Shorter replies from pr-actions-detective

[strawgate]

see elastic/beats#49335 (comment)

[github-actions]

3 related issues

• https://github.com/elastic/integrations/pull/17730 contains multiple comments for the PR Buildkite Detective #647 — It focuses on reducing detective comment noise by updating/reusing one comment, which is useful context for making replies less verbose.
• Combine multiple automated comments into one with collapsable sections #649 — It proposes consolidating automated outputs into a single collapsible comment, which directly helps keep replies shorter and easier to scan.
• Noop on no failure #605 — It tracks earlier behavior in the same detective flow and linked external PR context, which helps explain prior verbosity/no-op adjustments.

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[github-actions]

tl;dr: pr-actions-detective is already deduping/no-oping correctly for no-failure cases; the remaining gap for this issue is response verbosity, which is currently driven by a rigid required comment template. I recommend tightening the prompt format with explicit brevity budgets.

Recommendation

Update .github/workflows/gh-aw-pr-actions-detective.md Step 3 to require a minimal response shape with hard limits (for example: TL;DR ≤ 1 sentence, Remediation ≤ 3 bullets, details ≤ 5 bullets total, log excerpt ≤ 8 lines), then run make compile so lock files inherit the change.

Findings

• The detective prompt currently mandates a multi-section structure and says “Use this exact shape,” which encourages long comments:
  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-pr-actions-detective.md:132-166
  • Includes required TL;DR, expanded Remediation, and detailed sections (Root Cause, Evidence, Validation, Follow-up).
• Safe output controls comment count/visibility, not brevity:
  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-fragments/safe-output-add-comment-pr-hide-older.md:3-9 (max: 1, hide-older-comments: true)
  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-fragments/safe-output-add-comment-pr-hide-older.md:14 (body max 65,536 chars)
  • .github/workflows/gh-aw-pr-actions-detective.lock.yml:761 ("maxLength": 65000)
• Related no-failure/noise work appears already addressed and is distinct from this issue’s ask:
  • #605 (open), #620 (closed), #644 (closed), #609 (merged), #596 (merged).

Verification

I verified the current behavior/instructions with:

nl -ba .github/workflows/gh-aw-pr-actions-detective.md | sed -n '132,166p'
nl -ba .github/workflows/gh-aw-fragments/safe-output-add-comment-pr-hide-older.md | sed -n '1,22p'
nl -ba .github/workflows/gh-aw-pr-actions-fixer.md | sed -n '136,143p'
grep -nE 'maxLength|hide_older_comments|max":1|Maximum 1 comment' \
  .github/workflows/gh-aw-pr-actions-detective.lock.yml | head -n 20

Observed output confirms:

• fixed verbose response template in detective prompt,
• no runtime short-length guardrail beyond very high max length,
• other workflows use shorter instruction style (e.g. gh-aw-pr-actions-fixer.md:138-142).

Detailed Action Plan

1. Edit .github/workflows/gh-aw-pr-actions-detective.md Step 3:
   • Replace “Use this exact shape” with “Use the minimal shape below; omit empty sections.”
   • Add explicit length/bullet budgets.
2. Keep the existing top-level structure (TL;DR, Remediation, optional <details>) so downstream readers still get consistent navigation.
3. Recompile generated workflows:
   • make compile
4. Validate:
   • Trigger on one failed PR check and confirm the posted detective comment is materially shorter but still actionable.
   • Confirm no regressions in safe-outputs behavior (max: 1, hide older comments still active).
5. (Optional hardening) If you want enforcement beyond prompt-following, add a future compiler/runtime feature for per-workflow response-length caps.

Related Items

Type	Link	Relevance
Issue	#684	Current request: shorter detective replies
Issue	#605	No-failure noop history (open)
Issue	#620	No-failure noop request (closed)
Issue	#644	Similar no-failure noise report (closed)
Issue	#649	Broader multi-comment noise discussion
PR	#596	Enabled hide-older-comments for detective workflows
PR	#609	Merged no-failure noop updates
File	.github/workflows/gh-aw-pr-actions-detective.md:132-166	Current verbose response template
File	.github/workflows/gh-aw-fragments/safe-output-add-comment-pr-hide-older.md:3-9	Count/visibility controls
File	.github/workflows/gh-aw-pr-actions-detective.lock.yml:761	High max body length in generated schema

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