Add sanitization-safe `metadata` channel for body-based safe outputs by Copilot · Pull Request #48363 · github/gh-aw

Copilot · 2026-07-27T11:43:30Z

Safe-output sanitization intentionally strips HTML/XML comments (), which causes silent loss of machine-readable markers embedded in bodies. This change adds a first-class structured metadata path that survives sanitization while keeping existing body sanitization behavior intact.

Validator: structured metadata support
- safe_output_type_validator.cjs now accepts optional top-level metadata (object only).
- Invalid metadata types are rejected with explicit validation errors.
- Metadata is normalized and preserved on normalizedItem.metadata.
- For output types with a body field, metadata is appended as fenced JSON under a stable label (Structured metadata:), so downstream automation can parse it safely.
Tool schemas: explicit metadata input
- Added metadata object support in pkg/workflow/js/safe_outputs_tools.json for body-bearing tools:
  - create_issue
  - add_comment
  - create_pull_request
  - create_pull_request_review_comment
  - submit_pull_request_review
  - reply_to_pull_request_review_comment
Docs: sanitizer behavior + recommended pattern
- Updated safe-outputs reference docs to explicitly call out comment stripping and document metadata as the supported structured channel.
Targeted regression coverage
- Added tests for:
  - metadata object acceptance and preservation
  - fenced-JSON body augmentation
  - rejection of non-object metadata

{
  "type": "add_comment",
  "body": "Review complete. All criteria pass.",
  "metadata": {
    "verdict": "APPROVE",
    "criteria_passed": 5
  }
}

Fixes Safe-output sanitizer strips HTML comments — no structured metadata channel for downstream workflows #18992

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

pelikhan · 2026-07-27T12:27:55Z

@copilot rename "metadata" to "data" to reflect HTML custom data attributes wording.

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

Copilot · 2026-07-27T12:42:29Z

@copilot rename "metadata" to "data" to reflect HTML custom data attributes wording.

Updated as requested in 9819195: renamed the structured field from metadata to data across validator behavior, schemas, tests, and docs (including the body label now using "Structured data:").

pelikhan · 2026-07-27T12:53:10Z

@copilot create reusable type and typeref in main json type to avoid duplication

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds a structured safe-output channel intended to survive body sanitization.

Changes:

Adds structured data schema fields and validator handling.
Appends structured data as fenced JSON.
Documents behavior and adds validator tests.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
`pkg/workflow/js/safe_outputs_tools.json`	Adds structured-data inputs.
`actions/setup/js/safe_output_type_validator.cjs`	Validates and appends structured data.
`actions/setup/js/safe_output_type_validator.test.cjs`	Adds regression tests.
`docs/src/content/docs/reference/safe-outputs.md`	Documents the structured channel.

Review details

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Files reviewed: 4/4 changed files
Comments generated: 3
Review effort level: Medium

+        "data": {
+          "type": "object",
+          "description": "Optional structured data to carry machine-readable context through sanitization-safe channels. When provided, this object is preserved and appended to the body as fenced JSON.",
+          "additionalProperties": true


 The text output by AI agents is automatically sanitized to prevent injection of malicious content and ensure safe rendering on GitHub. The auto-sanitization applied is: XML escaped, HTTPS only, domain allowlist (GitHub by default), 0.5MB/65k line limits, control char stripping.

+HTML/XML comments (`<!-- ... -->`) are removed from sanitized body fields.
+If you need a machine-readable channel that survives sanitization, add a top-level `data` object on safe outputs that support `body`. The validator preserves `data` and appends it to the body as fenced JSON:


+    // If this safe-output type supports a body field, append structured data
+    // as fenced JSON so it survives body sanitization.
+    if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(typeConfig.fields, "body")) {
+      const dataBlock = `${STRUCTURED_DATA_LABEL}\n\`\`\`json\n${dataJSON}\n\`\`\``;


pelikhan · 2026-07-27T13:05:26Z

@copilot run pr-finisher skill

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

Copilot · 2026-07-27T13:08:37Z

@copilot create reusable type and typeref in main json type to avoid duplication

Implemented in cd9b343: introduced a reusable structured_data schema in the main create_issue.inputSchema.$defs and switched all data fields to $ref (#/0/inputSchema/$defs/structured_data) to remove duplication across tool definitions.

pelikhan · 2026-07-27T13:14:40Z

@copilot fix https://github.com/github/gh-aw/actions/runs/30268893335/job/89986833786?pr=48363
fix https://github.com/github/gh-aw/actions/runs/30268893384/job/89986535339?pr=48363

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

Copilot · 2026-07-27T13:18:51Z

@copilot create reusable type and typeref in main json type to avoid duplication

Addressed in c844fa9. The reusable shared data schema reference remains in the tool schema, and schema validation tests now resolve $ref properties so shared type/description checks pass without duplicating field definitions.

@copilot run pr-finisher skill

Done — I ran the pr-finisher flow and applied the actionable follow-up fix in c844fa9.

