Unify gh aw help/docs wording and expose experiments command in CLI reference

[Copilot]

This PR addresses the CLI consistency audit findings by aligning command help text, flag descriptions, and docs examples across gh aw commands. It also resolves a high-impact docs mismatch by making experiments discoverable from CLI help.

• CLI help consistency (wording, grammar, style)

  • Normalized phrasing across command descriptions and examples for add, deploy, update, upgrade, trial, run, logs, validate, lint, and fix.
  • Fixed style/grammar issues (e.g., workflows pluralization, punctuation in numbered steps, example comment clarity).

• Flag description harmonization

  • Standardized --no-security-scanner wording to consistent “Skip …” language across relevant commands.
  • Clarified --no-compile semantics in update.
  • Clarified --no-release-bump behavior in update example text.
  • Updated logs --last help text to explicitly reference --count/-c.

• Command discoverability and docs/CLI parity

  • Made experiments visible in CLI help output (previously hidden), matching documented command coverage.
  • Updated docs examples to match current CLI semantics (including run --dry-run and forecast example naming consistency).

• Targeted test updates for help-text contracts

  • Updated/extended help consistency assertions to reflect the new canonical strings and visibility expectations.

// logs flag help: make alias relationship explicit
logsCmd.Flags().Int("last", 0, "Alias for --count/-c: number of recent runs to download")

// experiments command: keep discoverable in help
cmd := &cobra.Command{
    Use:   "experiments",
    Short: "Explore ongoing experiments in the repository",
}

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Aligns gh aw CLI help and documentation while making experiments discoverable.

Changes:

• Standardizes command, flag, and example wording.
• Exposes experiments in CLI help.
• Updates documentation and help-text tests.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
cmd/gh-aw/main.go	Clarifies compile and run help.
docs/src/content/docs/setup/cli.md	Aligns run and forecast examples.
pkg/cli/add_command.go	Documents URL support and scanner wording.
pkg/cli/add_command_test.go	Updates add help assertion.
pkg/cli/add_wizard_command.go	Standardizes scanner wording.
pkg/cli/deploy_command.go	Clarifies flags.
pkg/cli/deploy_command_test.go	Updates deploy assertion.
pkg/cli/experiments_command.go	Makes experiments visible.
pkg/cli/experiments_command_test.go	Tests command visibility.
pkg/cli/fix_command.go	Normalizes list punctuation.
pkg/cli/forecast_command.go	Aligns example workflow names.
pkg/cli/lint_command.go	Expands lint examples.
pkg/cli/logs_command.go	Clarifies limits and aliases.
pkg/cli/logs_command_test.go	Tests alias wording.
pkg/cli/trial_command.go	Clarifies trial help and flags.
pkg/cli/update_command.go	Clarifies update flag semantics.
pkg/cli/update_command_test.go	Updates scanner-help assertion.
pkg/cli/upgrade_command.go	Refines upgrade description.
pkg/cli/validate_command.go	Clarifies fail-fast behavior.

Review details

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• Files reviewed: 19/19 changed files
• Comments generated: 2
• Review effort level: Medium

[github-actions]

✅ Test Quality Sentinel completed test quality analysis.

[github-actions]

🧠 Matt Pocock Skills Reviewer has completed the skills-based review. ✅

[github-actions]

✅ PR Code Quality Reviewer completed the code quality review.

[github-actions]

✅ Design Decision Gate 🏗️ completed the design decision gate check.

No ADR enforcement needed: PR #44794 does not have the 'implementation' label and has only 46 new lines of code in business logic directories (threshold: 100).

[github-actions]

The changes are purely help text, flag descriptions, and documentation consistency improvements. All updates look correct:

• --no-security-scanner standardized to "Skip ..." across all commands
• experiments command unhidden with matching test update
• compile example corrected to proper positional-arg-before-flag order
• logs date-filter comments now accurately reflect the default 10-run cap
• --dry-run wording aligned across run and trial
• forecast example name changed to daily-news

No security, correctness, or reliability issues found.

