Use workflow-id instead of runId for stable island identification #15207

Copilot · 2026-02-12T17:06:36Z

The replace-island operation in updateBody was using context.runId for island markers, causing each workflow run to create new islands instead of updating existing ones. The identifier must be stable across runs to enable content replacement.

Changes

Island marker identification: Changed from numeric runId to string workflow-id (derived from workflow markdown filename)
- buildIslandStartMarker(workflowId) and buildIslandEndMarker(workflowId) now use workflow-id
- findIsland(body, workflowId) searches by stable identifier
- updateBody() accepts workflowId parameter instead of runId
Callers updated: update_issue.cjs, update_pull_request.cjs, update_release.cjs now pass process.env.GH_AW_WORKFLOW_ID

Example

Before (unstable):

<!-- gh-aw-island-start:12345 -->
Content from run 12345
<!-- gh-aw-island-end:12345 -->

<!-- Second run creates new island -->
<!-- gh-aw-island-start:67890 -->
Content from run 67890
<!-- gh-aw-island-end:67890 -->

After (stable):

<!-- gh-aw-island-start:my-workflow -->
Content from run 2 (replaced content from run 1)
<!-- gh-aw-island-end:my-workflow -->

Multiple runs now update the same island section instead of appending new ones.

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Changeset

Type: patch
Description: Island markers now use the stable workflow-id so repeated runs update a single island instead of appending new sections.

Generated by Changeset Generator

jobayertangail92-hub

@copilot

…identification Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

pelikhan · 2026-02-12T17:32:33Z

@copilot review work, add tests

github-actions · 2026-02-12T17:49:49Z

✅ Changeset Generator completed successfully!

github-actions · 2026-02-12T17:49:50Z

🧪 Smoke Project is now testing project operations...

github-actions · 2026-02-12T17:49:51Z

📰 BREAKING: Smoke Copilot is now investigating this pull request. Sources say the story is developing...

github-actions · 2026-02-12T17:49:53Z

🎬 THE END — Smoke Claude MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED! The hero saves the day! ✨

github-actions · 2026-02-12T17:49:55Z

✨ The prophecy is fulfilled... Smoke Codex has completed its mystical journey. The stars align. 🌟

github-actions · 2026-02-12T17:52:44Z

Agent Container Tool Check

Tool	Status	Version
bash	✅	5.2.21
sh	✅	available
git	✅	2.52.0
jq	✅	1.7
yq	✅	4.52.2
curl	✅	8.5.0
gh	✅	2.86.0
node	✅	20.20.0
python3	✅	3.12.3
go	✅	1.24.13
java	✅	21.0.10
dotnet	✅	10.0.102

Result: 12/12 tools available ✅ PASS

AI generated by Agent Container Smoke Test

github-actions · 2026-02-12T17:53:06Z

✅ Smoke Project completed successfully. All project operations validated.

github-actions · 2026-02-12T17:54:16Z

Smoke Test Results - Run 21957895205

✅ GitHub MCP
✅ Safe Inputs GH CLI
❌ Serena MCP
✅ Playwright
✅ File Writing
✅ Bash Tool
✅ Discussion Interaction
✅ Build gh-aw
✅ Workflow Dispatch

Overall: PASS (8/9)

PRs: #15211, #15210

cc @pelikhan @Copilot

AI generated by Smoke Copilot

github-actions · 2026-02-12T17:54:39Z

📰 VERDICT: Smoke Copilot has concluded. All systems operational. This is a developing story. 🎤

github-actions · 2026-02-12T17:55:41Z

PR titles: Prevent workflow command injection in core.info() logging; Fix slide-deck-maintainer: require explicit safe output tool calls
GitHub MCP (2 merged PRs): ✅
Serena activate + find_symbol (>=3): ✅
Playwright title contains GitHub: ✅
File write + cat verify: ✅
Build make build: ✅
Overall: PASS

AI generated by Smoke Codex

Copilot

Pull request overview

Updates replace-island body updates to use a stable workflow identifier instead of context.runId, so repeated workflow runs replace a single existing “island” section rather than appending new ones.

Changes:

Switched island marker construction/searching from runId to workflowId
Updated action entrypoints to pass GH_AW_WORKFLOW_ID into updateBody
Refreshed unit tests and fuzz harness inputs to use workflowId

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
actions/setup/js/update_pr_description_helpers.cjs	Use `workflowId` for island marker generation and lookup in `replace-island`.
actions/setup/js/update_pr_description_helpers.test.cjs	Update helper tests to assert markers/search use `workflowId`.
actions/setup/js/update_issue.cjs	Pass `workflowId` (from `GH_AW_WORKFLOW_ID`) into `updateBody`.
actions/setup/js/update_issue.test.cjs	Update issue update tests to expect workflow-id based island markers.
actions/setup/js/update_pull_request.cjs	Pass `workflowId` (from `GH_AW_WORKFLOW_ID`) into `updateBody`.
actions/setup/js/update_release.cjs	Pass `workflowId` (from `GH_AW_WORKFLOW_ID`) into `updateBody`.
actions/setup/js/fuzz_update_body_harness.cjs	Switch fuzz harness params/input from `runId` to `workflowId`.
.changeset/patch-stable-island-markers.md	Add changeset entry documenting the patch behavior change.

