fix: use GraphQL baseRef field for base-branch in assign-to-agent

.github/workflows/smoke-agent.md

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+---
+description: Smoke test that validates assign-to-agent with the agentic-workflows custom agent
+on:
+ workflow_dispatch:
+ pull_request:
+ types: [labeled]
+ names: ["metal"]
+ status-comment: true
+permissions:
+ contents: read
+ issues: read
+ pull-requests: read
+name: Smoke Agent
+engine: codex
+strict: true
+tools:
+ github:
+network:
+ allowed:
+ - defaults
+ - github
+safe-outputs:
+ assign-to-agent:
+ target: "*"
+ max: 1
+ allowed: [copilot]
+ custom-agent: agentic-workflows
+ add-comment:
+ hide-older-comments: true
+ max: 2
+ messages:
+ footer: "> 🤖 *Smoke test by [{workflow_name}]({run_url})*"
+ run-started: "🤖 [{workflow_name}]({run_url}) is looking for a Smoke issue to assign..."
+ run-success: "✅ [{workflow_name}]({run_url}) completed. Issue assigned to the agentic-workflows agent."
+ run-failure: "❌ [{workflow_name}]({run_url}) {status}. Check the logs for details."
+timeout-minutes: 10
+---
+
+# Smoke Agent: assign-to-agent with agentic-workflows
+
+This workflow validates that `assign-to-agent` works correctly with the `agentic-workflows` custom agent.
+
+## Instructions
+
+1. **Find a Smoke issue**: Use the GitHub MCP tools to search for an open issue in ${{ github.repository }} whose title starts with "Smoke". Use the search query: `is:issue is:open in:title Smoke repo:${{ github.repository }}`. Pick the first result.
+
+2. **Assign the issue**: Use the `assign_to_agent` safe-output tool to assign the issue to copilot using the `agentic-workflows` custom agent:
+
+ ```json
+ {
+ "type": "assign_to_agent",
+ "issue_number": <issue_number>,
+ "agent": "copilot"
+ }
+ ```
+
+3. **Report**: Add a brief comment to the current pull request confirming the issue number that was assigned and which agent was used.
+
+If no Smoke* issue is found, use the `noop` tool to report that no matching issue was found.

actions/setup/js/assign_agent_helpers.cjs

@@ -250,9 +250,10 @@ async function getPullRequestDetails(owner, repo, pullNumber) {
  * @param {string|null} model - Optional AI model to use (e.g., "claude-opus-4.6", "auto")
  * @param {string|null} customAgent - Optional custom agent ID for custom agents
  * @param {string|null} customInstructions - Optional custom instructions for the agent
+ * @param {string|null} baseBranch - Optional base branch for the PR (uses GraphQL baseRef field)
  * @returns {Promise<boolean>} True if successful
  */
-async function assignAgentToIssue(assignableId, agentId, currentAssignees, agentName, allowedAgents = null, pullRequestRepoId = null, model = null, customAgent = null, customInstructions = null) {
+async function assignAgentToIssue(assignableId, agentId, currentAssignees, agentName, allowedAgents = null, pullRequestRepoId = null, model = null, customAgent = null, customInstructions = null, baseBranch = null) {
  // Filter current assignees based on allowed list (if configured)
  let filteredAssignees = currentAssignees;
  if (allowedAgents && allowedAgents.length > 0) {
@@ -276,7 +277,7 @@ async function assignAgentToIssue(assignableId, agentId, currentAssignees, agent
  const actorIds = [agentId, ...filteredAssignees.map(a => a.id).filter(id => id !== agentId)];
 
  // Build the agentAssignment object if any agent-specific parameters are provided
- const hasAgentAssignment = pullRequestRepoId || model || customAgent || customInstructions;
+ const hasAgentAssignment = pullRequestRepoId || model || customAgent || customInstructions || baseBranch;
 
  // Build the mutation - conditionally include agentAssignment if any parameters are provided
  let mutation;
@@ -303,6 +304,10 @@ async function assignAgentToIssue(assignableId, agentId, currentAssignees, agent
  agentAssignmentFields.push("customInstructions: $customInstructions");
  agentAssignmentParams.push("$customInstructions: String!");
  }
+ if (baseBranch) {
+ agentAssignmentFields.push("baseRef: $baseRef");
+ agentAssignmentParams.push("$baseRef: String!");
+ }
 
