Debugging Workflows

Quick Start

Download Logs from Recent Runs

# Download logs from the last 24 hours
gh aw logs --start-date -1d -o /tmp/workflow-logs

# Download logs for a specific workflow
gh aw logs weekly-research --start-date -1d

# Download logs with JSON output for programmatic analysis
gh aw logs --json

Audit a Specific Run

# Audit by run ID
gh aw audit 1234567890

# Audit from a GitHub Actions URL
gh aw audit https://github.com/owner/repo/actions/runs/1234567890

# Audit with JSON output
gh aw audit 1234567890 --json

Downloading Workflow Logs

The gh aw logs command downloads workflow run artifacts and logs from GitHub Actions for analysis.

Basic Usage

# Download logs for all workflows (last 10 runs)
gh aw logs

# Download logs for a specific workflow
gh aw logs <workflow-name>

# Download with custom output directory
gh aw logs -o ./my-logs

Filter Options

# Filter by date range
gh aw logs --start-date 2024-01-01 --end-date 2024-01-31
gh aw logs --start-date -1w                    # Last week
gh aw logs --start-date -1mo                   # Last month

# Filter by AI engine
gh aw logs --engine copilot
gh aw logs --engine claude
gh aw logs --engine codex

# Filter by count
gh aw logs -c 5                                # Last 5 runs

# Filter by branch/tag
gh aw logs --ref main
gh aw logs --ref feature-xyz

# Filter by run ID range
gh aw logs --after-run-id 1000 --before-run-id 2000

# Filter firewall-enabled runs
gh aw logs --firewall                          # Only firewall-enabled
gh aw logs --no-firewall                       # Only non-firewall

Output Options

# Generate JSON summary
gh aw logs --json

# Parse agent logs and generate Markdown reports
gh aw logs --parse

# Generate Mermaid tool sequence graph
gh aw logs --tool-graph

# Set download timeout
gh aw logs --timeout 300                       # 5 minute timeout

Downloaded Artifacts

When you run gh aw logs, the following artifacts are downloaded for each run:

Example: Analyze Recent Failures

# Download failed runs from last week
gh aw logs --start-date -1w -o /tmp/debug-logs

# Check the summary for patterns
cat /tmp/debug-logs/summary.json | jq '.runs[] | select(.conclusion == "failure")'

Auditing Specific Runs

The gh aw audit command investigates a single workflow run in detail, downloading artifacts, detecting errors, and generating a report.

Basic Usage

# Audit by numeric run ID
gh aw audit 1234567890

# Audit from GitHub Actions URL
gh aw audit https://github.com/owner/repo/actions/runs/1234567890

# Audit from job URL (extracts first failing step)
gh aw audit https://github.com/owner/repo/actions/runs/1234567890/job/9876543210

# Audit from job URL with specific step
gh aw audit https://github.com/owner/repo/actions/runs/1234567890/job/9876543210#step:7:1

Output Options

# JSON output for programmatic analysis
gh aw audit 1234567890 --json

# Custom output directory
gh aw audit 1234567890 -o ./audit-reports

# Parse agent logs and firewall logs
gh aw audit 1234567890 --parse

# Verbose output
gh aw audit 1234567890 -v

Audit Report Contents

The audit command provides:

• Error Detection: Errors and warnings from workflow logs
• MCP Tool Usage: Statistics on tool calls by the AI agent
• Missing Tools: Tools the agent tried to use but weren't available
• Execution Metrics: Duration, token usage, and cost information
• Safe Output Analysis: What GitHub operations were attempted

Example: Investigate a Failed Run

# Get detailed audit report
gh aw audit 1234567890 --json > audit.json

# Extract key information
cat audit.json | jq '{
  status: .status,
  conclusion: .conclusion,
  errors: .errors,
  missing_tools: .missing_tools,
  tool_usage: .tool_usage
}'

How Agentic Workflows Work

Understanding the workflow architecture helps in debugging.

Workflow Structure

Agentic workflows use a markdown + YAML frontmatter format:

---