GitHub Agentic Workflows

Automate GitHub tasks safely using AI agents—write workflows in plain English, no YAML required.
AI agents execute complex GitHub operations like issue triage, PR reviews, and repository maintenance automatically.

Getting Started

What are GitHub Agentic Workflows?

GitHub Agentic Workflows allow you to write repository-level AI agent descriptions in plain markdown and run automatically in GitHub Actions. Describe your repository automation goals and execute safely with built-in security controls, having AI make intelligent decisions based on context.

How they work:

Write - Create a .md file with your automation instructions in natural language
Compile - Run gh aw compile to transform it into a secure GitHub Actions workflow (.lock.yml)
Run - GitHub Actions executes your workflow automatically based on your triggers

Security Built-In

Workflows run with read-only permissions by default. Write operations require explicit approval through sanitized safe outputs (pre-approved GitHub operations), with sandboxed execution, tool allowlisting, and network isolation ensuring AI agents operate safely within controlled boundaries.

Key Features

Natural Language Workflows

Write automation in markdown instead of complex YAML

AI-Powered Decision Making

Workflows that understand context and adapt to situations

GitHub Integration

Deep integration with Actions, issues, PRs, discussions, and repository management

Safety First

Sandboxed execution with minimal permissions and safe output processing

Multiple AI Engines

Support for Claude, Codex, and custom AI processors

Continuous AI

Systematic, automated application of AI to software collaboration

Example: Daily Issues Report

Here’s a simple workflow that runs daily to create an upbeat status report:

---
on:
  schedule: daily
permissions:
  contents: read
  issues: read
  pull-requests: read
safe-outputs:
  create-issue:
    title-prefix: "[team-status] "
    labels: [report, daily-status]
    close-older-issues: true
---

## Daily Issues Report

Create an upbeat daily status report for the team as a GitHub issue.

The gh aw cli converts this into a GitHub Actions Workflow (.yml) that runs an AI agent (Copilot, Claude, Codex, …) in a containerized environment on a schedule or manually.

The AI agent reads your repository context, analyzes issues, generates visualizations, and creates reports - all defined in natural language rather than complex code.

Workflow Examples

Triage & Analysis

automated

Intelligent issue triage and CI failure investigation

Coding & Development

automated

PR assistance and automated dependency updates

Quality & Testing

automated

Test coverage improvements and performance optimization

Peli's Agent Factory

automated

Take a magical journey with Peli de Halleux to explore over 100 specialized agentic workflows