fix: ensure /home/runner/.copilot directory has correct ownership before Copilot CLI install by Copilot · Pull Request #13980 · github/gh-aw

Copilot · 2026-02-05T19:44:31Z

Copilot CLI installation intermittently fails with EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/home/runner/.copilot/pkg' when a previous AWF run on the same runner used sudo -E awf --enable-chroot, creating the .copilot directory with root ownership.

Changes

Add directory ownership fix at the start of install_copilot_cli.sh:

mkdir -p "$COPILOT_DIR"
sudo chown -R runner:runner "$COPILOT_DIR"

This ensures consistent ownership regardless of prior runner state.

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>fix: ensure /home/runner/.copilot directory has correct ownership before Copilot CLI install</issue_title>
<issue_description>## Problem

When running smoke tests (e.g., smoke-chroot.lock.yml), the "Install GitHub Copilot CLI" step intermittently fails with:
Error creating package directory: /home/runner/.copilot/pkg/linux-x64/0.0.402
Failed to extract bundled package: Error: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/home/runner/.copilot/pkg'
This happens because a previous AWF run on the same runner used sudo -E awf --enable-chroot ..., which may have created /home/runner/.copilot with root ownership. A subsequent job on the same runner then fails when the Copilot CLI (running as the runner user) tries to create subdirectories.

Evidence

PR: fix: mount /etc/hosts in chroot mode and handle missing resolv.conf gh-aw-firewall#522

Failed job (first push): https://github.com/github/gh-aw-firewall/actions/runs/21725304228/job/62665698175

Failed job (second push): https://github.com/github/gh-aw-firewall/actions/runs/21725387805/job/62665989429

Frequency: ~1 out of 12 parallel agent jobs per push (non-deterministic, depends on runner reuse)

Proposed Fix

Add a directory ownership fix before the install_copilot_cli.sh step in the Copilot engine compiler output:
mkdir -p /home/runner/.copilot && chown -R runner:runner /home/runner/.copilot
This should be added to install_copilot_cli.sh or emitted by the Copilot engine in the compiled workflow, before the Copilot CLI installation step.

Context

This was discovered while working on github/gh-aw-firewall#522 (mounting /etc/hosts in chroot mode). The failure is in the runner-level Copilot CLI installation, not inside the AWF container.</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

Fixes fix: ensure /home/runner/.copilot directory has correct ownership before Copilot CLI install #13979

💬 We'd love your input! Share your thoughts on Copilot coding agent in our 2 minute survey.

Changeset

Type: patch
Description: Ensure /home/runner/.copilot is owned by runner:runner before the Copilot CLI install so chroot runs cannot leave the directory root-owned and trigger EACCES errors.

Generated by Changeset Generator

…ore Copilot CLI install Co-authored-by: Mossaka <5447827+Mossaka@users.noreply.github.com>

github-actions · 2026-02-05T20:40:27Z

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github-actions · 2026-02-05T20:40:29Z

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github-actions · 2026-02-05T20:40:29Z

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

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

Copilot

Pull request overview

This pull request addresses an intermittent failure in the "Install GitHub Copilot CLI" step during smoke tests. The issue occurs when a previous AWF run on the same runner used sudo -E awf --enable-chroot, creating the /home/runner/.copilot directory with root ownership. Subsequent jobs on the reused runner fail when the Copilot CLI (running as the runner user) attempts to create subdirectories.

Changes:

Adds directory ownership fix to install_copilot_cli.sh before Copilot CLI installation
Creates /home/runner/.copilot directory if it doesn't exist and ensures correct ownership (runner:runner)
Includes explanatory comments documenting the issue and linking to the relevant GitHub issue

💡 Add Copilot custom instructions for smarter, more guided reviews. Learn how to get started.

Copilot · 2026-02-05T20:42:17Z

actions/setup/sh/install_copilot_cli.sh

+# This is needed because a previous AWF run on the same runner may have used
+# `sudo -E awf --enable-chroot ...`, which creates the .copilot directory with
+# root ownership. The Copilot CLI (running as the runner user) then fails when
+# trying to create subdirectories. See: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/issues/12066


The issue reference in the comment points to https://github.com/github/gh-aw/issues/12066, but according to the PR description, this fix is for issue #13979. The comment should be updated to reference the correct issue number.

