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🔧 Fix RSS automation workflows
- Replace deprecated rss-fetch-action with modern rss-parser - Add proper permissions (contents: write) for automated commits - Switch to built-in GITHUB_TOKEN instead of custom secret - Add manual trigger capability for testing - Improve error handling and commit detection - Add comprehensive troubleshooting documentation - Update JSON data structure for better compatibility - Add .gitignore to prevent committing node_modules ✅ Tested: Both RSS feeds are working with current Sept 2025 data 📚 Docs: Complete setup guide in .github/workflows/README.md Fixes automation issues that prevented Expert Hub from auto-updating with latest GitHub Copilot news and incidents.
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‎.github/workflows/README.md‎

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# RSS Feed Automation Setup & Troubleshooting
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This directory contains GitHub Actions workflows that automatically update the Expert Hub with the latest GitHub Copilot news and incidents.
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## 🤖 Automated Workflows
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### 1. `rss-changelog-feed.yml`
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- **Purpose**: Fetches latest GitHub Copilot updates from the GitHub Blog
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- **Schedule**: Runs twice daily (12 AM and 12 PM UTC)
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- **Updates**: `docs/copilot/changelog.json` and `docs/copilot/copilot-changelog.md`
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### 2. `rss-incident-feed.yml`
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- **Purpose**: Fetches GitHub status incidents (highlighting Copilot-related ones)
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- **Schedule**: Runs twice daily (12:10 AM and 12:10 PM UTC)
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- **Updates**: `docs/copilot/incidents.json` and `docs/copilot/copilot-incidents.md`
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## 🔧 Setup Requirements
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### Repository Settings
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The workflows now use the built-in `GITHUB_TOKEN` with `contents: write` permissions. No additional secrets are required.
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### Manual Triggers
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Both workflows can be triggered manually via the GitHub Actions UI using the "workflow_dispatch" event.
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## 🚨 Common Issues & Solutions
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### Issue 1: Workflows Not Running
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**Problem**: Scheduled workflows don't execute
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**Solutions**:
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1. Check if the repository is active (has commits in the last 60 days)
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2. Verify workflows are enabled in repository settings
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3. Check the Actions tab for any error messages
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### Issue 2: Permission Denied Errors
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**Problem**: Workflow can't push changes back to repository
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**Solutions**:
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1. Ensure `contents: write` permission is set in workflow
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2. Check if branch protection rules are blocking automated commits
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3. Verify `GITHUB_TOKEN` has necessary permissions
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### Issue 3: RSS Feed Parse Errors
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**Problem**: Cannot fetch or parse RSS feeds
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**Solutions**:
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1. Check if the RSS URLs are still valid:
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- Changelog: `https://github.blog/changelog/label/copilot/feed/`
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- Incidents: `https://www.githubstatus.com/history.rss`
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2. Test URLs manually with `curl -I <URL>`
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3. Check for network connectivity issues
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### Issue 4: No Changes Detected
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**Problem**: Workflow runs but no updates are committed
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**Solutions**:
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1. This is normal if no new content is available
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2. Check the workflow logs to see if new entries were found
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3. Manually verify the RSS feeds have new content
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## 🧪 Testing the Automation
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### Manual Testing
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1. Go to Actions tab in your repository
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2. Select either workflow
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3. Click "Run workflow" to trigger manually
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4. Monitor the execution logs
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### Local Testing Script
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You can test the RSS parsing locally:
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```bash
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# Install dependencies
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npm install rss-parser
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# Create and run test script
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node -e "
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const Parser = require('rss-parser');
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const parser = new Parser();
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parser.parseURL('https://github.blog/changelog/label/copilot/feed/')
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.then(feed => {
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console.log('Feed Title:', feed.title);
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console.log('Latest Items:', feed.items.slice(0, 3).map(item => ({
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title: item.title,
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date: item.pubDate
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})));
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})
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.catch(console.error);
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"
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```
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## 📊 Monitoring Automation Health
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### Check Last Update Times
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- Look at the "Last updated" timestamp in the generated markdown files
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- Check the git commit history for automated commits
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### Workflow Status
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- Green checkmark: Successful execution
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- Red X: Failed execution (check logs)
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- Yellow dot: In progress
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- Gray: Workflow disabled or skipped
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### Expected Commit Pattern
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Successful runs should create commits with messages like:
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- `🤖 Automated update: Copilot changelog feed [Tue Sep 30 13:45:22 UTC 2025]`
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- `🤖 Automated update: GitHub incidents feed [Tue Sep 30 13:55:18 UTC 2025]`
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## 🔄 Updating the Automation
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### Changing Update Frequency
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Edit the `cron` schedules in the workflow files:
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```yaml
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on:
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schedule:
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- cron: '0 */6 * * *' # Every 6 hours instead of twice daily
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```
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### Adding New RSS Sources
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1. Create a new workflow file following the existing pattern
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2. Update the RSS URL and output file paths
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3. Modify the markdown generation logic as needed
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### Customizing Output Format
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Edit the JavaScript code in the "Run JavaScript to convert JSON to Markdown" step to change how the markdown is generated.
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## 🆘 Getting Help
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If the automation is still not working after following this guide:
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1. **Check the workflow logs** in the Actions tab for specific error messages
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2. **Verify RSS feed accessibility** using curl or browser
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3. **Test permissions** by manually triggering a workflow
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4. **Check repository settings** for any restrictions on automated commits
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5. **Look at recent commits** to see if updates are happening but not visible
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The automation should work out of the box for most repositories. The main requirement is that the repository remains active (recent commits) for scheduled workflows to continue running.

