed by fully-resolved remote path) so import cycles (A→B→A) and duplicate imports across any nesting depth are broken without infinite recursion.
    • Accepts currentBaseDir (changes per recursion level, set to the imported file's directory) and originalBaseDir (constant, the top-level workflow's directory) so relative paths inside nested imports resolve correctly and map to the right local path under targetDir.
    • Checks file existence via os.Stat before the network download, so already-present files skip the download entirely when force=false.
    • Sanitizes the computed local path: rejects remoteFilePath values that start with .. (escaping the repository root), derives localRelPath by stripping originalBaseDir, and applies a filepath.Rel belt-and-suspenders boundary check to ensure targetPath stays within targetDir.
    • When no version is specified, uses getRepoDefaultBranch to query the actual default branch of the source repository (falls back to "main" if the API call fails) and persists the resolved ref on spec.Version.
    • Import failures are non-fatal (best-effort); the compiler reports any still-missing files.
  • pkg/cli/add_command.go — Calls fetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports immediately after fetchAndSaveRemoteIncludes in the remote-workflow path. Removes the subsequent processImportsWithWorkflowSpec call so import paths remain as relative references; the compiler then resolves them from disk (the files are now present locally) rather than attempting remote downloads.

  • pkg/cli/remote_workflow_test.go — Unit tests for the new function covering: no imports, local workflow (empty RepoSlug), already-pinned workflowspec imports skipped, no-imports no-op tracker, section-fragment deduplication (shared/reporting.md#SectionA + #SectionB deduplicated without a second download), skip-existing-without-force (relative import, pre-existing file, no network needed because stat check precedes download), path traversal rejection (../etc/passwd with workflow at repo root triggers the explicit .. rejection before any network call), and invalid RepoSlug early-exit.

The resulting on-disk ci-coach.md retains imports: - shared/ci-data-analysis.md (relative), which is also what the compiled lock file needs for its {{#runtime-import .github/workflows/shared/ci-data-analysis.md}} macros to resolve at runtime.

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Unable to use ci-coach</issue_title>
<issue_description># Description

I am trying to use the ci-coach and it is completely failing to execute.

Steps

gh aw add-wizard https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/v0.48.1/.github/workflows/ci-coach.md

Output

🚀 Welcome to GitHub Agentic Workflows!

This tool will walk you through adding an automated workflow to your repository.

ℹ Daily CI optimization coach that analyzes workflow runs for efficiency improvements and cost reduction opportunities

✓ Target repository: askpt/my-website
ℹ Workflow specifies engine: copilot

✓ Selected engine: copilot
✓ Using existing COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN secret in repository

The following workflow files will be added:
  • .github/workflows/ci-coach.md
  • .github/workflows/ci-coach.lock.yml


✗ .github/workflows/ci-coach.md:12:3: error: failed to download import file
10 |   pull-requests: read
11 | imports:
12 | - github/gh-aw/.github/workflows/shared/ci-data-analysis.md@26b6572ae210580303087bc3142fe58d140bf65c
       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
13 | - github/gh-aw/.github/workflows/shared/ci-optimization-strategies.md@26b6572ae210580303087bc3142fe58d140bf65c
14 | - github/gh-aw/.github/workflows/shared/reporting.md@26b6572ae210580303087bc3142fe58d140bf65c

✗ failed to add workflow: failed to add workflows: failed to stage workflow files: failed to stage files: exit status 128

Versions

gh extension list
NAME REPO VERSION
gh act nektos/gh-act v0.2.84
gh aw github/gh-aw v0.48.1
gh models github/gh-models v0.0.25

gh version
gh version 2.87.2 (2026-02-20)
https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.87.2

System details

ProductName: macOS (arm64)
ProductVersion: 26.3
BuildVersion: 25D12</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)


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Copilot AI and others added 2 commits February 22, 2026 18:20
…ompilation failure

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>
…ted import errors

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Fix error in ci-coach execution fix: fetch frontmatter imports: dependencies locally during add-wizard Feb 22, 2026
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@copilot add tests

owner, repo := parts[0], parts[1]
ref := spec.Version
if ref == "" {
ref = "main"
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@copilot use helper to resolve default branch

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Done in d561689. When spec.Version is empty, the function now calls getRepoDefaultBranch(spec.RepoSlug) to fetch the actual default branch from the GitHub API, falling back to "main" only if that call fails.

…hAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>
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Copilot AI commented Feb 22, 2026

@copilot add tests

Added three more tests in d561689:

  • TestFetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports_SectionSkipped – duplicate workflowspec imports (with #section fragments) are deduplicated and skipped
  • TestFetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports_SkipExistingWithoutForce – a pre-existing import file is not overwritten when force=false
  • TestFetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports_InvalidRepoSlug – an invalid RepoSlug (not owner/repo) returns early without error

@pelikhan pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review February 22, 2026 18:43
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 22, 2026 18:43
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Pull request overview

Fixes gh aw add-wizard failures for remote workflows that use YAML frontmatter imports: by fetching those imported markdown dependencies into the local repo before compilation, so the compiler can resolve them from disk instead of attempting remote downloads.

Changes:

  • Added fetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports to download and write frontmatter imports: dependencies locally (with recursion support).
  • Wired the new fetch step into the remote add flow and stopped converting imports: to workflowspec-pinned references during add-wizard.
  • Added unit tests intended to cover the new import-fetching behavior.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 7 comments.

File Description
pkg/cli/remote_workflow.go Implements downloading/saving of frontmatter imports: dependencies for remote workflows.
pkg/cli/add_command.go Calls the new import-fetch function during remote add flow and keeps imports: as relative paths.
pkg/cli/remote_workflow_test.go Adds tests for the new import-fetching function (currently mostly no-op/skip-path coverage).

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Comment on lines 386 to 389
// Recursively fetch any nested imports declared in this file
if err := fetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports(string(importContent), spec, targetDir, verbose, force, tracker); err != nil && verbose {
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatWarningMessage(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to fetch nested imports from %s: %v", filePath, err)))
}
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Recursive call uses the same spec.WorkflowPath-derived workflowBaseDir for nested imports, so relative imports inside an imported file will be resolved relative to the original workflow, not the imported file’s directory. Also, seen is scoped per call, so cyclic imports can recurse indefinitely. Pass the current file path/base dir into recursion and share a single visited set across the entire traversal to prevent cycles and resolve nested relative paths correctly.

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Comment on lines 333 to 340
// Download from the source repository
importContent, err := parser.DownloadFileFromGitHub(owner, repo, remoteFilePath, ref)
if err != nil {
if verbose {
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatWarningMessage(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to fetch import %s: %v", filePath, err)))
}
continue
}
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Errors while downloading/writing imports are swallowed via continue, and the function ultimately returns nil even if no imports were fetched. This makes the error return value misleading and prevents callers from reacting to partial failures. Consider collecting failures and returning an aggregated error (or change the signature/behavior to explicitly indicate “best-effort” and surface which imports failed).

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Comment on lines 419 to 426
// Content with two imports that differ only in their #section fragment.
// Both should resolve to the same file (deduplication by file path).
content := `---
engine: copilot
imports:
- github/gh-aw/.github/workflows/shared/reporting.md@abc123
- github/gh-aw/.github/workflows/shared/reporting.md@abc123
---
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This test claims to verify section-fragment stripping/deduplication, but the imports: entries don’t include any #section fragments—both lines are identical workflowspecs. Update the fixture to include .../reporting.md#SectionA and .../reporting.md#SectionB (and avoid workflowspec format if you actually want to exercise the fetch/dedup path).