🧵 Reviewed using Impeccable skills by Impeccable Skills Reviewer · 17.5 AIC · ⌖ 7.38 AIC · ⊞ 4.8K

[github-actions]

Skills-Based Review 🧠

Applied /grill-with-docs — one wording accuracy issue found; otherwise changes are clean and consistent.

📋 Key Themes & Highlights

Key Themes

• Consistency wins: Flag descriptions, examples, and the docs page are now aligned — Disable → Skip, --watch argument order fixed, --last alias clarified.
• experiments visibility: Removing Hidden: true and the paired test update is a minimal, correct change. The docs section already existed, so no new docs are needed.
• One accuracy concern: trial --dry-run description changed from the accurate "without applying any changes" to "without triggering workflow runs", which undersells what the flag actually skips (repo creation + install, not just dispatch). See inline comment.

Positive Highlights

• ✅ Tests updated in lock-step with every flag description change
• ✅ --last flag test added to logs_command_test.go — good regression coverage
• ✅ Example argument order fix (compile ci-doctor --watch) matches actual CLI parsing

🧠 Reviewed using Matt Pocock's skills by Matt Pocock Skills Reviewer · 32.1 AIC · ⌖ 4.42 AIC · ⊞ 6.6K
_{Comment /matt to run again}

[github-actions]

[/grill-with-docs] The updated description "Preview trial execution without triggering workflow runs" may be too narrow — trial --dry-run also skips repo creation and workflow installation, not only the dispatch trigger. The prior wording "without applying any changes" was broader and more accurate.

Consider: "Preview trial execution without creating repos or running workflows"

@copilot please address this.

[github-actions]

🧪 Test Quality Sentinel Report

🔶 Test Quality Score: 46/100 — Needs improvement

Analyzed 5 test change(s): 2 design, 3 implementation, 0 violation(s).

📊 Metrics (5 modified test assertions)

Metric	Value
Analyzed	5 (Go: 5, JS: 0)
✅ Design	2 (40%)
⚠️ Implementation	3 (60%)
Edge/error coverage	0 (0%)
Duplicate clusters	0
Inflation	No
🚨 Violations	0

Test	File	Classification	Issues
TestNewAddCommand — updated cmd.Short string	add_command_test.go	implementation_test	Happy-path only; verifies exact string literal
TestNewDeployCommand_RegistersCoreFlags — --repo usage capitalization	deploy_command_test.go	implementation_test	Verifies capitalization detail, not behavioral contract
TestNewExperimentsCommand — cmd.Hidden changed to false	experiments_command_test.go	design_test	Verifies user-visible visibility property
TestNewLogsCommand — added --last flag + usage cross-ref check	logs_command_test.go	design_test	Verifies flag registration and design invariant
TestNewUpdateCommand_HasDisableSecurityScannerFlag — usage text update	update_command_test.go	implementation_test	Verifies exact help string literal; no behavioral contract

⚠️ Flagged Tests (3)

TestNewAddCommand (add_command_test.go) — Assertion updated to match new cmd.Short wording. Tests exact string value of help text rather than a behavioral contract.

TestNewDeployCommand_RegistersCoreFlags (deploy_command_test.go) — Updated to match capitalization change in --repo flag usage text. Brittle string-matching test with no error path coverage.

TestNewUpdateCommand_HasDisableSecurityScannerFlag (update_command_test.go) — Updated from "Disable security scanning" to "Skip security scanning." Exact wording test rather than a functional contract.

Verdict

❌ Failed. 60% implementation tests (threshold: 30%). The modified tests keep string-literal assertions in sync with the wording PR. No guideline violations exist, but the majority of changes verify exact help text strings rather than behavioral contracts.