  // Build the mutation with agentAssignment
  const allParams = ["$assignableId: ID!", "$actorIds: [ID!]!", ...agentAssignmentParams].join(", ");
@@ -329,6 +334,7 @@ async function assignAgentToIssue(assignableId, agentId, currentAssignees, agent
  ...(model && { model }),
  ...(customAgent && { customAgent }),
  ...(customInstructions && { customInstructions }),
+ ...(baseBranch && { baseRef: baseBranch }),
  };
  } else {
  // Standard mutation without agentAssignment
@@ -357,6 +363,7 @@ async function assignAgentToIssue(assignableId, agentId, currentAssignees, agent
  if (model) debugMsg += `, model=${model}`;
  if (customAgent) debugMsg += `, customAgent=${customAgent}`;
  if (customInstructions) debugMsg += `, customInstructions=${customInstructions.substring(0, 50)}...`;
+ if (baseBranch) debugMsg += `, baseRef=${baseBranch}`;
  core.debug(debugMsg);
 
  // Build GraphQL-Features header - include coding_agent_model_selection when model is provided

actions/setup/js/assign_agent_helpers.test.cjs

@@ -397,6 +397,65 @@ describe("assign_agent_helpers.cjs", () => {
  expect(variables.customInstructions).toBe("Focus on performance");
  });
 
+ it("should include baseBranch as baseRef in agentAssignment when provided", async () => {
+ mockGithub.graphql.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+ replaceActorsForAssignable: {
+ __typename: "ReplaceActorsForAssignablePayload",
+ },
+ });
+
+ await assignAgentToIssue("ISSUE_123", "AGENT_456", [{ id: "USER_1", login: "user1" }], "copilot", null, null, null, null, null, "develop");
+
+ const calledArgs = mockGithub.graphql.mock.calls[0];
+ const mutation = calledArgs[0];
+ const variables = calledArgs[1];
+
+ // Mutation should include agentAssignment with baseRef
+ expect(mutation).toContain("agentAssignment");
+ expect(mutation).toContain("baseRef: $baseRef");
+ expect(variables.baseRef).toBe("develop");
+ });
+
+ it("should not include baseRef in mutation when baseBranch is not provided", async () => {
+ mockGithub.graphql.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+ replaceActorsForAssignable: {
+ __typename: "ReplaceActorsForAssignablePayload",
+ },
+ });
+
+ await assignAgentToIssue("ISSUE_123", "AGENT_456", [{ id: "USER_1", login: "user1" }], "copilot", null, null, null, null, null, null);
+
+ const calledArgs = mockGithub.graphql.mock.calls[0];
+ const mutation = calledArgs[0];
+ const variables = calledArgs[1];
+
+ expect(mutation).not.toContain("baseRef");
+ expect(variables.baseRef).toBeUndefined();
+ });
+
+ it("should include baseRef alongside other agentAssignment parameters", async () => {
+ mockGithub.graphql.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+ replaceActorsForAssignable: {
+ __typename: "ReplaceActorsForAssignablePayload",
+ },
+ });
+
+ await assignAgentToIssue("ISSUE_123", "AGENT_456", [{ id: "USER_1", login: "user1" }], "copilot", null, "REPO_ID_789", "claude-opus-4.6", null, "Fix the bug", "develop");
+
+ const calledArgs = mockGithub.graphql.mock.calls[0];
+ const mutation = calledArgs[0];
+ const variables = calledArgs[1];
+
+ expect(mutation).toContain("targetRepositoryId: $targetRepoId");
+ expect(mutation).toContain("model: $model");
+ expect(mutation).toContain("customInstructions: $customInstructions");
+ expect(mutation).toContain("baseRef: $baseRef");
+ expect(variables.targetRepoId).toBe("REPO_ID_789");
+ expect(variables.model).toBe("claude-opus-4.6");
+ expect(variables.customInstructions).toBe("Fix the bug");
+ expect(variables.baseRef).toBe("develop");
+ });
+
  it("should omit agentAssignment when no agent-specific parameters provided", async () => {
  mockGithub.graphql.mockResolvedValueOnce({
  replaceActorsForAssignable: {