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Comment on lines 375 to 413
// TestFetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports_FileTracking verifies that files saved by
// the function are properly tracked (created vs modified).
func TestFetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports_FileTracking(t *testing.T) {
// Use a temp dir that acts as the workflows directory.
tmpDir := t.TempDir()

// Pre-create one file so we can test the "modified" branch.
sharedDir := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "shared")
require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(sharedDir, 0755))
existingFile := filepath.Join(sharedDir, "existing.md")
require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(existingFile, []byte("old content"), 0600))

// Build a minimal FileTracker without calling NewFileTracker (which requires a real
// git repository). We only need the tracking lists populated.
tracker := &FileTracker{
OriginalContent: make(map[string][]byte),
gitRoot: tmpDir,
}

// A workflow with no imports should leave the tracker empty.
content := `---
engine: copilot
---

# No imports
`
spec := &WorkflowSpec{
RepoSpec: RepoSpec{
RepoSlug: "github/gh-aw",
Version: "v1.0.0",
},
WorkflowPath: ".github/workflows/test.md",
}

err := fetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports(content, spec, tmpDir, false, false, tracker)
require.NoError(t, err)
assert.Empty(t, tracker.CreatedFiles, "no files should be created when there are no imports")
assert.Empty(t, tracker.ModifiedFiles, "no files should be modified when there are no imports")
}
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Despite the name/comment, this test never exercises the created/modified tracking branches: it uses content with no imports and only asserts the tracker remains empty. Either add an import and stub the downloader so the function writes a new file (created) and overwrites an existing file (modified), or rename the test to reflect that it only covers the no-imports no-op case.

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Comment on lines 464 to 470
// Use a content with a relative import that would resolve to the pre-created file.
// But since the import path is workflowspec-format, it's skipped regardless –
// this test verifies no modification is done to the pre-created file.
content := `---
engine: copilot
imports:
- github/gh-aw/.github/workflows/shared/ci-data-analysis.md@abc123
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This test is named/worded as “skip existing without force”, but it uses a workflowspec-format import which is skipped unconditionally by isWorkflowSpecFormat, so it doesn’t validate the os.Stat/force logic for relative imports. Use a relative import path (and stub the download) to confirm the existing file is preserved when force=false.

Suggested change
// Use a content with a relative import that would resolve to the pre-created file.
// But since the import path is workflowspec-format, it's skipped regardless –
// this test verifies no modification is done to the pre-created file.
content := `---
engine: copilot
imports:
- github/gh-aw/.github/workflows/shared/ci-data-analysis.md@abc123
// Use content with a relative import that resolves to the pre-created file.
// Because the file already exists on disk and force=false, the implementation
// should detect the existing file (via os.Stat) and skip downloading or
// overwriting it, preserving its original content.
content := `---
engine: copilot
imports:
- shared/ci-data-analysis.md

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Comment on lines 343 to 348
targetPath := filepath.Join(targetDir, filepath.FromSlash(filePath))

// Create the target directory if needed
if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(targetPath), 0755); err != nil {
if verbose {
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatWarningMessage(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to create directory for import %s: %v", filePath, err)))
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targetPath := filepath.Join(targetDir, filepath.FromSlash(filePath)) is vulnerable to absolute-path and path traversal writes. If filePath starts with "/", Join will ignore targetDir and write to an arbitrary absolute location; .. segments can also escape targetDir. Sanitize/normalize filePath (strip leading "/", reject/clean ..), and verify the final targetPath stays within targetDir (e.g., via filepath.Rel boundary check like pkg/cli/poutine.go:417-444).

Suggested change
targetPath := filepath.Join(targetDir, filepath.FromSlash(filePath))
// Create the target directory if needed
if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(targetPath), 0755); err != nil {
if verbose {
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatWarningMessage(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to create directory for import %s: %v", filePath, err)))
relPath := filepath.Clean(filepath.FromSlash(filePath))
// Strip any leading path separators so an absolute path cannot escape targetDir.
relPath = strings.TrimLeft(relPath, string(filepath.Separator))
// Reject empty or parent-directory-relative paths.
if relPath == "" || relPath == "." || relPath == ".." || strings.HasPrefix(relPath, ".."+string(filepath.Separator)) {
if verbose {
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatWarningMessage(fmt.Sprintf("Refusing to write import with unsafe path %q", filePath)))
}
continue
}
targetPath := filepath.Join(targetDir, relPath)
// Ensure the final targetPath is still within targetDir.
if rel, err := filepath.Rel(targetDir, targetPath); err != nil || rel == ".." || strings.HasPrefix(rel, ".."+string(filepath.Separator)) {
if verbose {
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatWarningMessage(fmt.Sprintf("Refusing to write import outside target directory: %q", filePath)))
}
continue
}
// Create the target directory if needed
if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(targetPath), 0755); err != nil {
if verbose {
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, os.Stderr, console.FormatWarningMessage(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to create directory for import %s: %v", filePath, err)))

