[q] Fix copilot-session-insights workflow error handling for missing gh agent-task extension

# Q Workflow Optimization Report

## Investigation Summary

Analyzed the failed [Copilot Session Insights workflow run §18986368831](https://github.com/githubnext/gh-aw/actions/runs/18986368831) as requested by `@pelikhan`. The workflow failed because the Claude agent step crashed before producing any output, preventing the creation of `/tmp/gh-aw/agent-stdio.log`.

## Root Cause Analysis

The workflow relies on a custom step that downloads Copilot agent task sessions using the `gh agent-task` CLI extension. The failure occurred because:

1. **Missing gh agent-task extension**: The extension may not be installed in the runner environment
2. **Authentication issues**: The workflow used `GITHUB_TOKEN` instead of `GH_AW_COPILOT_TOKEN` 
3. **No error handling**: The custom step had no fallback when the CLI extension failed
4. **Workflow dependency**: The Claude agent depends on successfully downloaded session data

## Changes Made

### Enhanced Error Handling

**Modified File**: `.github/workflows/copilot-session-insights.md`

#### 1. Pre-flight Validation Checks

Added comprehensive checks before attempting to download sessions:

- ✅ Verify GitHub CLI (`gh`) is available
- ✅ Check if `gh agent-task` extension is installed
- ✅ Validate authentication token is configured
- ✅ Provide helpful warnings when requirements aren't met

#### 2. Graceful Degradation

- Set `continue-on-error: true` on the download step
- Create empty session files when download fails (prevents downstream errors)
- Add `sessions_available` output flag for conditional logic
- Agent can now run even without session data

#### 3. Improved Authentication

```yaml
env:
  GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_AW_COPILOT_TOKEN || secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
```

- Prefer `GH_AW_COPILOT_TOKEN` (required for agent task API access)
- Fallback to `GITHUB_TOKEN` with clear error messaging
- Explain authentication requirements in error messages

#### 4. Fallback Documentation Discussion

When session data is unavailable, the agent creates a configuration help discussion explaining:

- Required GitHub Enterprise Copilot subscription
- How to install `gh agent-task` extension
- Authentication setup with `GH_AW_COPILOT_TOKEN` secret
- Expected permissions and access requirements

### Updated Workflow Instructions

Modified the agent prompt to handle missing session data:

- Added session availability check at Phase 0
- Conditional logic: full analysis if data available, config help if not
- Clear guidance on what to do when sessions can't be accessed
- Two discussion templates: analysis report vs. configuration guide

## Validation

✅ Workflow compiles successfully:
```
gh aw compile copilot-session-insights
✓ .github/workflows/copilot-session-insights.md (211.4 KB)
```

⚠️ Expected warning about Claude engine network firewalling (known limitation)

## Benefits

### Before These Changes
- ❌ Workflow fails silently when `gh agent-task` is unavailable
- ❌ No indication of what went wrong
- ❌ Requires manual debugging to understand the issue
- ❌ Claude agent crashes before producing any output

### After These Changes
- ✅ Graceful handling when extension is missing
- ✅ Clear warning messages explaining requirements
- ✅ Empty session data created to prevent crashes
- ✅ Helpful discussion created with setup instructions
- ✅ Workflow continues even without session data
- ✅ Better authentication guidance

## Testing Recommendations

1. **Test with missing extension**: Run workflow without `gh agent-task` installed
   - Should create configuration help discussion
   - Should not fail the workflow

2. **Test with missing token**: Run without `GH_AW_COPILOT_TOKEN` configured
   - Should warn about authentication
   - Should provide clear guidance on token setup

3. **Test successful case**: Run with proper configuration
   - Should download sessions successfully
   - Should perform full analysis

## Related Issues

This fix addresses the failure pattern seen in:
- [§18986368831](https://github.com/githubnext/gh-aw/actions/runs/18986368831) - Original reported failure

## Next Steps

After merge:
1. Monitor next scheduled run of copilot-session-insights workflow
2. Verify fallback behavior works as expected  
3. Consider similar error handling patterns for other workflows using external CLI extensions

---

**Type**: Bug Fix + Enhancement  
**Impact**: Prevents workflow failures from missing dependencies  
**Risk**: Low - additive changes with fallback behavior


> AI generated by [Q](https://github.com/githubnext/gh-aw/actions/runs/18986442202)
---
> [!NOTE]
> This was originally intended as a pull request, but the git push operation failed.
>
> **Workflow Run:** [View run details and download patch artifact](https://github.com/githubnext/gh-aw/actions/runs/18986442202)
>
> The patch file is available as an artifact (`aw.patch`) in the workflow run linked above.
To apply the patch locally:
```sh
# Download the artifact from the workflow run https://github.com/githubnext/gh-aw/actions/runs/18986442202
# (Use GitHub MCP tools if gh CLI is not available)
gh run download 18986442202 -n aw.patch
# Apply the patch
git am aw.patch
```


<details><summary>Show patch preview (439 of 439 lines)</summary>

```diff
From 86bfbe8219fde9ca3cb0a30a6cd053a94599acf8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "github-actions[bot]" <github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2025 22:19:36 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Fix copilot-session-insights workflow error handling

- Add comprehensive error handling for gh agent-task extension availability
- Check for GitHub CLI and extension before attempting to use them
- Validate authentication (use GH_AW_COPILOT_TOKEN instead of default token)
- Create empty session data files when download fails to prevent downstream errors
- Add fallback discussion template when session data is unavailable
- Make custom step continue-on-error to prevent workflow failure
- Add session availability output for conditional logic
- Update workflow instructions to handle missing session data gracefully

This fixes the issue where the workflow would fail if:
- gh agent-task extension is not installed
- Authentication is not properly configured
- GitHub Enterprise Copilot is not available

Related to run: https://github.com/githubnext/gh-aw/actions/runs/18986368831
---
 .../copilot-session-insights.lock.yml         | 130 +++++++++++--
 .github/workflows/copilot-session-insights.md | 179 +++++++++++++++---
 2 files changed, 262 insertions(+), 47 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/copilot-session-insights.lock.yml b/.github/workflows/copilot-session-insights.lock.yml
index 741265d..1b96520 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/copilot-session-insights.lock.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/copilot-session-insights.lock.yml
@@ -98,10 +98,12 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
       - name: Set up jq utilities directory
         run: "mkdir -p /tmp/gh-aw\ncat > /tmp/gh-aw/jqschema.sh << 'EOF'\n#!/usr/bin/env bash\n# jqschema.sh\njq -c '\ndef walk(f):\n  . as $in |\n  if type == \"object\" then\n    reduce keys[] as $k ({}; . + {($k): ($in[$k] | walk(f))})\n  elif type == \"array\" then\n    if length == 0 then [] else [.[0] | walk(f)] end\n  else\n    type\
... (truncated)
```

</details>

Labels: automation, workflow-optimization
State: closed