‎.github/workflows/rss-changelog-feed.yml‎

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on:
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schedule:
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- cron: '0 0,12 * * *' # Runs at midnight and noon every day
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workflow_dispatch: # Allow manual triggering for testing
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jobs:
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fetch-rss:
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runs-on: ubuntu-latest
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permissions:
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contents: write # Required to push changes back to repository
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steps:
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- name: Checkout code
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uses: actions/checkout@v4
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with:
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token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
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- name: Fetch Changelog Feed
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id: fetch-rss
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uses: Promptly-Technologies-LLC/rss-fetch-action@v2
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- name: Setup Node.js
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uses: actions/setup-node@v4
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with:
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feed_url: 'https://github.blog/changelog/label/copilot/feed/'
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file_path: './docs/copilot/changelog.json'
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node-version: '18'
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- name: Fetch and Process RSS Feed
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run: |
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# Install required dependencies
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npm install rss-parser
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# Create Node.js script to fetch RSS and convert to JSON
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cat > fetch_rss.js << 'EOF'
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const Parser = require('rss-parser');
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const fs = require('fs');
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const parser = new Parser();
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async function fetchFeed() {
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try {
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const feed = await parser.parseURL('https://github.blog/changelog/label/copilot/feed/');
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const jsonData = {
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title: feed.title,
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link: feed.link,
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description: feed.description,
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language: feed.language || 'en-US',
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generator: 'GitHub Actions RSS Parser',
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published: new Date().toISOString(),
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entries: feed.items.map(item => ({
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id: item.link,
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title: item.title,
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link: item.link,
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published: item.pubDate,
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description: item.contentSnippet || item.content || ''
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}))
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};
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fs.writeFileSync('./docs/copilot/changelog.json', JSON.stringify(jsonData, null, 2));
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console.log('Successfully updated changelog.json');
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} catch (error) {
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console.error('Error fetching RSS feed:', error);
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process.exit(1);
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}
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}
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fetchFeed();
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EOF
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# Run the script
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node fetch_rss.js
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- name: Run JavaScript to convert JSON to Markdown
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run: |
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- name: Commit changes to repository
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run: |
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git config --local user.email "[email protected]"
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git config --local user.name "GitHub Action"
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git add .
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git commit -m "Update RSS feed"
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# Check if there are changes to commit
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if git diff --quiet && git diff --cached --quiet; then
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echo "No changes to commit"
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exit 0
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fi
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- name: Push to protected branch
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uses: CasperWA/push-protected@v2
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with:
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token: ${{ secrets.PUSH_TO_PROTECTED_BRANCH }}
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branch: main
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git config --local user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
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git config --local user.name "github-actions[bot]"
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git add ./docs/copilot/changelog.json ./docs/copilot/copilot-changelog.md
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git commit -m "🤖 Automated update: Copilot changelog feed [$(date)]"
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git push

‎.github/workflows/rss-incident-feed.yml‎

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@@ -3,21 +3,70 @@ name: Fetch Incidents Feed
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on:
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schedule:
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- cron: '10 0,12 * * *' # Runs at midnight and noon every day
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workflow_dispatch: # Allow manual triggering for testing
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jobs:
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fetch-rss:
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runs-on: ubuntu-latest
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permissions:
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contents: write # Required to push changes back to repository
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steps:
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- name: Checkout code
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uses: actions/checkout@v4
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with:
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token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
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- name: Fetch Incidents Feed
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id: fetch-incidents
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uses: Promptly-Technologies-LLC/rss-fetch-action@v2
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- name: Setup Node.js
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uses: actions/setup-node@v4
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with:
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feed_url: 'https://www.githubstatus.com/history.rss'
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file_path: './docs/copilot/incidents.json'
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node-version: '18'
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- name: Fetch and Process RSS Feed
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run: |
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# Install required dependencies
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npm install rss-parser
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# Create Node.js script to fetch RSS and convert to JSON
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cat > fetch_incidents.js << 'EOF'
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const Parser = require('rss-parser');
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const fs = require('fs');
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const parser = new Parser();
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async function fetchFeed() {
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try {
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const feed = await parser.parseURL('https://www.githubstatus.com/history.rss');
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const jsonData = {
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title: feed.title,
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link: feed.link,
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description: feed.description,
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language: feed.language || '',
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generator: 'GitHub Actions RSS Parser',
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published: new Date().toISOString(),
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entries: feed.items.map(item => ({
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id: item.link,
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title: item.title,
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link: item.link,
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published: item.pubDate,
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description: item.contentSnippet || item.content || ''
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}))
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};
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fs.writeFileSync('./docs/copilot/incidents.json', JSON.stringify(jsonData, null, 2));
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console.log('Successfully updated incidents.json');
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} catch (error) {
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console.error('Error fetching RSS feed:', error);
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process.exit(1);
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}
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}
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fetchFeed();
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EOF
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# Run the script
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node fetch_incidents.js
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- name: Run JavaScript to convert JSON to Markdown
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run: |
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- name: Commit changes to repository
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run: |
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git config --local user.email "[email protected]"
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git config --local user.name "GitHub Action"
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git add .
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git commit -m "Update RSS feed"
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# Check if there are changes to commit
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if git diff --quiet && git diff --cached --quiet; then
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echo "No changes to commit"
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exit 0
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fi
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- name: Push to protected branch
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uses: CasperWA/push-protected@v2
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with:
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token: ${{ secrets.PUSH_TO_PROTECTED_BRANCH }}
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branch: main
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git config --local user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
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git config --local user.name "github-actions[bot]"
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git add ./docs/copilot/incidents.json ./docs/copilot/copilot-incidents.md
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git commit -m "🤖 Automated update: GitHub incidents feed [$(date)]"
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git push

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