Repository Identify Action

The repo.identify action is a critical automation tool that intelligently determines which code repositories are most relevant to your workflow context. In multi-repository workspaces where tickets (Jira, GitHub Issues) are managed separately from code repositories, this action is essential for bridging the gap and ensuring your automation workflows target the correct codebases.

Why This Action is Critical

The Multi-Repository Challenge

In modern development environments, you often have:

Ticket Systems: Jira projects, GitHub Issues, Linear tickets
Code Repositories: Multiple Git repositories across different providers (GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps)
Complex Relationships: One ticket might affect code in 3-5 different repositories

Without repo.identify, you’d need to:

Manually specify repository names in every workflow
Update workflows when repository structures change
Risk targeting the wrong repositories for critical operations
Maintain complex mapping logic across multiple systems

The Solution

The repo.identify action automatically bridges this gap by:

Analyzing ticket context to understand what needs to be done
Mapping to code repositories using AI and explicit correlations
Providing confidence scores to ensure accuracy
Enabling dynamic workflows that adapt to your repository structure

Overview

The repo.identify action analyzes your workflow context and automatically determines which code repositories are most relevant to the current task. It’s particularly useful in multi-repository workspaces where you need to dynamically select the appropriate repositories based on ticket content, labels, and explicit correlations.

AI-Powered Analysis

Uses intelligent analysis of ticket content, labels, and context to identify relevant repositories.

Repository Correlations

Leverages explicit correlations between ticket repositories and code repositories for reliable identification.

Dynamic Selection

Automatically selects the most appropriate repositories without manual configuration.

Multi-Repository Support

Can identify multiple repositories for complex workflows that span multiple codebases.

Chaining with Git Clone

The repo.identify action output is designed to work seamlessly with git.clone for dynamic multi-repository workflows:

Basic Chaining Pattern

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Relevant Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 3
      minConfidence: 0.7
  
  - id: "clone-repos"
    name: "Clone Identified Repositories"
    action: "git.clone"
    params:
      repoFullName: "{{outputs.identify-repos}}"
      branch: "main"

Single Repository Selection

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 1
      minConfidence: 0.8
  
  - id: "clone-primary"
    action: "git.clone"
    params:
      repoFullName: "{{outputs.identify-repos.[0].repoFullName}}"
      branch: "{{trigger.pullRequest.headBranch}}"

Critical Use Cases

Jira Workflow Automation

When a Jira issue is created or updated, you need to know which code repositories contain the affected code:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Affected Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 3
      minConfidence: 0.7
      identificationHints: "Focus on repositories containing the components mentioned in the issue"
  
  - id: "clone-repos"
    name: "Clone Identified Repositories"
    action: "git.clone"
    params:
      repoFullName: "{{outputs.identify-repos}}"
      branch: "main"
  
  - id: "analyze-issue"
    name: "Analyze Issue in Code Context"
    action: "agent.session"
    params:
      goal: "Analyze the Jira issue and provide technical recommendations"
      agentIds: ["senior-developer"]
      instruction: "Review the issue in context of the cloned repositories"

Cross-Repository Bug Investigation

For bugs that might span multiple repositories:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Related Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 5
      minConfidence: 0.5
      identificationHints: "Include frontend, backend, shared libraries, and database schemas"
  
  - id: "clone-repos"
    name: "Clone Investigation Repositories"
    action: "git.clone"
    params:
      repoFullName: "{{outputs.identify-repos}}"
  
  - id: "investigate-bug"
    name: "Cross-Repository Bug Investigation"
    action: "agent.session"
    params:
      goal: "Investigate the bug across all affected repositories"
      agentIds: ["debugging-agent", "architect-agent"]
      instruction: "Analyze the bug in these repositories: {{#each outputs.identify-repos}}{{.repoFullName}} {{/each}}"

Feature Development Planning

When planning new features that touch multiple systems:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Feature Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 4
      minConfidence: 0.6
      identificationHints: "Include user interface, business logic, API endpoints, and data models"
  
  - id: "clone-repos"
    name: "Clone Feature Repositories"
    action: "git.clone"
    params:
      repoFullName: "{{outputs.identify-repos}}"
      branch: "main"
  
  - id: "plan-feature"
    name: "Multi-Repository Feature Planning"
    action: "agent.session"
    params:
      goal: "Create implementation plan across all affected repositories"
      agentIds: ["product-manager", "senior-developer", "architect-agent"]
      instruction: "Plan the feature implementation across: {{#each outputs.identify-repos}}{{.repoFullName}} {{/each}}"

Basic Usage

Simple Repository Identification

The most basic usage identifies a single repository:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 1

Multi-Repository Identification

Identify multiple repositories for complex workflows:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 3
      minConfidence: 0.7

With Identification Hints

Provide additional context to guide the identification process:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 2
      minConfidence: 0.6
      identificationHints: "Focus on frontend components and user interface code"

Parameters

Required Parameters

None - all parameters have sensible defaults.

