https://github.com/elastic/integrations/pull/17730 contains multiple comments for the PR Buildkite Detective

[v1v]

Instead of creating one new comment per buidlite detective, reuse the existing one if exists otherwise, create a new one.

This should avoid spamming with several comments but keep the UI usable.

For instance if you inspect elastic/integrations#17730 (comment) you will see that comment contains multiple editions, that's done with some other auotmation but illustrates what we are trying to achieve here

[github-actions]

2 related issues

• Actions and branch detective should hide older comments #594 — it focuses on reducing detective comment noise by hiding older comments, which is directly relevant to this issue’s goal of avoiding PR comment spam.
• PR actions detective no-op if no failures #620 — it addresses PR detective comment noise in a different path (no-failure handling), and its discussion is useful context for keeping comment output concise.

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[github-actions]

tl;dr: PR Buildkite Detective currently creates a new PR comment per run (with older ones hidden), and because it can trigger from both status and check_run, duplicate comment churn is expected; implement comment upsert/reuse with a stable marker and event deduplication.

Recommendation

Implement single-comment upsert for Buildkite detective output (reuse existing detective comment when present, create only once), and reduce duplicate workflow invocations by choosing one canonical trigger path or adding dedupe gating between status and check_run.

Findings

• Dual triggers exist in both trigger workflow and published example:

  • .github/workflows/trigger-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.yml:5-7
  • .github/workflows/trigger-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.yml:19-20
  • gh-agent-workflows/estc-pr-buildkite-detective/example.yml:3-4
  • gh-agent-workflows/estc-pr-buildkite-detective/example.yml:17-18

• Runs are not deduped across related events because concurrency key is run-specific:

  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.md:67-68
  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.lock.yml:100-102

• Detective instructions explicitly tell the agent to create comments (add_comment), not update existing ones:

  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.md:204
  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.lock.yml:410

• Safe-output fragment is add-only with hide-older behavior (anti-clutter, not reuse):

  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-fragments/safe-output-add-comment-pr-hide-older.md:3-9
  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.lock.yml:1488

• Tool surface in the generated workflow includes add_comment/noop/etc., but no update-comment primitive:

  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.lock.yml:201
  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.lock.yml:676

• Relevant prior context:

  • Issue #632 and PR #634 addressed PR association/noop behavior, not comment reuse.

Verification

I verified with repository searches (no code changes made):

$ rg -n "status:|check_run:|conclusion == 'failure'|state == 'failure'" .github/workflows/trigger-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.yml
auto lines: 5,6,19,20 (dual trigger + failure gates)

$ rg -n "concurrency:|group:|run_id|add_comment|safe-output-add-comment-pr-hide-older" .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.md
auto lines: 11,67,68,204

$ rg -n "add-comment:|hide-older-comments|max: 1" .github/workflows/gh-aw-fragments/safe-output-add-comment-pr-hide-older.md
auto lines: 3,4,8

$ rg -n "concurrency:|group:|run_id|add_comment|hide_older_comments|safe output tools available" .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.lock.yml
auto lines include: 100-102, 201, 410, 676, 1488

$ rg -n "estc-pr-buildkite-detective|buildkite detective|hide_older_comments|add_comment" tests
No matches found

Detailed Action Plan

1. Add a stable marker for detective comments in .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.md (example: ``) so comments can be found deterministically.

2. Extend safe-output behavior used by this workflow from add-only to upsert semantics (find existing bot comment on target PR by marker, update it; else create). Wire this via the safe-output fragment imported by this workflow:

   • .github/workflows/gh-aw-fragments/safe-output-add-comment-pr-hide-older.md (or a new dedicated upsert fragment)
   • regenerate .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.lock.yml

3. Update the detective prompt in .github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.md to instruct “update existing detective comment if present, otherwise create”. Ensure compiled prompt in lockfile reflects this.

4. Reduce duplicate invocations by trigger strategy:

   • either pick one canonical event (check_run preferred for direct PR linkage), or
   • keep both but gate one path when both refer to the same incident (BK_EVENT_ID/BK_TARGET_URL + commit/PR tuple).
     Update both:
   • .github/workflows/trigger-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.yml
   • gh-agent-workflows/estc-pr-buildkite-detective/example.yml

5. Validate in a sandbox repo by replaying repeated failures for the same PR and confirm one evolving detective comment rather than multiple new comments.

Related Items

Type	Link	Relevance
Issue	#647	Current request: reuse existing detective comment
Issue	#632	Prior bug: PR association for Buildkite detective
PR	#634	Fixes PR association/noop/event context, not comment reuse
File	.github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.md	Prompt/instructions + run concurrency
File	.github/workflows/gh-aw-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.lock.yml	Compiled behavior and safe-output config
File	.github/workflows/trigger-estc-pr-buildkite-detective.yml	Event triggers that can duplicate runs
File	gh-agent-workflows/estc-pr-buildkite-detective/example.yml	User-facing trigger example with same dual-trigger pattern
File	.github/workflows/gh-aw-fragments/safe-output-add-comment-pr-hide-older.md	Current add-only + hide older comments policy

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