Add max-continuations field to agentic engine configuration

.devcontainer/devcontainer.json

@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@
     "ghcr.io/anthropics/devcontainer-features/claude-code:1.0": {},
     "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/copilot-cli:latest": {},
     "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/docker-in-docker:2": {},
-    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {},
     "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/git-lfs:1": {},
+    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {},
     "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/node:1": {
       "version": "24"
     }

.github/workflows/smoke-copilot.md

@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ permissions:
   discussions: read
   actions: read
 name: Smoke Copilot
-engine: copilot
+engine:
+  id: copilot
+  max-continuations: 2
 imports:
   - shared/gh.md
   - shared/reporting.md

pkg/parser/schemas/main_workflow_schema.json

@@ -7413,6 +7413,10 @@
           "id": "copilot",
           "version": "beta"
         },
+        {
+          "id": "copilot",
+          "max-continuations": 5
+        },
         {
           "id": "claude",
           "concurrency": {
@@ -7458,6 +7462,11 @@
               ],
               "description": "Maximum number of chat iterations per run. Helps prevent runaway loops and control costs. Has sensible defaults and can typically be omitted. Note: Only supported by the claude engine."
             },
+            "max-continuations": {
+              "type": "integer",
+              "minimum": 1,
+              "description": "Maximum number of continuations for multi-run autopilot mode. Default is 1 (single run, no autopilot). Values greater than 1 enable --autopilot mode for the copilot engine with --max-autopilot-continues set to this value. Note: Only supported by the copilot engine."
+            },
             "concurrency": {
               "oneOf": [
                 {

pkg/workflow/agent_validation.go

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 //
 //   - validateAgentFile() - Validates custom agent file exists
 //   - validateMaxTurnsSupport() - Validates max-turns feature support
+//   - validateMaxContinuationsSupport() - Validates max-continuations feature support
 //   - validateWebSearchSupport() - Validates web-search feature support (warning)
 //   - validateWorkflowRunBranches() - Validates workflow_run has branch restrictions
 //
@@ -122,6 +123,24 @@ func (c *Compiler) validateMaxTurnsSupport(frontmatter map[string]any, engine Co
 	return nil
 }
 
+// validateMaxContinuationsSupport validates that max-continuations is only used with engines that support this feature
+func (c *Compiler) validateMaxContinuationsSupport(frontmatter map[string]any, engine CodingAgentEngine) error {
+	// Check if max-continuations is specified in the engine config
+	_, engineConfig := c.ExtractEngineConfig(frontmatter)
+
+	if engineConfig == nil || engineConfig.MaxContinuations == 0 {
+		// No max-continuations specified, no validation needed
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	// max-continuations is specified, check if the engine supports it
+	if !engine.SupportsMaxContinuations() {
+		return fmt.Errorf("max-continuations not supported: engine '%s' does not support the max-continuations feature", engine.GetID())
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // validateWebSearchSupport validates that web-search tool is only used with engines that support this feature
 func (c *Compiler) validateWebSearchSupport(tools map[string]any, engine CodingAgentEngine) {
 	// Check if web-search tool is requested

pkg/workflow/agentic_engine.go

@@ -126,6 +126,10 @@ type CapabilityProvider interface {
 	// When true, plugins can be installed using the engine's plugin install command
 	SupportsPlugins() bool
 
+	// SupportsMaxContinuations returns true if this engine supports the max-continuations feature
+	// When true, max-continuations > 1 enables autopilot/multi-run mode for the engine
+	SupportsMaxContinuations() bool
+
 	// SupportsLLMGateway returns the LLM gateway port number for this engine
 	// Returns the port number (e.g., 10000) if the engine supports an LLM gateway
 	// Returns -1 if the engine does not support an LLM gateway
@@ -207,17 +211,18 @@ type CodingAgentEngine interface {
 