actions/setup/js/assign_to_agent.cjs

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ const { resolveTarget } = require("./safe_output_helpers.cjs");
 const { loadTemporaryIdMap, resolveRepoIssueTarget } = require("./temporary_id.cjs");
 const { sleep } = require("./error_recovery.cjs");
 const { parseAllowedRepos, validateRepo, resolveTargetRepoConfig, resolveAndValidateRepo } = require("./repo_helpers.cjs");
-const { resolvePullRequestRepo, buildBranchInstruction } = require("./pr_helpers.cjs");
+const { resolvePullRequestRepo } = require("./pr_helpers.cjs");
 
 async function main() {
  const result = loadAgentOutput();
@@ -147,8 +147,6 @@ async function main() {
  let pullRequestRepoId = null;
  // Effective base branch: explicit config > fetched default branch from PR repo
  let effectiveBaseBranch = configuredBaseBranch || null;
- // Resolved default branch fetched from the target PR repo (used in NOT clause of branch instructions)
- let resolvedDefaultBranch = null;
 
  // Get allowed PR repos configuration for cross-repo validation
  const allowedPullRequestReposEnv = process.env.GH_AW_AGENT_ALLOWED_PULL_REQUEST_REPOS?.trim();
@@ -175,7 +173,6 @@ async function main() {
  const resolved = await resolvePullRequestRepo(github, pullRequestOwner, pullRequestRepo, configuredBaseBranch);
  pullRequestRepoId = resolved.repoId;
  effectiveBaseBranch = resolved.effectiveBaseBranch;
- resolvedDefaultBranch = resolved.resolvedDefaultBranch;
  core.info(`Pull request repository ID: ${pullRequestRepoId}`);
  if (!configuredBaseBranch && effectiveBaseBranch) {
  core.info(`Resolved pull request repository default branch: ${effectiveBaseBranch}`);
@@ -201,12 +198,7 @@ async function main() {
  // They are NOT available as per-item overrides in the tool call
  const model = defaultModel;
  const customAgent = defaultCustomAgent;
- // Build effective custom instructions: prepend base-branch instruction when needed
- let customInstructions = defaultCustomInstructions;
- if (effectiveBaseBranch) {
- const branchInstruction = buildBranchInstruction(effectiveBaseBranch, resolvedDefaultBranch);
- customInstructions = customInstructions ? `${branchInstruction}\n\n${customInstructions}` : branchInstruction;
- }
+ const customInstructions = defaultCustomInstructions || null;
 
  // Use these variables to allow temporary IDs to override target repo per-item.
  // Default to the per-item resolved repo (from item.repo or defaultTargetRepo).
@@ -466,7 +458,10 @@ async function main() {
  if (customInstructions) {
  core.info(`Using custom instructions: ${customInstructions.substring(0, 100)}${customInstructions.length > 100 ? "..." : ""}`);
  }
- const success = await assignAgentToIssue(assignableId, agentId, currentAssignees, agentName, allowedAgents, effectivePullRequestRepoId, model, customAgent, customInstructions);
+ if (effectiveBaseBranch) {
+ core.info(`Using base branch: ${effectiveBaseBranch}`);
+ }
+ const success = await assignAgentToIssue(assignableId, agentId, currentAssignees, agentName, allowedAgents, effectivePullRequestRepoId, model, customAgent, customInstructions, effectiveBaseBranch);
 
  if (!success) {
  throw new Error(`Failed to assign ${agentName} via GraphQL`);

actions/setup/js/assign_to_agent.test.cjs

@@ -1346,15 +1346,15 @@ describe("assign_to_agent", () => {
  await eval(`(async () => { ${assignToAgentScript}; await main(); })()`);
 
  expect(mockCore.setFailed).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
- // Verify the mutation was called with custom instructions containing the branch instruction
+ // Verify the mutation was called with baseRef set to the explicit base-branch
  const lastCall = mockGithub.graphql.mock.calls[mockGithub.graphql.mock.calls.length - 1];
- expect(lastCall[0]).toContain("customInstructions");
- expect(lastCall[1].customInstructions).toContain("develop");
- // NOT clause should reference the resolved default branch, not hardcoded 'main'
- expect(lastCall[1].customInstructions).toContain("NOT from 'main'");
+ expect(lastCall[0]).toContain("baseRef: $baseRef");
+ expect(lastCall[1].baseRef).toBe("develop");
+ // customInstructions should NOT contain the branch instruction text
+ expect(lastCall[1].customInstructions).toBeUndefined();
  });
 