References:

• §29114490068

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🧪 Test quality analysis by Test Quality Sentinel · 42.7 AIC · ⌖ 8.01 AIC · ⊞ 6.8K · ◷
_{Comment /review to run again}

[github-actions]

❌ Test Quality Sentinel: 46/100. 60% implementation tests (threshold: 30%). The modified tests are wording-sync updates that verify exact string literals rather than behavioral contracts. Review flagged tests in the comment above.

[github-actions]

COMMENT — mostly solid wording improvements with one meaningful semantic issue.

Review themes

trial --dry-run description is semantically inaccurate

The new text "without triggering workflow runs" is potentially confusing: trial always triggers workflow runs by design (that is its purpose). The flag suppresses the actual dispatch, but the phrasing implies runs are optional, which muddies the command model. See inline comment.

Hardcoded default count in logs examples

Example comments now say "up to 10 runs" — this embeds the --count default inline, making examples brittle if the default changes. Non-blocking but fragile.

Rest of the changes

The --no-security-scanner → "Skip" wording, experiments unhiding, compile argument reordering, flag description clarifications, and test updates are all correct and well-scoped.

🔎 Code quality review by PR Code Quality Reviewer · 162.9 AIC · ⌖ 5 AIC · ⊞ 5.4K
_{Comment /review to run again}

Comments that could not be inline-anchored

pkg/cli/trial_command.go:117

--dry-run description now contradicts trial behavior: the text "without triggering workflow runs" misrepresents what --dry-run skips.

<details>
<summary>💡 Details</summary>

The trial command exists specifically to trigger workflow runs in a temporary private repository. --dry-run skips the actual dispatch step — but saying "without triggering workflow runs" implies that triggering runs is trial's default behavior that --dry-run suppresses. That is correct in effect but re…

pkg/cli/logs_command.go:63

logs --start-date/--end-date example comments hardcode the default count: "Download up to 10 runs after date" embeds the --count default (10) directly in the help text.

<details>
<summary>💡 Details</summary>

If the default for --count/-c ever changes, these comments silently become wrong. The examples for --start-date -1w and --start-date -1w -c 5 already use the right phrasing by referencing the flag. Prefer referencing the flag behavior rather than inlining the default:

``…

pkg/cli/logs_command.go:254

--last described as an alias but has different zero-value semantics than --count/-c: calling it an "Alias for --count/-c" misleads users — --last 0 means "not set, defer to --count" while --count 0 means "download zero runs".

<details>
<summary>💡 Details</summary>

The two flags share similar intent but are NOT true aliases:

• --count/-c default: 10 — "download 10 runs"
• --last default: 0 — "not set; if > 0, override count"

So --last 0 and --count 0 behave completel…

pkg/cli/trial_command.go:288

--dry-run description omits that repo setup side effects still occur: "without triggering workflow runs" is incomplete — the trial command still creates/configures the temporary repository during dry-run, which is a significant side effect.

<details>
<summary>💡 Details</summary>

The trial command's dry-run stops workflow execution but still performs setup steps (e.g., ensureTrialRepository). The new description "Preview trial execution without triggering workflow runs" does not c…

pkg/cli/logs_command.go:239

Example comments hardcode "up to 10 runs" — will go stale if the default count changes: the default is currently 10, but embedding it as a literal in comment strings means future changes to the default will leave these comments silently wrong.

<details>
<summary>💡 Details</summary>

Four example comments were changed to say "up to 10 runs":

` + "`" + `logs --start-date 2024-01-01   # Download up to 10 runs after date` + "`" + `
` + "`" + `logs --end-date 2024-01-31     # Download…

</details>

[github-actions]

PR Triage

Field	Value
Category	docs
Risk	Low
Score	48/100
Action	batch_review
Batch	low-risk-polish

Score breakdown: Impact 20 · Urgency 10 · Quality 18

CLI help-text/docs consistency fixes + makes experiments visible. CHANGES_REQUESTED review needs resolution, then safe to merge.