 // BaseEngine provides common functionality for agentic engines
 type BaseEngine struct {
-	id                     string
-	displayName            string
-	description            string
-	experimental           bool
-	supportsToolsAllowlist bool
-	supportsMaxTurns       bool
-	supportsWebFetch       bool
-	supportsWebSearch      bool
-	supportsFirewall       bool
-	supportsPlugins        bool
-	supportsLLMGateway     bool
+	id                       string
+	displayName              string
+	description              string
+	experimental             bool
+	supportsToolsAllowlist   bool
+	supportsMaxTurns         bool
+	supportsMaxContinuations bool
+	supportsWebFetch         bool
+	supportsWebSearch        bool
+	supportsFirewall         bool
+	supportsPlugins          bool
+	supportsLLMGateway       bool
 }
 
 func (e *BaseEngine) GetID() string {
@@ -260,6 +265,10 @@ func (e *BaseEngine) SupportsPlugins() bool {
 	return e.supportsPlugins
 }
 
+func (e *BaseEngine) SupportsMaxContinuations() bool {
+	return e.supportsMaxContinuations
+}
+
 func (e *BaseEngine) SupportsLLMGateway() int {
 	// Engines that support LLM gateway must override this method
 	// to return their specific port number (e.g., 10000, 10001, 10002)

pkg/workflow/compiler_orchestrator_tools.go

@@ -234,6 +234,11 @@ func (c *Compiler) processToolsAndMarkdown(result *parser.FrontmatterResult, cle
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	// Validate max-continuations support for the current engine
+	if err := c.validateMaxContinuationsSupport(result.Frontmatter, agenticEngine); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	// Validate web-search support for the current engine (warning only)
 	c.validateWebSearchSupport(tools, agenticEngine)
 

pkg/workflow/copilot_engine.go

@@ -34,17 +34,18 @@ func NewCopilotEngine() *CopilotEngine {
 	copilotLog.Print("Creating new Copilot engine instance")
 	return &CopilotEngine{
 		BaseEngine: BaseEngine{
-			id:                     "copilot",
-			displayName:            "GitHub Copilot CLI",
-			description:            "Uses GitHub Copilot CLI with MCP server support",
-			experimental:           false,
-			supportsToolsAllowlist: true,
-			supportsMaxTurns:       false, // Copilot CLI does not support max-turns feature yet
-			supportsWebFetch:       true,  // Copilot CLI has built-in web-fetch support
-			supportsWebSearch:      false, // Copilot CLI does not have built-in web-search support
-			supportsFirewall:       true,  // Copilot supports network firewalling via AWF
-			supportsPlugins:        true,  // Copilot supports plugin installation
-			supportsLLMGateway:     true,  // Copilot supports LLM gateway on port 10003
+			id:                       "copilot",
+			displayName:              "GitHub Copilot CLI",
+			description:              "Uses GitHub Copilot CLI with MCP server support",
+			experimental:             false,
+			supportsToolsAllowlist:   true,
+			supportsMaxTurns:         false, // Copilot CLI does not support max-turns feature yet
+			supportsMaxContinuations: true,  // Copilot CLI supports --autopilot with --max-autopilot-continues
+			supportsWebFetch:         true,  // Copilot CLI has built-in web-fetch support
+			supportsWebSearch:        false, // Copilot CLI does not have built-in web-search support
+			supportsFirewall:         true,  // Copilot supports network firewalling via AWF
+			supportsPlugins:          true,  // Copilot supports plugin installation
+			supportsLLMGateway:       true,  // Copilot supports LLM gateway on port 10003
 		},
 	}
 }

pkg/workflow/copilot_engine_execution.go

@@ -86,6 +86,15 @@ func (e *CopilotEngine) GetExecutionSteps(workflowData *WorkflowData, logFile st
 		copilotArgs = append(copilotArgs, "--agent", agentIdentifier)
 	}
 
