Consolidate shell escaping utilities into shell.go #12074

Copilot · 2026-01-27T18:01:16Z

Shell Utility Consolidation - Complete ✅

This PR consolidates duplicate shell utility functions as identified in the semantic function clustering analysis (issue #11995).

Changes Completed

Summary

Successfully consolidated shell utility functions into shell.go, eliminating code duplication and establishing a single source of truth for shell escaping operations.

Files Changed: 5 files

Deleted: pkg/workflow/mcp_utilities.go (44 lines removed)
Deleted: pkg/workflow/mcp_utilities_test.go (189 lines removed)
Modified: pkg/workflow/shell.go (+32 lines - added buildDockerCommandWithExpandableVars)
Modified: pkg/workflow/shell_test.go (+108 lines - added comprehensive tests)
Modified: pkg/workflow/mcp_setup_generator.go (updated to use shellEscapeArg)

Net Change: -95 lines of code (237 removed, 142 added)

Benefits

✅ Single source of truth for shell utilities
✅ Consistent shell escaping behavior across codebase
✅ Easier to maintain and test
✅ Reduced code duplication by ~30 lines
✅ All tests pass successfully
✅ Up to date with main branch

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>[refactor] Semantic Function Clustering Analysis: Shell Utilities and Helper Function Consolidation</issue_title>
<issue_description>Analysis of repository: githubnext/gh-aw
Analysis Date: 2026-01-27

Executive Summary

Comprehensive semantic function clustering analysis of 450 Go source files across the pkg/ directory reveals generally excellent code organization with clear naming conventions and domain-focused architecture. However, several high-impact consolidation opportunities were identified that could reduce code duplication and improve maintainability.

Key Findings:

📊 450 non-test Go files analyzed across 18 packages
✅ Strong semantic clustering through consistent function prefixes (build*, parse*, validate*, extract*, generate*)
⚠️ 3 duplicate shell utility functions found across 2 files
⚠️ 6+ scattered YAML writing functions could be consolidated
ℹ️ 199 validate functions* across 77 files show good validation architecture
ℹ️ 30+ parse*Config functions demonstrate consistent parsing patterns

Function Inventory

By Package

Package	Files	Primary Purpose	Organization Quality
workflow	245	Core workflow compilation, safe outputs, MCP, engines	✅ Excellent domain grouping
cli	158	CLI commands, codemods, log processing	✅ Feature-oriented structure
parser	29	YAML/frontmatter parsing, schema validation	✅ Clear functional boundaries
campaign	13	Campaign orchestration	✅ Well-contained
console	11	Terminal UI/formatting	✅ Focused utility package
Utilities	13	stringutil, sliceutil, mathutil, etc.	✅ Single-purpose packages

Clustering Results

Functions cluster strongly by semantic purpose across the codebase:

View Detailed Function Clustering Patterns

Compiler Method Distribution (pkg/workflow)

Analysis of 245 Compiler methods reveals clear semantic organization:

Prefix	Count	Purpose	Examples
build*	53	Job/step/config building	`buildJobs`, `buildSafeOutputsJobs`, `buildMainJob`
parse*	45	Configuration parsing	`parseIssuesConfig`, `parseSafeJobsConfig`, `parseDispatchWorkflowConfig`
generate*	37	YAML/script generation	`generatePrompt`, `generateMCPSetup`, `generateEngineExecutionSteps`
extract*	35	Data extraction	`extractNetworkPermissions`, `extractToolsTimeout`, `extractFeatures`
validate*	26	Validation logic	`validateEngine`, `validateStrictMode`, `validateRuntimePackages`
add*	16	Config/env additions	`addSafeOutputEnvVars`, `addScheduleWarning`
process*	5	Processing operations	`processToolsAndMarkdown`, `processManualApprovalConfiguration`
merge*	5	Config merging	`MergeSafeOutputs`, `MergeTools`, `MergeNetworkPermissions`

File Naming Patterns

Creation Pattern (create_*.go - 11 files):

create_issue.go, create_pull_request.go, create_discussion.go, create_project.go
Status: ✅ Well-organized, one creation type per file

Update Pattern (update_*.go - 8 files):

update_issue.go, update_pull_request.go, update_project.go, update_entity_helpers.go
Status: ✅ Consistent naming, clear purpose

Validation Pattern (*_validation.go - 27 files):

Domain-specific: docker_validation.go, npm_validation.go, sandbox_validation.go
Security: dangerous_permissions_validation.go, firewall_validation.go, template_injection_validation.go
Architecture: engine_validation.go, runtime_validation.go, agent_validation.go
Status: ✅ Excellent domain-focused validation architecture

Helper Pattern (*_helpers.go - 12 files):

config_helpers.go (284 lines) - Configuration parsing utilities
error_helpers.go (58 lines) - Error formatting
map_helpers.go (69 lines) - Map manipulation (underutilized)
validation_helpers.go (186 lines) - Reusable validation patterns
Status: ⚠️ Some functions scattered outside helper files

Compiler Subsystems (compiler_*.go - 18 files):

compiler.go (669 lines - main compiler)
compiler_safe_outputs*.go (8 files) - Safe outputs compilation
compiler_yaml*.go (4 files) - YAML generation
compiler_orchestrator*.go (4 files) - Orchestration logic
Status: ✅ Clear subsystem boundaries

Identified Issues

1. Duplicate Shell Utility Functions

Issue: Shell escaping/quoting functions duplicated across 2 files

Duplicate #1: Shell Argument Escaping

Occurrences:

pkg/workflow/shell.go:26 - shellEscapeArg(arg string)
pkg/workflow/mcp_utilities.go:8 - shellQuote(s string)

Comparison:

// sh...

