repo-assist: broader labeling, forward-progress task, report format enforcement, prose reduction, round-robin scheduling

[Copilot]

Repo Assist was over-indexing on labeling (narrow label set, low cap, no follow-up engagement), lacked any proactive initiative work, was inconsistent about the monthly activity issue format, the workflow prompt was overly verbose, all tasks were attempted in sequence every run, and issue triage was too conservative about engaging with backlog issues.

Labeling (Task 7 + safe-outputs)

• Expanded allowed label set from 6 → 16 (documentation, question, duplicate, wontfix, needs triage, needs investigation, breaking change, performance, security, refactor, spam, off topic added)
• All 16 allowed labels are now listed in both the YAML front-matter and the Task 7 markdown prompt
• Raised add-labels/remove-labels max from 3 → 30
• Removed the "max 5 label changes per run" cap; Task 7 now uses the backlog cursor and processes as many items as possible per run
• After labeling, must comment on the issue if there's something useful to say — no silent labeling

Task 1: Issue Triage Engagement

• Never-commented issues (including old backlog issues) are explicitly prioritised
• Engagement is judgment-based: only comment when the response would be insightful, accurate, helpful, and constructive
• Realistically expect 1–3 substantive comments per run, while scanning many more issues for good candidates
• Re-engagement on already-commented issues still requires new human activity since the last comment

New Task 10: Take the Repository Forward

A non-mandatory task (ordered before the reporting task) described as a single concise paragraph, leaving all judgement calls to the agent. The agent is directed to proactively move the repository forward — implementing backlog features, investigating bugs, drafting plans or proposals — spanning multiple runs as needed, with progress tracked in memory.

Task 11: Update Monthly Activity Summary Issue (the only mandatory task)

Renamed from Task 10. Added a mandatory Format enforcement step:

• If the existing issue body is in an old format, rewrite it entirely to the canonical structure
• Completed "Suggested Actions" items must be deleted (not checked off) — the checklist contains only pending actions
• * [ ] checkboxes required in the Suggested Actions section; plain bullets are not permitted

Role / Project Values Section

The Role section's full project-values bullet list has been restored (it was over-condensed during prose reduction):

• Polite and encouraging — warm, inclusive language for every contributor
• Concise — focused and actionable comments
• Mindful of project values — stability, correctness, minimal dependencies; no new dependencies without clear justification
• Transparent — always identify as Repo Assist, never pretend to be a human maintainer
• Restrained — silence is better than noise; human maintainers' attention is precious

Prose Reduction

Rewrote all task sections for succinctness, cutting the workflow significantly. Key cuts:

• Removed redundant sub-bullets, repeated MANDATORY markers, and "ask yourself" checklists
• Replaced verbatim quoted comment templates (nudge, welcome) with brief descriptions
• Collapsed the per-label description list in Task 7 to a single flat list
• Condensed the Guidelines section by removing sub-bullet expansions that restated task-level rules
• All instructions and behaviours are preserved; only the phrasing is tighter

Round-Robin Task Scheduling

Instead of working through all tasks in order every run, Repo Assist now uses a round-robin strategy:

• Each run works on a different subset of 2–4 tasks, rotating through them across runs so all tasks get periodic attention
• Memory tracks which tasks were last run (with timestamps); the agent prioritises the tasks that haven't run for the longest
• Task 11 (Monthly Activity Summary) remains mandatory every run regardless of rotation

Original prompt

---

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>rrepo assist over focusing on labelling</issue_title>
<issue_description>Looking at some runs of repo assist

1. Spending too much time labelling, not very usefully.. It should be able to label many more issues in one run, and be able to apply a more diverse range of labels But it should not just label issues - it should geverally engage and comment on issues it labels

2. Add a new task where the assist "takes the repository forward" whatever that means. Making plans, charting out possible features, implementing old backlog of suggested features if they are cohesive sensible suggestions to the overall whole, making progress investigating duffucukt bugs. In these cases the repo assist can engage multiple times on work it leads.

3. Be stronger about using the given format for the reporting issue. If you encounter old formats rewrite the to the new format using markdown checklists. Actively remove completed items from the checklist. </issue_description>

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

• Fixes repo assist over focusing on labelling #187

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[Copilot]

Just as a heads up, I was blocked by some firewall rules while working on your feedback. Expand below for details.

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/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4 --jq .object.sha (http block)

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

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

[Copilot]

Just as a heads up, I was blocked by some firewall rules while working on your feedback. Expand below for details.

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/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4 --jq .object.sha (http block)

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

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

[Copilot]

Just as a heads up, I was blocked by some firewall rules while working on your feedback. Expand below for details.

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/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4 --jq .object.sha (http block)

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

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

[Copilot]

Just as a heads up, I was blocked by some firewall rules while working on your feedback. Expand below for details.

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/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4 --jq .object.sha (http block)

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

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

[Copilot]

Just as a heads up, I was blocked by some firewall rules while working on your feedback. Expand below for details.

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/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4 --jq .object.sha (http block)

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

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

[Copilot]

Just as a heads up, I was blocked by some firewall rules while working on your feedback. Expand below for details.

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/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4 --jq .object.sha (http block)

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

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

[Copilot]

Just as a heads up, I was blocked by some firewall rules while working on your feedback. Expand below for details.

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/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4 --jq .object.sha (http block)

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

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

[Copilot]

Just as a heads up, I was blocked by some firewall rules while working on your feedback. Expand below for details.

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/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4
  • Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v0.48.4 --jq .object.sha (http block)

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

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)