[Code Quality] Fix critical action resolution failure affecting 69% of workflows

[github-actions]

Description

CRITICAL: 140 out of 203 workflows (69%) cannot compile due to action resolution failure for github/gh-aw/actions/setup@v0.42.0. All failing workflows report the same error:

Unable to pin action github/gh-aw/actions/setup@v0.42.0: resolution failed
error: failed to generate YAML: failed to build jobs: failed to build pre_activation job: setup action reference is required but could not be resolved

This is a blocking infrastructure issue preventing workflow compilation and execution.

Root Cause Investigation

Possible causes:

1. Action Does Not Exist: The action path or version may be incorrect
2. Access/Permissions Issue: The action may be private or require special permissions
3. Network/Connectivity: GitHub API calls to resolve the action are failing
4. Version Mismatch: The v0.42.0 version may not exist or be unpublished

Suggested Changes

Immediate Actions

1. Verify action exists and is accessible:

   gh api repos/github/gh-aw/releases/tags/v0.42.0
   # Or check action releases
   curl https://api.github.com/repos/github/gh-aw/releases/tags/v0.42.0

2. Check GitHub API connectivity:

   • Verify authentication is working
   • Check rate limits
   • Confirm network access to api.github.com

3. Review action repository:

   • Confirm actions/setup/ directory exists
   • Verify v0.42.0 tag/release is published
   • Check repository permissions (public vs private)

If Action Cannot Be Fixed Immediately

Temporary workaround options:

• Use an alternative action version known to work
• Update workflow frontmatter to pin to working version
• Temporarily disable strict mode to allow compilation without action pinning

Files Affected

140 workflows affected (sample of first 20):

1. agent-performance-analyzer.md
2. agent-persona-explorer.md
3. ai-moderator.md
4. archie.md
5. artifacts-summary.md
6. audit-workflows.md
7. auto-triage-issues.md
8. blog-auditor.md
9. brave.md
10. breaking-change-checker.md
11. changeset.md
12. chroma-issue-indexer.md
13. ci-coach.md
14. ci-doctor.md
15. claude-code-user-docs-review.md
16. cli-consistency-checker.md
17. cli-version-checker.md
18. cloclo.md
19. code-scanning-fixer.md
20. code-simplifier.md

... and 120 more workflows

Success Criteria

• Action resolution issue identified and root cause confirmed
• github/gh-aw/actions/setup@v0.42.0 resolves successfully
• All 140 workflows compile without errors
• Re-run static analysis scan to verify fix
• Document resolution for future reference

Source

Extracted from Static Analysis Report discussion #13800

Priority

CRITICAL - Blocks 69% of workflows from compiling or executing

AI generated by Discussion Task Miner - Code Quality Improvement Agent

• expires on Feb 6, 2026, 1:27 AM UTC