Improved empty repo handling on deploy scripts, and added step to coder workflow to comment on issue once work is in progress

Author: benleane83

.github/workflows/copilot-coder-master.yml

@@ -100,6 +100,13 @@ jobs:
           gh issue edit ${{ env.ISSUE_NUMBER }} \
             --add-label "in-progress" \
             --remove-label "copilot"
+          
+          # Add comment to notify that Copilot is working on this issue
+          COMMENT="## 🤖 Copilot is on it!
+          
+          Copilot has been assigned to work on this issue. You can view progress under [GitHub Actions](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}), and once completed a PR will be linked here."
+          
+          gh issue comment "${{ env.ISSUE_NUMBER }}" --body "${COMMENT}"
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }}
 

scripts/deploy-to-repo.ps1

@@ -129,11 +129,27 @@ try {
     git config user.name "GitHub Copilot Setup"
     git config user.email "copilot-setup@$GhesHost"
 
+    # Check if repo is empty (no commits yet)
+    $IsEmptyRepo = $false
+    git rev-parse HEAD 2>$null
+    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+        $IsEmptyRepo = $true
+        Write-Warning "Empty repository detected - will initialize with main branch"
+    }
+    
     # Create branch for deployment
     $BranchName = "setup/copilot-workflows"
-    git checkout -b $BranchName 2>$null
-    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
-        git checkout $BranchName
+    
+    if ($IsEmptyRepo) {
+        # For empty repos, create the main branch
+        git checkout -b main 2>$null
+    }
+    else {
+        # For existing repos, create feature branch
+        git checkout -b $BranchName 2>$null
+        if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+            git checkout $BranchName
+        }
     }
 
     Write-Step "Creating directory structure..."
@@ -185,6 +201,38 @@ Prerequisites:
     git commit -m $CommitMessage
 
     Write-Step "Pushing branch..."
+    
+    if ($IsEmptyRepo) {
+        # For empty repos: just push main directly (no PR needed)
+        Write-Warning "Initializing main branch..."
+        git push -u origin main
+        if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+            throw "Failed to push main branch"
+        }
+        
+        Write-Host ""
+        Write-ColorOutput "============================================================================" "Green"
+        Write-ColorOutput "  ✅ Deployment Complete (Empty Repository Initialized)!" "Green"
+        Write-ColorOutput "============================================================================" "Green"
+        Write-Host ""
+        Write-Host "Workflows committed directly to main branch: " -NoNewline
+        Write-ColorOutput "https://$GhesHost/$Owner/$Repo" "Cyan"
+        Write-Host ""
+        Write-ColorOutput "⚠️  Next Steps:" "Yellow"
+        Write-Host ""
+        Write-Host "1. Add these secrets to the organization or repository:"
+        Write-Host "   - GH_TOKEN: Classic PAT with repo, workflow scopes (from GHES)"
+        Write-Host "   - COPILOT_TOKEN: Token for Copilot API"
+        Write-Host "   - CONTEXT7_API_KEY: (Optional) Context7 API key"
+        Write-Host ""
+        Write-Host "2. Ensure your self-hosted runner has GitHub CLI installed:"
+        Write-Host "   See: https://cli.github.com/manual/installation"
+        Write-Host ""
+        Write-ColorOutput "Done!" "Green"
+        return
+    }
+    
+    # For existing repos: push feature branch and create PR
     git push -u origin $BranchName
     if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
         throw "Failed to push branch"

scripts/deploy-to-repo.sh

@@ -77,9 +77,24 @@ cd target-repo
 git config user.name "GitHub Copilot Setup"
 git config user.email "copilot-setup@${GHES_HOST}"
 
+# Check if repo is empty (no commits yet)
+IS_EMPTY_REPO=false
+if ! git rev-parse HEAD >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    IS_EMPTY_REPO=true
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}  ⚠ Empty repository detected - will initialize with main branch${NC}"
+fi
+
 # Create branch for deployment
 BRANCH_NAME="setup/copilot-workflows"
-git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME" 2>/dev/null || git checkout "$BRANCH_NAME"
+
+if [ "$IS_EMPTY_REPO" = true ]; then
+    # For empty repos, we need to create the main branch first with an initial commit
+    # then create the feature branch from it
+    git checkout -b main 2>/dev/null || true
+else
+    # For existing repos, create feature branch
+    git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME" 2>/dev/null || git checkout "$BRANCH_NAME"
+fi
 
 echo ""
 echo -e "${YELLOW}📁 Creating directory structure...${NC}"
@@ -145,6 +160,36 @@ Prerequisites:
 
 echo ""
 echo -e "${YELLOW}🚀 Pushing branch...${NC}"
+
+if [ "$IS_EMPTY_REPO" = true ]; then
+    # For empty repos: just push main directly (no PR needed)
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}  Initializing main branch...${NC}"
+    git push -u origin main
+    
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "${GREEN}============================================================================${NC}"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}  ✅ Deployment Complete (Empty Repository Initialized)!${NC}"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}============================================================================${NC}"
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "Workflows committed directly to main branch: ${BLUE}https://${GHES_HOST}/${OWNER}/${REPO}${NC}"
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}⚠️  Next Steps:${NC}"
+    echo ""
+    echo "1. Add these secrets to the repository:"
+    echo "   - GH_TOKEN: Classic PAT with repo, workflow scopes (from GHES)"
+    echo "   - COPILOT_TOKEN: Token for Copilot API"
+    echo "   - CONTEXT7_API_KEY: (Optional) Context7 API key"
+    echo ""
+    echo "2. Ensure your self-hosted runner has GitHub CLI installed:"
+    echo "   curl -L https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/download/v2.62.0/gh_2.62.0_linux_amd64.tar.gz -o /tmp/gh.tar.gz"
+    echo "   tar -xzf /tmp/gh.tar.gz -C /tmp"
+    echo "   sudo mv /tmp/gh_2.62.0_linux_amd64/bin/gh /usr/local/bin/"
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Done!${NC}"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# For existing repos: push feature branch and create PR
 git push -u origin "$BRANCH_NAME"
 
 echo ""