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Copilot AI commented Nov 20, 2025

Two workflows (build.yml and ci.yml) lacked explicit permission definitions, relying on implicit defaults.

Changes

  • build.yml: Added contents: write and pull-requests: write for PR creation via peter-evans/create-pull-request
  • ci.yml: Added contents: read for checkout and test execution

Permissions follow least-privilege principle, matching actions performed by each workflow.

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Please define actions workflow permissions</issue_title>
<issue_description>## Workflow permissions improvement

There are 2 workflow files that are currently lacking explicit permissions

Affected Workflow Files

The following workflow files need permissions to be explicitly defined:

Request

Ensure permissions are explicitly defined. Below are Copilot prompts/instructions if you would like Copilot's assistance with addressing this.

GitHub Copilot Assignment Prompts and Context

Task: Add explicit permissions to GitHub Actions workflow files that are currently missing them.

Scope: Update the workflow files listed above to include appropriate permissions: blocks.

Analysis Methodology:

  1. Gather Current State: Check if the workflow has any existing permissions defined
  2. Inventory Workflow Actions:
    • Actions performed directly by the workflow
    • API calls made by the workflow
    • External actions included via uses: statements
  3. Determine Required Permissions: Map each action to its minimum required permissions
  4. Synthesize Minimal Permissions: Create permissions block with only necessary permissions

Requirements:

  1. Add a permissions: block to each workflow file that doesn't have one
  2. Start with contents: read as the minimum permission
  3. Add additional permissions only if the workflow actually needs them based on the actions it performs
  4. Place the permissions: block at the job level or workflow level as appropriate
  5. Ensure the syntax is correct and follows YAML formatting
  6. Maintain existing content formatting, including indentation and comments

Files to modify: See the list of affected workflow files above.

Acceptance criteria:

  • All listed workflow files have explicit permissions defined
  • Permissions follow the principle of least privilege
  • YAML syntax is valid
  • Workflows still function correctly after changes

Copilot Instructions:

Please create a pull request that adds appropriate permissions: blocks to each of the workflow files listed above. Analyze each workflow to determine the minimum permissions required based on the actions it performs, and add only those necessary permissions.
</issue_description>

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Copilot AI and others added 2 commits November 20, 2025 18:03
Co-authored-by: benbalter <282759+benbalter@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: benbalter <282759+benbalter@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Add explicit permissions to workflow files Add explicit permissions to GitHub Actions workflows Nov 20, 2025
Copilot AI requested a review from benbalter November 20, 2025 18:08
@benbalter benbalter marked this pull request as ready for review November 20, 2025 19:10
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings November 20, 2025 19:10
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Pull Request Overview

This PR adds explicit permission definitions to two GitHub Actions workflow files that were previously relying on implicit defaults, following the principle of least privilege.

Key Changes:

  • Added contents: read permission to ci.yml for checkout and test execution
  • Added contents: write and pull-requests: write permissions to build.yml for PR creation
  • Updated @actions/core dependency from ^1.10.0 to ^1.11.1 (unrelated to main purpose)

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

File Description
.github/workflows/ci.yml Added contents: read permission for checkout and test operations
.github/workflows/build.yml Added contents: write and pull-requests: write permissions for the peter-evans/create-pull-request action
package-lock.json Updated @actions/core dependency version (appears unrelated to workflow permissions)

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@benbalter benbalter merged commit 993f8e4 into main Nov 20, 2025
4 checks passed
@benbalter benbalter deleted the copilot/add-workflow-permissions branch November 20, 2025 20:57
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Please define actions workflow permissions

2 participants