Quick Start

Adding an Automated Daily Status Workflow to Your Repo

Estimated time: 10 minutes

In this guide you will add an existing, pre-baked workflow to an existing GitHub repository where you are a maintainer - the automated Daily Repo Status Report, running in GitHub Actions.

Install the extension, add a workflow, and trigger a run from the CLI

The aim here is to become familiar with automated AI: to install something that will run automatically, recurringly, in the context of your repository.

Prerequisites

Before installing, ensure you have:

• AI Account - GitHub Copilot, Anthropic Claude, OpenAI Codex, or Google Gemini
• GitHub Repository - A repository where you have write access
• GitHub Actions enabled - Check in Settings → Actions
• GitHub CLI (gh) v2.0.0+ - Install here. Check version: gh --version
• Logged in to GitHub CLI - Verify with gh auth status and run gh auth login --scopes repo,workflow if needed
• Operating System: Linux, macOS, or Windows with WSL

Step 1 - Install the extension

Install the GitHub Agentic Workflows extension:

gh extension install github/gh-aw

[!TIP] If you are encountering authentication issues, use this script instead:

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/gh-aw/main/install-gh-aw.sh | bash

or login interactively:

gh auth login

Step 2 - Add the sample workflow and trigger a run

From your repository root run:

gh aw add-wizard githubnext/agentics/daily-repo-status

add-wizard accepts workflow references in <owner>/<repo>/<workflow-name> format. In this example, githubnext/agentics/daily-repo-status references the daily-repo-status workflow hosted in the public githubnext/agentics examples repository.

This will take you through an interactive process to:

1. Check prerequisites - Verify repository permissions.
2. Select an AI Engine - Choose between Copilot, Claude, Codex, or Gemini.
3. Set up the required secret - COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN (a separate GitHub token with Copilot access — distinct from the default GITHUB_TOKEN), ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, or GEMINI_API_KEY. See Authentication for setup instructions.
4. Add the workflow - Adds the workflow file (.md) and its generated GitHub Actions lock file (.lock.yml) to .github/workflows/.
5. Optionally trigger an initial run - Starts the workflow immediately.

The wizard generates a compiled workflow file (.lock.yml) automatically — you don’t need to edit it. See Lock File for the full explanation.

[!NOTE] Setting up COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN?

1. Create a fine-grained PAT under your user account.
2. Under Permissions → Account permissions, set Copilot Requests to Read, then generate the token.
3. Add it as a repository secret from your repository root with gh secret set COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN < /path/to/token.txt, or use the GitHub UI. See Authentication for more detail.

[!NOTE] Setting up ANTHROPIC_API_KEY?

1. Create an API key in Anthropic Console.
2. Add it as a repository secret from your repository root with gh secret set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY < /path/to/key.txt, or use the GitHub UI. See Authentication for more detail.

[!TIP] Having trouble? Check your repository secrets, see the FAQ and Common Issues.

Step 3 - Wait for the workflow to complete

An automated workflow run can take 2-3 minutes.

Once your initial run is complete, a new issue will be created in your repository with a “Daily Repo Report”. The report will be automatically generated and will analyze:

• Recent repository activity (issues, PRs, discussions, releases, code changes)
• Progress tracking, goal reminders and highlights
• Project status and recommendations
• Actionable next steps for maintainers

The report will look something like this:

Step 4 - Customize your workflow (optional)

With GitHub Agentic Workflows, you are in control! Your repository automation is fully customizable. You should shape your repo automation to match your priorities and your needs.

To customize it now:

1. Open the workflow markdown file located at .github/workflows/daily-repo-status.md in your repository.

2. Edit the section “What to include” to list things you are having trouble with regularly in your repository: your issue backlog, your CI setup, your testing, the performance of your software, your roadmap. Any or all of these, or anything else you want to improve. You can also customize the style and process sections to guide the coding agent’s behavior.

3. If you changed the frontmatter (the configuration block between the --- markers at the top of the file), regenerate the compiled workflow by running:

   gh aw compile

   For example, set your engine in frontmatter:

   ---
   engine: claude
   ---

4. Commit and push to your repository.

5. Optionally trigger another run by running:

   gh aw run daily-repo-status

After waiting for the workflow to complete, check the new issue created with your updated report!

What’s next?

There are hundreds of other ways to use GitHub Agentic Workflows! Explore some of these in Peli’s Agent Factory.

Continue learning with these resources:

• Creating Agentic Workflows
• How Agentic Workflows Work
• Frequently Asked Questions