Support GitHub Agentic Workflow lockfiles

[martincostello]

Tell us more.

GitHub Agentic Workflows use a different syntax for workflows compared to GitHub Actions workflows.

These workflows come with a lockfile located at .github/aw/actions-lock.json where an actions version and SHA are located, for example:

{
  "entries": {
    "actions/github-script@v8": {
      "repo": "actions/github-script",
      "version": "v8",
      "sha": "ed597411d8f924073f98dfc5c65a23a2325f34cd"
    },
    "github/gh-aw/actions/setup@v0.45.5": {
      "repo": "github/gh-aw/actions/setup",
      "version": "v0.45.5",
      "sha": "852cb06ad52958b402ed982b69957ffc57ca0619"
    }
  }
}

Agentic workflows then need to be updated to consume the changes to the lock files via the gh aw compile command.

At least, that's my understanding. I haven't used Agentic Workflows myself yet, but I've spotted their use in dotnet/aspnetcore#65540.

Assuming my understanding is correct, renovate's existing GitHub Actions support should also support updating the versions for Agentic Workflows.

There's some likely useful additional details in this document: Dependabot Support

[github-actions[bot]]

Hi there,

You're asking us to support a new package manager. We need to know some basic information about this package manager first. Please copy/paste the new package manager questionnaire, and fill it out in full.

Once the questionnaire is filled out we'll decide if we want to support this new manager.

Good luck,

The Renovate team

[jamietanna]

(@tobio out of interest, is this something Elastic are interested in? I ask as I note y'all are on 39.x, so won't be able to get it until your setup is upgraded)

[jamietanna]

If someone is able to fill in the questionnaire ☝️ then we can get an Issue raised (and someone from the community can start implementing)

[tobio]

This discussion popped up after I saw renovate try an get involved in agentic workflows. After digging into this a little further, it looks like the versions in .github/actions-lock.json refer to the version of the AW extension installed into the local GH CLI. The extension version then dramatically impacts the compiled workflow.

@jamietanna I'm happy to fill out the questionnaire, but the implementation here (i.e update the expected extension version, install the expected extension, recompile workflow) feels pretty involved. Is this something renovate's interested in implementing?

[jamietanna]

This is most likely to be a community contributed change, but yes we're willing to review a contribution towards this!

[secustor]

If it relies on specific versions of gh, then we will need support for installing gh in container base and have to treat it like a package manager 🤔

[tobio]

New package manager questionnaire

Did you read our documentation on adding a package manager?

• I've read the adding a package manager documentation.

Basics

What's the name of the package manager?

Github Agentic Workflows (gh aw)

What language(s) does this package manager support?

Github Agent Workflow definitions (yaml)

How popular is this package manager?

Newly released so not wildly popular.

Does this language have other (competing?) package managers?

• Yes (give names).
• No.

What are the big selling points for this package manager?

This is the canonical way of managing compiled Github Agentic workflows

Detecting package files

What kind of package files, and names, does this package manager use?

.github/aw/actions-lock.yml

Which managerFilePatterns pattern(s) should Renovate use?

.github/aw/actions-lock.yml

Do many users need to extend the managerFilePatterns pattern for custom file names?

• Yes, provide details.
• No.

Is the managerFilePatterns pattern going to get many "false hits" for files that have nothing to do with package management?

No

Parsing and Extraction

Can package files have "local" links to each other that need to be resolved?

No

Package file parsing method

The package files should be:

• Parsed together (in serial).
• Parsed independently.

Which format/syntax does the package file use?

• JSON
• TOML
• YAML
• Custom (explain below)

How should we parse the package files?

• Off the shelf parser.
• Using regex.
• Custom-parsed line by line.
• Other.

Does the package file have different "types" of dependencies?

• Yes, production and development dependencies.
• No, all dependencies are treated the same.

List all the sources/syntaxes of dependencies that can be extracted

Describe which types of dependencies above are supported and which will be implemented in future

Versioning

What versioning scheme does the package file(s) use?

Semver

Does this versioning scheme support range constraints, like ^1.0.0 or 1.x?

• Supports range constraints (for example: ^1.0.0 or 1.x), provide details.
• No.

Lookup

Is a new datasource required?

• Yes, provide details.
• No.

gh extension upgrade aw --dry-run
gh-aw releases

Will users want (or need to) set a custom host or custom registry for Renovate's lookup?

• Yes, provide details.
• No.

Where can Renovate find the custom host/registry?

• No custom host or registry is needed.
• In the package file(s), provide details.
• In some other file inside the repository, provide details.
• User needs to configure Renovate where to find the information, provide details.

Are there any constraints in the package files that Renovate should use in the lookup procedure?

• Yes, there are constraints on the parent language (for example: supports only Python v3.x), provide details.
• Yes, there are constraints on the parent platform (for example: only supports Linux, Windows, etc.), provide details.
• Yes, some other kind of constraint, provide details.
• No constraints.

Will users need the ability to configure language or other constraints using Renovate config?

• Yes, provide details.
• No.

Artifacts

Does the package manager use a lock file or checksum file?

• Yes, uses lock file.
• Yes, uses checksum file.
• Yes, uses lock file and checksum file.
• No lock file or checksum.

Is the locksum or checksum mandatory?

• Yes, locksum is mandatory.
• Yes, checksum is mandatory.
• Yes, lock file and checksum are mandatory.
• No mandatory locksum or checksum.
• Package manager does not use locksums or checksums.

If lockfiles or checksums are used: what tool and exact commands should Renovate use to update one (or more) package versions in a dependency file?

Package manager cache

Does the package manager use a cache?

• Yes, provide details.
• No.

If the package manager uses a cache, how can Renovate control the cache?

• Package manager does not use a cache.
• Controlled via command line interface, provide details.
• Controlled via environment variables, provide details.

Should Renovate keep a cache?

• Yes, ignore/disable the cache.
• No.

Generating a lockfile from scratch

Renovate can perform "lock file maintenance" by getting the package manager to generate a lockfile from scratch.
Can the package manager generate a lockfile from scratch?

• Yes, explain which command Renovate should use to generate the lockfile.
• No, the package manager does not generate a lockfile from scratch.
• No, the package manager does not use lockfiles.

gh aw compile

Other

What else should we know about this package manager?