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Merged
pelikhan merged 2 commits into from
Mar 24, 2026
+6 −16
Merged

Never suggest tools.github mode: remote in agent prompts #22709

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95b0903
Initial plan
Copilot Mar 24, 2026
84f8dbb
Remove mode: remote suggestions from all agent prompt files
Copilot Mar 24, 2026
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3 changes: 1 addition & 2 deletions .github/aw/create-agentic-workflow.md
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Expand Up @@ -267,7 +267,6 @@ These resources contain workflow patterns, best practices, safe outputs, and per
```yaml
tools:
github:
mode: remote
toolsets: [default]
```
- ❌ **WRONG** — Direct API access (will silently fail):
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -482,7 +481,7 @@ These resources contain workflow patterns, best practices, safe outputs, and per
- **Always use `toolsets:` for GitHub tools** - Use `toolsets: [default]` instead of manually listing individual tools.
- **Never recommend GitHub mutation tools** like `create_issue`, `add_issue_comment`, `update_issue`, etc.
- **Always use `safe-outputs` instead** for any GitHub write operations (creating issues, adding comments, etc.)
- **Mode configuration** - Both `mode: local` (Docker-based, default) and `mode: remote` (hosted) are supported. Remote mode offers faster startup and no Docker requirement.
- **Mode configuration** - Only `mode: local` (Docker-based, default) is supported when running in GitHub Actions. **Do NOT use `mode: remote`** — it does not work with the GitHub Actions token (`GITHUB_TOKEN`) and requires a special PAT or GitHub App token with MCP access.

**Guard Policies (`repos` and `min-integrity`)**:

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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion .github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md
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3 changes: 2 additions & 1 deletion .github/aw/github-mcp-server.md
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Expand Up @@ -32,13 +32,14 @@ X-MCP-Readonly: true
```yaml
tools:
github:
mode: "remote" # or "local"
toolsets: [default] # or specific toolsets
# Optional: GitHub App authentication
app-id: ${{ vars.APP_ID }}
private-key: ${{ secrets.APP_PRIVATE_KEY }}
```

> ⚠️ **Do NOT use `mode: remote`** in GitHub Actions workflows. Remote mode does not work with the GitHub Actions token (`GITHUB_TOKEN`) — it requires a special PAT or GitHub App token with MCP access. The default `mode: local` (Docker-based) works with `GITHUB_TOKEN` and should always be used.
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Copilot AI Mar 24, 2026

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This new warning calls the default mode: local "Docker-based", but earlier in this document local mode is described as running gh mcp as a local subprocess. Please reconcile these descriptions (either adjust the warning text or update the overview/authentication sections) so readers don’t get conflicting guidance about what “local” actually means.

Suggested change
> ⚠️ **Do NOT use `mode: remote`** in GitHub Actions workflows. Remote mode does not work with the GitHub Actions token (`GITHUB_TOKEN`) — it requires a special PAT or GitHub App token with MCP access. The default `mode: local` (Docker-based) works with `GITHUB_TOKEN` and should always be used.
> ⚠️ **Do NOT use `mode: remote`** in GitHub Actions workflows. Remote mode does not work with the GitHub Actions token (`GITHUB_TOKEN`) — it requires a special PAT or GitHub App token with MCP access. The default `mode: local` (which runs `gh mcp` as a local subprocess) works with `GITHUB_TOKEN` and should always be used.

Copilot uses AI. Check for mistakes.

### Toolset Options

- `[default]` — Recommended defaults: `context`, `repos`, `issues`, `pull_requests`
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8 changes: 0 additions & 8 deletions .github/aw/runbooks/workflow-health.md
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Expand Up @@ -94,7 +94,6 @@ Check if the workflow has proper MCP server configuration:
---
tools:
github:
mode: remote # or "local" for Docker-based
toolsets: [default] # Enables repos, issues, pull_requests
---
```
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -145,7 +144,6 @@ Common permission requirements:
---
tools:
github:
mode: remote
toolsets: [default]
---
```
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -183,7 +181,6 @@ permissions:
engine: copilot
tools:
github:
mode: remote
toolsets: [default]
---

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -244,7 +241,6 @@ permissions:
engine: copilot
tools:
github:
mode: remote
toolsets: [default]
mcp-scripts:
issue:
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -335,7 +331,6 @@ Added GitHub MCP server configuration:
```aw
tools:
github:
mode: remote
toolsets: [default]
```

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -391,7 +386,6 @@ permissions:
issues: read
tools:
github:
mode: remote
toolsets: [default]
---
```
Expand All @@ -411,7 +405,6 @@ mcp-scripts:
body: ${{ github.event.issue.body }}
tools:
github:
mode: remote
toolsets: [default]
---
```
Expand All @@ -430,7 +423,6 @@ safe-outputs:
category: "general"
tools:
github:
mode: remote
toolsets: [default]
---
```
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3 changes: 1 addition & 2 deletions .github/aw/upgrade-agentic-workflows.md
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Expand Up @@ -150,10 +150,9 @@ If compilation fails, work through errors systematically:
github:
mode: remote

# New format
# New format (do NOT include mode: remote - it does not work with GitHub Actions token)
tools:
github:
mode: remote
toolsets: [default]
```

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3 changes: 1 addition & 2 deletions AGENTS.md
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Expand Up @@ -149,7 +149,6 @@ The Copilot coding agent **cannot directly access api.github.com**. When using t
engine: copilot
tools:
github:
mode: remote # or "local" for Docker-based
toolsets: [default] # Enables repos, issues, pull_requests, etc.
```

Expand All @@ -164,7 +163,7 @@ network:
**Key points:**
- The GitHub MCP server provides all necessary GitHub API functionality
- Use `toolsets: [default]` for common operations, or specify toolsets like `[repos, issues, pull_requests]`
- Both `mode: remote` (hosted) and `mode: local` (Docker) work with Copilot
- **Never use `mode: remote`** — it does not work with the GitHub Actions token (`GITHUB_TOKEN`) and requires a special PAT or GitHub App token
- Never rely on direct `api.github.com` access in Copilot workflows

See [GitHub MCP Server Documentation](skills/github-mcp-server/SKILL.md) for complete configuration details.
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