Suggested change

# trying to create subdirectories. See: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/issues/12066

# trying to create subdirectories. See: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/issues/13979

Copilot · 2026-02-05T20:42:17Z

actions/setup/sh/install_copilot_cli.sh

+COPILOT_DIR="/home/runner/.copilot"
+
+# Fix directory ownership before installation
+# This is needed because a previous AWF run on the same runner may have used
+# `sudo -E awf --enable-chroot ...`, which creates the .copilot directory with
+# root ownership. The Copilot CLI (running as the runner user) then fails when
+# trying to create subdirectories. See: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/issues/12066
+echo "Ensuring correct ownership of $COPILOT_DIR..."
+mkdir -p "$COPILOT_DIR"
+sudo chown -R runner:runner "$COPILOT_DIR"


The COPILOT_DIR path /home/runner/.copilot and the user:group runner:runner are hardcoded, which means this script will only work correctly in GitHub Actions hosted runners. If this script is ever used in self-hosted runners or different CI environments where the user is not runner, the chown command may fail or be incorrect. Consider using environment variables like $HOME/.copilot and $(whoami):$(whoami) for better portability, or at a minimum, document that this script is specifically designed for GitHub Actions hosted runners.

github-actions · 2026-02-05T20:43:31Z

Agent Container Tool Check

Tool	Status	Version
bash	✅	5.2.21
sh	✅	available
git	✅	2.52.0
jq	✅	1.7
yq	✅	4.50.1
curl	✅	8.5.0
gh	✅	2.86.0
node	✅	20.20.0
python3	✅	3.12.3
go	✅	1.24.12
java	⚠️	installed but execution issue
dotnet	⚠️	installed but execution issue

Result: 10/12 tools fully operational ✅

Note: Java and .NET binaries are present at expected paths but encounter execution issues when invoked. This appears to be an environment-specific problem rather than missing installations.

Java: /opt/hostedtoolcache/Java_Temurin-Hotspot_jdk/21.0.10-7/x64/bin/java
.NET: /usr/share/dotnet/dotnet

AI generated by Agent Container Smoke Test

github-actions · 2026-02-05T20:45:00Z

Smoke Test: Copilot - 21727679475

PRs Reviewed:

Fix MCP parameter rendering for arrays and objects in Claude logs #13969: Fix MCP parameter rendering
Add --cmd argument to agentic-workflows MCP server in dev mode #13974: Add --cmd to agentic-workflows MCP

Test Results:

✅ GitHub MCP
✅ Safe Inputs GH CLI
✅ Serena MCP (6 symbols)
⚠️ Playwright (network error)
✅ File Writing
✅ Bash Tool
✅ Discussion Interaction
✅ Build gh-aw
✅ Workflow Dispatch

Overall: ⚠️ PASS WITH WARNING

@Copilot @pelikhan

AI generated by Smoke Copilot

github-actions · 2026-02-05T20:45:16Z

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

Initial plan

1696e2f

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and Mossaka Feb 5, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of Mossaka February 5, 2026 19:44 View session

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Feb 5, 2026

Smoke Test: Copilot - 21726131138 #13981

Closed

fix: ensure /home/runner/.copilot directory has correct ownership bef…

e9dac20

…ore Copilot CLI install Co-authored-by: Mossaka <5447827+Mossaka@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Fix ownership issue for Copilot CLI install directory~~ fix: ensure /home/runner/.copilot directory has correct ownership before Copilot CLI install Feb 5, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from Mossaka February 5, 2026 19:57

Copilot finished work on behalf of Mossaka February 5, 2026 19:57

Mossaka marked this pull request as ready for review February 5, 2026 20:39

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 5, 2026 20:39

Merge branch 'main' into copilot/fix-copilot-cli-directory-ownership

2b9ea86

Mossaka added the smoke label Feb 5, 2026

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of Mossaka February 5, 2026 20:40 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 5, 2026

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github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Feb 5, 2026

Smoke Test: Copilot - 21727679475 #13983

Closed

github-actions bot removed the smoke label Feb 5, 2026

github-actions bot added the smoke-copilot label Feb 5, 2026

Mossaka merged commit ada84f0 into main Feb 5, 2026

Mossaka deleted the copilot/fix-copilot-cli-directory-ownership branch February 5, 2026 21:02

This was referenced Feb 5, 2026

Smoke Test: Copilot - 21729819462 #14001

Closed

Integrate gh-aw-mcpg v0.0.103 #13998

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github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Feb 6, 2026

🌱 Daily Team Evolution Insights - February 6, 2026 #14038

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fix: ensure /home/runner/.copilot directory has correct ownership before Copilot CLI install#13980

fix: ensure /home/runner/.copilot directory has correct ownership before Copilot CLI install#13980
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	# trying to create subdirectories. See: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/issues/12066
	# trying to create subdirectories. See: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/issues/13979

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