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GitHub Agentic Workflows

Command Triggers

GitHub Agentic Workflows add the convenience command: trigger to create workflows that respond to /my-bots in issues and comments.

on:
  command:
    name: my-bot  # Optional: defaults to filename without .md extension

You can also use the shorthand string format:

on:
  command: "my-bot"  # Shorthand: string directly specifies command name

This automatically creates issue/PR triggers (opened, edited, reopened), comment triggers (created, edited), and conditional execution matching /command-name mentions.

You can combine command: with other events like workflow_dispatch or schedule:

on:
  command:
    name: my-bot
  workflow_dispatch:
  schedule:
    - cron: "0 9 * * 1"

Note: You cannot combine command with issues, issue_comment, or pull_request as they would conflict.

Filtering Command Events

Section titled “Filtering Command Events”

By default, command triggers respond to /command-name mentions in all comment-related contexts. Use the events: field to restrict where commands are active:

on:
  command:
    name: my-bot
    events: [issues, issue_comment]  # Only in issue bodies and issue comments

Supported events: issues (issue bodies), issue_comment (issue comments only), pull_request_comment (PR comments only), pull_request (PR bodies), pull_request_review_comment (PR review comments), discussion (discussion bodies), discussion_comment (discussion comments), or * (all comment events, default).

Example command workflow

Section titled “Example command workflow”

Using object format:

---
on:
  command:
    name: summarize-issue
permissions:
  issues: write
tools:
  github:
    toolset: [issues]
---


# Issue Summarizer


When someone mentions /summarize-issue in an issue or comment,
analyze and provide a helpful summary.


The current context text is: "${{ needs.activation.outputs.text }}"

Context Text

Section titled “Context Text”

All workflows access needs.activation.outputs.text, which provides sanitized context: for issues and PRs, it’s title + "\n\n" + body; for comments and reviews, it’s the body content.

# Analyze this content: "${{ needs.activation.outputs.text }}"

Why sanitized context? The sanitized text neutralizes @mentions and bot triggers (like fixes #123), protects against XML injection, filters URIs to trusted HTTPS domains, limits content size (0.5MB max, 65k lines), and strips ANSI escape sequences.

Comparison:

# RECOMMENDED: Secure sanitized context
Analyze this issue: "${{ needs.activation.outputs.text }}"


# DISCOURAGED: Raw context values (security risks)
Title: "${{ github.event.issue.title }}"
Body: "${{ github.event.issue.body }}"

Reactions

Section titled “Reactions”

Command workflows automatically add the “eyes” (👀) emoji reaction to triggering comments and edit them with workflow run links, providing immediate feedback. Customize the reaction:

on:
  command:
    name: my-bot
  reaction: "rocket"  # Override default "eyes"

See Reactions for available reactions and detailed behavior.

Section titled “Related Documentation”