+	// Add --autopilot and --max-autopilot-continues when max-continuations > 1
+	// Never apply autopilot flags to detection jobs; they are only meaningful for the agent run.
+	isDetectionJob := workflowData.SafeOutputs == nil
+	if !isDetectionJob && workflowData.EngineConfig != nil && workflowData.EngineConfig.MaxContinuations > 1 {
+		maxCont := workflowData.EngineConfig.MaxContinuations
+		copilotExecLog.Printf("Enabling autopilot mode with max-autopilot-continues=%d", maxCont)
+		copilotArgs = append(copilotArgs, "--autopilot", "--max-autopilot-continues", strconv.Itoa(maxCont))
+	}
+
 	// Add tool permission arguments based on configuration
 	toolArgs := e.computeCopilotToolArguments(workflowData.Tools, workflowData.SafeOutputs, workflowData.SafeInputs, workflowData)
 	if len(toolArgs) > 0 {
@@ -144,7 +153,6 @@ func (e *CopilotEngine) GetExecutionSteps(workflowData *WorkflowData, logFile st
 	// Copilot CLI reads it natively - no --model flag in the shell command needed.
 	needsModelFlag := !modelConfigured
 	// Check if this is a detection job (has no SafeOutputs config)
-	isDetectionJob := workflowData.SafeOutputs == nil
 	var modelEnvVar string
 	if isDetectionJob {
 		modelEnvVar = constants.EnvVarModelDetectionCopilot
@@ -303,7 +311,6 @@ COPILOT_CLI_INSTRUCTION="$(cat /tmp/gh-aw/aw-prompts/prompt.txt)"
 		env[constants.CopilotCLIModelEnvVar] = workflowData.EngineConfig.Model
 	} else {
 		// No model configured - use fallback GitHub variable with shell expansion
-		isDetectionJob := workflowData.SafeOutputs == nil
 		if isDetectionJob {
 			env[constants.EnvVarModelDetectionCopilot] = fmt.Sprintf("${{ vars.%s || '' }}", constants.EnvVarModelDetectionCopilot)
 		} else {

pkg/workflow/engine.go

@@ -13,18 +13,19 @@ var engineLog = logger.New("workflow:engine")
 
 // EngineConfig represents the parsed engine configuration
 type EngineConfig struct {
-	ID          string
-	Version     string
-	Model       string
-	MaxTurns    string
-	Concurrency string // Agent job-level concurrency configuration (YAML format)
-	UserAgent   string
-	Command     string // Custom executable path (when set, skip installation steps)
-	Env         map[string]string
-	Config      string
-	Args        []string
-	Firewall    *FirewallConfig // AWF firewall configuration
-	Agent       string          // Agent identifier for copilot --agent flag (copilot engine only)
+	ID               string
+	Version          string
+	Model            string
+	MaxTurns         string
+	MaxContinuations int    // Maximum number of continuations for autopilot mode (copilot engine only; > 1 enables --autopilot)
+	Concurrency      string // Agent job-level concurrency configuration (YAML format)
+	UserAgent        string
+	Command          string // Custom executable path (when set, skip installation steps)
+	Env              map[string]string
+	Config           string
+	Args             []string
+	Firewall         *FirewallConfig // AWF firewall configuration
+	Agent            string          // Agent identifier for copilot --agent flag (copilot engine only)
 }
 
 // NetworkPermissions represents network access permissions for workflow execution
@@ -116,6 +117,19 @@ func (c *Compiler) ExtractEngineConfig(frontmatter map[string]any) (string, *Eng
 				}
 			}
 
+			// Extract optional 'max-continuations' field
+			if maxCont, hasMaxCont := engineObj["max-continuations"]; hasMaxCont {
+				if maxContInt, ok := maxCont.(int); ok {
+					config.MaxContinuations = maxContInt
+				} else if maxContUint64, ok := maxCont.(uint64); ok {
+					config.MaxContinuations = int(maxContUint64)
+				} else if maxContStr, ok := maxCont.(string); ok {
+					if parsed, err := strconv.Atoi(maxContStr); err == nil {
+						config.MaxContinuations = parsed
+					}
+				}
+			}
+
 			// Extract optional 'concurrency' field (string or object format)
 			if concurrency, hasConcurrency := engineObj["concurrency"]; hasConcurrency {
 				if concurrencyStr, ok := concurrency.(string); ok {

smoke-test-22406871179.txt

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Test file for PR push - Run 22406871179