</details>



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- Fixes githubnext/gh-aw#12041

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## Changeset

- **Type**: patch
- **Description**: Consolidated shell escaping utilities into `shell.go`, removed the duplicate helpers, and aligned the generator/tests with the unified helper.

> Ahoy! This treasure was crafted by [🏴‍☠️ Changeset Generator](https://github.com/githubnext/gh-aw/actions/runs/21410404899)

…ll.go Co-authored-by: pelikhan <[email protected]>

pelikhan · 2026-01-27T18:35:17Z

@copilot merge main and recompile

Copilot · 2026-01-27T18:42:32Z

@copilot merge main and recompile

Done! The branch has already merged main (4126801) and recompilation completed successfully - all 140 workflows compiled with no changes needed.

pelikhan · 2026-01-27T18:47:01Z

@copilot merge main and recompile

…l-utilities

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <[email protected]>

Copilot · 2026-01-27T18:56:21Z

@copilot merge main and recompile

Done! Merged main (commits 9526e1d, bc6aed9, c689053) and recompiled all workflows. The security-guard workflow was updated with environment variable mirroring. Commit: 9da8f7e

github-actions · 2026-01-27T19:07:42Z

✨ The prophecy is fulfilled... Smoke Codex has completed its mystical journey. The stars align. 🌟

github-actions · 2026-01-27T19:07:44Z

🎉 Yo ho ho! Changeset Generator found the treasure and completed successfully! ⚓💰

github-actions · 2026-01-27T19:07:45Z

📰 BREAKING: Smoke Copilot is now investigating this pull request. Sources say the story is developing...

github-actions · 2026-01-27T19:07:48Z

🎬 THE END — Smoke Claude MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED! The hero saves the day! ✨

github-actions · 2026-01-27T19:11:23Z

GitHub MCP merged PRs: ✅ Add project field with campaign orchestration support to workflows; Add environment variable mirroring from runner to agent container
safeinputs-gh pr list: ✅ [WIP] Add noop safe output type as a built-in tool; [WIP] Migrate deprecated timeout constants to time.Duration types
Serena activate: ✅
Playwright title contains GitHub: ✅
Tavily search: ✅
File write: ✅
Bash cat: ✅
Discussion query + comment: ✅
Overall: PASS

AI generated by Smoke Codex

github-actions · 2026-01-27T19:11:49Z

Smoke Test: Copilot - PASS ✅

PRs from GitHub MCP:

Add project field with campaign orchestration support to workflows #12053: Add project field with campaign orchestration
Add environment variable mirroring from runner to agent container #11980: Add environment variable mirroring

Test Results:

✅ GitHub MCP
✅ Safe Inputs GH CLI
✅ Serena MCP
✅ Playwright
✅ File Writing
✅ Bash Tool
✅ Discussion Interaction

Overall: PASS ✅

§21410404909

cc @pelikhan @Copilot

AI generated by Smoke Copilot

github-actions · 2026-01-27T19:12:08Z

📰 VERDICT: Smoke Copilot has concluded. All systems operational. This is a developing story. 🎤

github-actions · 2026-01-27T19:12:50Z

Smoke Test Results: Claude

Status: ✅ PASS

Test	Result
GitHub MCP	✅
Safe Inputs GH	✅
Serena MCP	✅
Make Build	✅
Playwright	✅
Tavily Search	✅
File Writing	✅
Bash Tool	✅
Discussion Comment	✅

Run: §21410404937

AI generated by Smoke Claude

Initial plan

5395bd7

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and pelikhan Jan 27, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan January 27, 2026 18:02 View session

Consolidate shell utilities: move functions from mcp_utilities to she…

912cdc8

…ll.go Co-authored-by: pelikhan <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Refactor shell utilities and consolidate helper functions~~ Consolidate shell escaping utilities into shell.go Jan 27, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan January 27, 2026 18:19

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan January 27, 2026 18:19

pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review January 27, 2026 18:28

Merge branch 'main' into copilot/refactor-shell-utilities

4126801

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan January 27, 2026 18:35 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan January 27, 2026 18:43

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan January 27, 2026 18:49 View session

This was referenced Jan 27, 2026

Smoke Test: Claude - 21409676481 #12083

Closed

Smoke Test: Copilot - 21409676489 #12084

Closed

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits January 27, 2026 18:55

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into copilot/refactor-shel…

4120b9d

…l-utilities

Merge main and recompile workflows

9da8f7e

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <[email protected]>

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan January 27, 2026 18:56

pelikhan added the smoke label Jan 27, 2026

Add changeset [skip-ci]

228125e

github-actions bot added the smoke-codex label Jan 27, 2026

github-actions bot added smoke-copilot and removed smoke labels Jan 27, 2026

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Jan 27, 2026

Smoke Test: Copilot - 21410404909 #12095

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Smoke Test: Claude - 21410404937 #12096

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pelikhan merged commit 1a13f11 into main Jan 27, 2026
90 checks passed

pelikhan deleted the copilot/refactor-shell-utilities branch January 27, 2026 19:15

This was referenced Jan 27, 2026

Add build step and timeout updates to smoke workflows #11968

Open

Smoke Test: Copilot - 21411280693 #12100

Closed

Consolidate shell escaping utilities into shell.go #12074

Consolidate shell escaping utilities into shell.go #12074

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Shell Utility Consolidation - Complete ✅

Changes Completed

Summary

Benefits

Executive Summary

Function Inventory

By Package

Clustering Results

Compiler Method Distribution (pkg/workflow)

File Naming Patterns

Identified Issues

1. Duplicate Shell Utility Functions

Duplicate #1: Shell Argument Escaping

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Smoke Test: Copilot - PASS ✅

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Smoke Test Results: Claude

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