- it("should auto-resolve non-main default branch from pull-request-repo and pass as instruction", async () => {
+ it("should auto-resolve non-main default branch from pull-request-repo and set as baseRef", async () => {
  process.env.GH_AW_AGENT_PULL_REQUEST_REPO = "test-owner/code-repo";
  // No GH_AW_AGENT_BASE_BRANCH set - should use repo's default branch
  setAgentOutput({
@@ -1376,13 +1376,13 @@ describe("assign_to_agent", () => {
 
  expect(mockCore.setFailed).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
  expect(mockCore.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("Resolved pull request repository default branch: develop"));
- // Verify the mutation was called with custom instructions containing branch info
+ // Verify the mutation was called with baseRef set to the resolved default branch
  const lastCall = mockGithub.graphql.mock.calls[mockGithub.graphql.mock.calls.length - 1];
- expect(lastCall[0]).toContain("customInstructions");
- expect(lastCall[1].customInstructions).toContain("develop");
+ expect(lastCall[0]).toContain("baseRef: $baseRef");
+ expect(lastCall[1].baseRef).toBe("develop");
  });
 
- it("should inject branch instruction even when pull-request-repo default branch is main (no explicit base-branch)", async () => {
+ it("should set baseRef when pull-request-repo default branch is main (no explicit base-branch)", async () => {
  process.env.GH_AW_AGENT_PULL_REQUEST_REPO = "test-owner/code-repo";
  // No GH_AW_AGENT_BASE_BRANCH set; repo default is main
  setAgentOutput({
@@ -1403,10 +1403,10 @@ describe("assign_to_agent", () => {
  await eval(`(async () => { ${assignToAgentScript}; await main(); })()`);
 
  expect(mockCore.setFailed).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
- // Instruction is injected with the resolved default branch name (no NOT clause since it matches)
+ // Verify the mutation was called with baseRef set to the repo's default branch
  const lastCall = mockGithub.graphql.mock.calls[mockGithub.graphql.mock.calls.length - 1];
- expect(lastCall[0]).toContain("customInstructions");
- expect(lastCall[1].customInstructions).toContain("main");
- expect(lastCall[1].customInstructions).not.toContain("NOT from");
+ expect(lastCall[0]).toContain("baseRef: $baseRef");
+ expect(lastCall[1].baseRef).toBe("main");
+ expect(lastCall[1].customInstructions).toBeUndefined();
  });
 });

pkg/workflow/compiler_safe_outputs.go

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ func (c *Compiler) parseOnSection(frontmatter map[string]any, workflowData *Work
 	var hasCommand bool
 	var hasReaction bool
 	var hasStopAfter bool
+	var hasStatusComment bool
 	var otherEvents map[string]any
 
 	// Use cached On field from ParsedFrontmatter if available, otherwise fall back to map access
@@ -60,6 +61,7 @@ func (c *Compiler) parseOnSection(frontmatter map[string]any, workflowData *Work
 
  // Extract status-comment from on section
  if statusCommentValue, hasStatusCommentField := onMap["status-comment"]; hasStatusCommentField {
+ hasStatusComment = true
  if statusCommentBool, ok := statusCommentValue.(bool); ok {
  workflowData.StatusComment = &statusCommentBool
  compilerSafeOutputsLog.Printf("status-comment set to: %v", statusCommentBool)
@@ -156,7 +158,7 @@ func (c *Compiler) parseOnSection(frontmatter map[string]any, workflowData *Work
  // We'll store this and handle it in applyDefaults
  workflowData.On = "" // This will trigger command handling in applyDefaults
  workflowData.CommandOtherEvents = otherEvents
-	} else if (hasReaction || hasStopAfter) && len(otherEvents) > 0 {
+	} else if (hasReaction || hasStopAfter || hasStatusComment) && len(otherEvents) > 0 {
  // Only re-marshal the "on" if we have to
  onEventsYAML, err := yaml.Marshal(map[string]any{"on": otherEvents})
  if err == nil {