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Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@pelikhan
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@copilot apply comments, add guardrails against recursive imports.

…improve tests

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>
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Copilot AI commented Feb 22, 2026

@copilot apply comments, add guardrails against recursive imports.

Done in e0308c9. Applied all reviewer comments and added recursive import guardrails:

  • Cyclic/duplicate import prevention: Extracted fetchFrontmatterImportsRecursive with a shared seen map (keyed by fully-resolved remote path) that's passed through all recursion levels — import cycles (A→B→A) and duplicate imports at any depth are now broken cleanly.
  • Correct base dir per level: currentBaseDir changes with each recursion level (set to the imported file's directory), while originalBaseDir stays constant and is used to map remote paths to local targetDir-relative paths.
  • Path traversal protection: remoteFilePath is rejected if it starts with ..; localRelPath derivation uses an explicit originalBaseDir guard (fixes the empty-base-dir edge case); a filepath.Rel belt-and-suspenders check confirms the final targetPath stays within targetDir.
  • os.Stat before download: Existence check now happens before the network call — avoids redundant downloads and makes the SkipExistingWithoutForce test network-free.
  • Test fixes: SectionStrippedDedup uses real relative paths with #section fragments; SkipExistingWithoutForce uses a relative import with a pre-existing file; PathTraversal places the workflow at the repo root so the .. rejection fires explicitly (not via a network 404).

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

  • https://api.github.com/repos/github/gh-aw/contents/.github/workflows/shared/reporting.md
    • Triggering command: /tmp/go-build3867637855/b001/cli.test /tmp/go-build3867637855/b001/cli.test -test.testlogfile=/tmp/go-build3867637855/b001/testlog.txt -test.paniconexit0 -test.timeout=10m0s -test.v=true -test.run=TestFetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports (http block)
    • Triggering command: /tmp/go-build879397018/b001/cli.test /tmp/go-build879397018/b001/cli.test -test.testlogfile=/tmp/go-build879397018/b001/testlog.txt -test.paniconexit0 -test.timeout=10m0s -test.v=true -test.run=TestFetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports (http block)
    • Triggering command: /tmp/go-build2864093426/b001/cli.test /tmp/go-build2864093426/b001/cli.test -test.testlogfile=/tmp/go-build2864093426/b001/testlog.txt -test.paniconexit0 -test.timeout=10m0s -test.v=true -test.run=TestFetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports GOWORK 64/pkg/tool/linuGOMODCACHE (http block)
  • https://api.github.com/repos/github/gh-aw/contents/etc/passwd
    • Triggering command: /tmp/go-build3867637855/b001/cli.test /tmp/go-build3867637855/b001/cli.test -test.testlogfile=/tmp/go-build3867637855/b001/testlog.txt -test.paniconexit0 -test.timeout=10m0s -test.v=true -test.run=TestFetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports (http block)
    • Triggering command: /tmp/go-build879397018/b001/cli.test /tmp/go-build879397018/b001/cli.test -test.testlogfile=/tmp/go-build879397018/b001/testlog.txt -test.paniconexit0 -test.timeout=10m0s -test.v=true -test.run=TestFetchAndSaveRemoteFrontmatterImports (http block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

@pelikhan pelikhan merged commit 47b928e into main Feb 22, 2026
116 checks passed
@pelikhan pelikhan deleted the copilot/fix-ci-coach-execution-error branch February 22, 2026 19:59
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Unable to use ci-coach

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