Generated by 🔧 PR Triage Agent · 226.8 AIC · ⌖ 5.86 AIC · ⊞ 5.4K · ◷

[github-actions]

🤖 PR Triage Report

Field	Value
Category	docs
Risk	🟢 Low
Priority Score	35/100 (Impact: 15, Urgency: 10, Quality: 10)
Recommended Action	batch_review — batch: docs-chore

Rationale: Aligns CLI help/docs wording across gh aw commands and exposes experiments in CLI reference. Docs-only, low-risk. CI passing (95 checks ✅). Changes requested; address feedback for fast resolution.

Run §29115410581

Generated by 🔧 PR Triage Agent · 226.8 AIC · ⌖ 5.86 AIC · ⊞ 5.4K · ◷

[gh-aw-bot]

pr-sous-chef
@copilot please run the pr-finisher skill, address unresolved review comments, and rerun checks once the branch is up to date.

Generated by 👨‍🍳 PR Sous Chef · 6.4 AIC · ⌖ 6.49 AIC · ⊞ 7.5K · ◷
_{Comment /souschef to run again}

[Copilot]

pr-sous-chef
@copilot please run the pr-finisher skill, address unresolved review comments, and rerun checks once the branch is up to date.
...

Addressed both unresolved review threads in commit 5865524:

• logs_command.go: Removed the trailing blank line inside the raw string literal so the "\n\n" separator produces a single blank line before WorkflowIDExplanation (was 3 blank lines before).
• lint_command.go: Changed --dir .github/workflows to --dir custom-workflows/ to use an actually custom path that demonstrates what the flag changes.

Local validation (make fmt, make lint, make test-unit, make agent-report-progress) all pass. CI re-trigger needed from a maintainer for final green signal.

[gh-aw-bot]

@copilot please run the pr-finisher skill, address unresolved review comments if any, and rerun checks once the branch is up to date.

Generated by 👨‍🍳 PR Sous Chef · 7.7 AIC · ⌖ 4.78 AIC · ⊞ 7.5K · ◷
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[Copilot]

@copilot please run the pr-finisher skill, address unresolved review comments if any, and rerun checks once the branch is up to date.

...

Both review threads were already addressed in commit 5865524 from the previous pass. The branch is clean, up to date with origin/copilot/cli-consistency-fixes, and local validation (make fmt, CLI tests) still passes. No new unresolved threads found.

CI re-trigger is still needed from a maintainer before merge.

[gh-aw-bot]

@copilot please run the pr-finisher skill, address unresolved review comments, refresh the branch if needed, and rerun checks once updates are complete.

Generated by 👨‍🍳 PR Sous Chef · 7.17 AIC · ⌖ 7.25 AIC · ⊞ 7.5K · ◷
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[Copilot]

@copilot please run the pr-finisher skill, address unresolved review comments, refresh the branch if needed, and rerun checks once updates are complete.

...

Branch refreshed in commit 92a2ada — merged 6 commits from origin/main (gVisor runtime support, govulncheck bump, docs/pr-sous-chef improvements). No conflicts; make fmt, make test-unit, and make agent-report-progress all pass. No new unresolved review threads. CI re-trigger needed from a maintainer before merge.

[gh-aw-bot]

pr-sous-chef

@copilot please run the pr-finisher skill, address the remaining unresolved review feedback, refresh the branch if needed, and rerun checks once the branch is up to date.

Unresolved review feedback to address:

• github-actions: Unify gh aw help/docs wording and expose experiments command in CLI reference #44794 (comment)

Run: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/actions/runs/29130873851

Generated by 👨‍🍳 PR Sous Chef · 14.1 AIC · ⌖ 5.82 AIC · ⊞ 4.2K · ◷
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[Copilot]

pr-sous-chef

@copilot please run the pr-finisher skill, address the remaining unresolved review feedback, refresh the branch if needed, and rerun checks once the branch is up to date....

Fixed in commit 38aae9f — updated trial --dry-run to "Preview trial execution without creating repos or running workflows", which covers both the repo creation skip and the workflow dispatch skip. Local validation passes. CI re-trigger needed from a maintainer before merge.