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

Copilot · 2026-07-27T21:09:55Z

@copilot the schema should support specification from a github action expression so validation needs to happen mostly in JavaScript , and go if possible

Implemented in ca5d682.

safe-outputs.data now accepts a GitHub Actions expression string in Go config parsing.
Go still validates inline/static object schemas when available.
Runtime schema enforcement now happens in JavaScript for both ingestion and handlers, including expression-resolved JSON-string schemas.
Added a JS schema normalizer/enforcer (Codex-compatible object requirements) and updated tests/docs accordingly.

pelikhan · 2026-07-27T21:16:21Z

@copilot add tests and specification w3c style for schema syntax

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

Copilot · 2026-07-27T21:30:26Z

@copilot add tests and specification w3c style for schema syntax

Implemented in 0b6e32a.

Added schema-syntax tests in JavaScript (data_schema_normalizer.test.cjs) covering shorthand object syntax, JSON-string schema syntax, unsupported keywords, and Codex compatibility enforcement.
Expanded Go tests in safe_outputs_data_schema_test.go for JSON-string schema acceptance and invalid string syntax rejection.
Added a W3C-style normative GP6: data section to safe-outputs-specification.md defining allowed frontmatter forms, simplified schema grammar, Codex constraints, and runtime validation requirements.

github-actions · 2026-07-28T00:58:27Z

🤖 PR Triage

Field	Value
Category	feature
Risk	🟡 medium
Score	59/100 (impact:32 urgency:14 quality:13)
Action	⚡ `fast_track`

Adds first-class structured metadata channel to prevent silent loss of machine-readable markers in safe-output sanitization. Substantive but well-scoped (1381 adds, 118 dels, 26 files). AI reviewer approved.

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pelikhan · 2026-07-28T01:25:45Z

@copilot enable data with a simple schema on a few agentic workflows in this repo

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

Copilot · 2026-07-28T01:45:20Z

@copilot enable data with a simple schema on a few agentic workflows in this repo

Implemented in 099308d.

Enabled safe-outputs.data with simple inline schemas on these workflows:

.github/workflows/pr-triage-agent.md
.github/workflows/issue-triage-agent.md
.github/workflows/security-review.md

Also updated strict frontmatter schema acceptance for safe-outputs.data and recompiled lock files so these settings compile cleanly.

pelikhan · 2026-07-28T01:47:51Z

@copilot update safeoutputs step summary renderers in JavaScript to render data as code region

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

pelikhan · 2026-07-28T02:00:07Z

@copilot resolve the merge conflicts on this branch.

Copilot · 2026-07-28T02:02:11Z

@copilot update safeoutputs step summary renderers in JavaScript to render data as code region

Implemented in e7e4ac3.

Updated JavaScript safe-output step summary renderers to show data as a JSON code region:

safe_output_summary.cjs now renders message.data in fenced json code blocks in per-message summaries.
log_parser_shared.cjs now renders entry data in fenced json blocks in markdown safe-outputs preview.
Added targeted tests in safe_output_summary.test.cjs and log_parser_shared.test.cjs.

pelikhan · 2026-07-28T02:03:44Z

@copilot resolve the merge conflicts on this branch.

Initial plan

c47f865

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and pelikhan Jul 27, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 11:44 View session

Copilot AI linked an issue Jul 27, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request

Safe-output sanitizer strips HTML comments — no structured metadata channel for downstream workflows #18992

Closed

Add structured metadata channel for sanitized safe outputs

ce9492b

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

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Fix safe-output sanitizer to preserve HTML comments~~ Add sanitization-safe metadata channel for body-based safe outputs Jul 27, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan July 27, 2026 11:59

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 11:59

github-actions Bot mentioned this pull request Jul 27, 2026

[aw] No-Op Runs #43499

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Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 12:28 View session

github-actions Bot mentioned this pull request Jul 27, 2026

[team-status] Daily Status Report - 2026-07-27 #48368

Open

Rename safe-output metadata channel to data

9819195

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

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 12:42

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 12:53 View session

pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review July 27, 2026 12:54

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings July 27, 2026 12:54

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 12:55 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jul 27, 2026

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Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 13:06 View session

refactor safe output data schema to shared $ref

cd9b343

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

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 13:09

fix: support $ref properties in safe output schema validation tests

c844fa9

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

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 20:53 View session

Support expression-based safe-outputs.data schemas in JS runtime

ca5d682

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

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 21:10

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 21:17 View session

Add schema syntax tests and W3C spec section for safe-outputs.data

0b6e32a

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

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan July 27, 2026 21:30

Merge branch 'main' into copilot/fix-html-comments-sanitization

8eebe73

github-actions Bot mentioned this pull request Jul 28, 2026

[pr-sous-chef] pr-sous-chef run report #48464

Open

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan July 28, 2026 01:26 View session

Enable simple safe-outputs data schemas in selected workflows

099308d

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

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan July 28, 2026 01:46

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan July 28, 2026 01:48 View session

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits July 28, 2026 01:53

Plan: render safe-output data in step summaries

81fd607

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

Render safe-output data as code in step summaries

e7e4ac3

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

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan July 28, 2026 02:05

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan July 28, 2026 02:06 View session

pelikhan merged commit b06151b into main Jul 28, 2026
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pelikhan deleted the copilot/fix-html-comments-sanitization branch July 28, 2026 02:07

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github-actions Bot mentioned this pull request Jul 28, 2026

Suggested test: copilot/safe-output-metadata-field githubnext/gh-aw-test#9781

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