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Copilot · 2026-02-12T17:58:20Z

actions/setup/js/update_pr_description_helpers.cjs

 */
 function updateBody(params) {
-  const { currentBody, newContent, operation, workflowName, runUrl, runId, includeFooter = true } = params;
+  const { currentBody, newContent, operation, workflowName, runUrl, workflowId, includeFooter = true } = params;


replace-island now fully depends on workflowId, but nothing here enforces that it’s non-empty. If callers pass \"\" (which they currently do as a default), all workflows without GH_AW_WORKFLOW_ID will share the same markers (), causing unrelated runs/workflows to overwrite each other’s islands. Consider failing fast for replace-island when workflowId is falsy (with an actionable message), or deriving a stable fallback identifier instead of allowing the empty string.

Copilot · 2026-02-12T17:58:20Z

actions/setup/js/update_pr_description_helpers.cjs

@@ -85,24 +85,24 @@ function updateBody(params) {
  }

  if (operation === "replace-island") {


replace-island now fully depends on workflowId, but nothing here enforces that it’s non-empty. If callers pass \"\" (which they currently do as a default), all workflows without GH_AW_WORKFLOW_ID will share the same markers (), causing unrelated runs/workflows to overwrite each other’s islands. Consider failing fast for replace-island when workflowId is falsy (with an actionable message), or deriving a stable fallback identifier instead of allowing the empty string.

Suggested change

if (operation === "replace-island") {

if (operation === "replace-island") {

if (!workflowId) {

throw new Error(

"updateBody: 'workflowId' must be a non-empty string for 'replace-island' operation. " +

"Set GH_AW_WORKFLOW_ID or pass a stable workflowId value."

);

}

Copilot · 2026-02-12T17:58:21Z

actions/setup/js/update_pr_description_helpers.cjs

+function buildIslandStartMarker(workflowId) {
+  return `<!-- gh-aw-island-start:${workflowId} -->`;


workflowId is interpolated directly into an HTML comment marker. If it contains -->, newlines, or other unexpected characters, it can break marker structure and potentially enable marker spoofing/injection in the body. Recommend sanitizing/normalizing workflowId to a safe character set (and trimming) before building markers (e.g., restrict to [A-Za-z0-9._-] and replace others), and documenting the allowed format.

Copilot · 2026-02-12T17:58:21Z

actions/setup/js/update_pr_description_helpers.cjs

+function buildIslandEndMarker(workflowId) {
+  return `<!-- gh-aw-island-end:${workflowId} -->`;


workflowId is interpolated directly into an HTML comment marker. If it contains -->, newlines, or other unexpected characters, it can break marker structure and potentially enable marker spoofing/injection in the body. Recommend sanitizing/normalizing workflowId to a safe character set (and trimming) before building markers (e.g., restrict to [A-Za-z0-9._-] and replace others), and documenting the allowed format.

Copilot · 2026-02-12T17:58:21Z

actions/setup/js/update_pr_description_helpers.test.cjs

+    it("should build island start marker with workflow ID", () => {
+      const marker = buildIslandStartMarker("test-workflow");
+      expect(marker).toBe("<!-- gh-aw-island-start:test-workflow -->");


There are good updates to move tests to workflowId, but the riskier new behaviors aren’t covered: (1) workflowId being empty/undefined (especially for replace-island) and (2) workflowId containing unsafe characters (e.g., whitespace, newlines, or -->). Add tests that assert the chosen behavior (throw, fallback, or sanitization) so marker stability/correctness doesn’t regress.

Initial plan

42e75dc

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and pelikhan Feb 12, 2026

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jobayertangail92-hub approved these changes Feb 12, 2026

View reviewed changes

Fix updateBody to use workflow-id instead of runId for stable island …

a8d3422

…identification Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Fix updateBody to use workflow-id instead of runId~~ Use workflow-id instead of runId for stable island identification Feb 12, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan February 12, 2026 17:28

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan February 12, 2026 17:28

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pelikhan added the smoke label Feb 12, 2026

Add changeset [skip-ci]

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Smoke Test: Copilot - 21957895205 #15212

Closed

pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review February 12, 2026 17:55

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 12, 2026 17:55

Merge branch 'main' into copilot/fix-updatebody-workflow-id

bea761f

pelikhan merged commit 4bbca15 into main Feb 12, 2026
48 checks passed

pelikhan deleted the copilot/fix-updatebody-workflow-id branch February 12, 2026 17:55

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View reviewed changes

This was referenced Feb 12, 2026

Smoke Test: Copilot - 21959564629 #15223

Closed

🌱 Daily Team Evolution Insights - February 13, 2026 #15280

Open

		@@ -85,24 +85,24 @@ function updateBody(params) {
		}

		if (operation === "replace-island") {

-  if (operation === "replace-island") {
+  if (operation === "replace-island") {
+    if (!workflowId) {
+      throw new Error(
+        "updateBody: 'workflowId' must be a non-empty string for 'replace-island' operation. " +
+          "Set GH_AW_WORKFLOW_ID or pass a stable workflowId value."
+      );
+    }

		function buildIslandStartMarker(workflowId) {
		return `<!-- gh-aw-island-start:${workflowId} -->`;

		function buildIslandEndMarker(workflowId) {
		return `<!-- gh-aw-island-end:${workflowId} -->`;

Use workflow-id instead of runId for stable island identification #15207

Use workflow-id instead of runId for stable island identification #15207

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