Optional Parameters

number

Maximum number of repositories to return (top-K). Controls how many candidate repositories are returned. Use 1 for single-repo workflows, higher values for multi-repo scenarios.

number

Minimum confidence threshold (0..1). Filters out low-confidence matches. Higher values (0.7+) ensure only strong matches are returned.

string

Optional hints to bias identification. Additional context that can help the AI make better decisions, especially when correlations are unclear.

How Identification Works

The identification process follows a sophisticated multi-step logic:

1. Correlation Check

First, the system looks for explicitly correlated repositories between your ticket repository and code repositories. These explicit correlations take precedence over all other identification methods.

2. Context Analysis

The AI analyzes the ticket content including:

Title and description: Keywords, technologies, and domain-specific terms
Labels and components: Project-specific categorization
Assignee and reporter: Team and ownership context
Project structure: Related tickets and dependencies

3. Repository Hints

Considers repository-level identification hints configured in your repository settings, such as:

Key technologies and frameworks
Domain-specific components
Team ownership and responsibilities
Project scope and boundaries

4. Scoring and Ranking

Combines all signals to produce confidence scores:

Correlation strength: Explicit correlations get highest scores
Content relevance: AI analysis of ticket-repository alignment
Repository activity: Recent commits and development activity
Team alignment: Developer and team associations

5. Filtering and Selection

Applies the minimum confidence threshold and returns the top-ranked repositories up to the specified maxResults.

Output and Context

Step Output

The repo.identify action provides output that can be used by subsequent steps:

array

required

Array of identified repositories with confidence scores and reasoning.

string

required

Full repository name in “owner/repo” format.

number

required

Confidence score (0-1) indicating how well the repository matches the context.

string

required

Explanation of why this repository was selected, including correlation details and AI analysis.

Available Variables

Use these variables in subsequent steps:

{{outputs.identify-repos}}: Complete array for multi-repository operations (use with git.clone)
{{outputs.identify-repos.[0].repoFullName}}: First identified repository
{{outputs.identify-repos.[0].confidence}}: Confidence score for first repository
{{outputs.identify-repos.[0].reasoning}}: Reasoning for first repository selection

Template Examples

Multi-Repository Clone:

repoFullName: "{{outputs.identify-repos}}"

Single Repository Clone:

repoFullName: "{{outputs.identify-repos.[0].repoFullName}}"

Conditional Fallback:

repoFullName: "{{#if outputs.identify-repos.[0]}}{{outputs.identify-repos.[0].repoFullName}}{{else}}{{trigger.repository.fullName}}{{/if}}"

Important: If your step ID contains hyphens (e.g., identify-repos), use bracket notation: {{outputs.[identify-repos].[0].repoFullName}}

Integration with Other Actions

Following with Git Clone

After identifying repositories, you can clone them using the git.clone action:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 1
      minConfidence: 0.7
  
  - id: "clone-repo"
    name: "Clone Repository"
    action: "git.clone"
    params:
      repoFullName: "{{outputs.identify-repos.[0].repoFullName}}"
      branch: "{{trigger.pullRequest.headBranch}}"

Multi-Repository Workflows

For workflows that need to work with multiple repositories:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 3
      minConfidence: 0.6
  
  - id: "clone-repos"
    name: "Clone All Repositories"
    action: "git.clone"
    params:
      repoFullName: "{{outputs.identify-repos}}"
  
  - id: "analyze-repos"
    name: "Analyze Repositories"
    action: "agent.session"
    params:
      goal: "Analyze the identified repositories for cross-dependencies and integration points"
      agentIds: ["architect-agent", "senior-developer"]

Best Practices

1. Set Up Explicit Correlations

Always create explicit correlations between ticket repositories and code repositories
This provides the most reliable identification results
Correlations take precedence over AI-based heuristics
Use the repository mapping interface to establish these relationships

2. Use Descriptive Repository Hints

Include key technologies, domains, and components in repository configuration
Use consistent terminology across related repositories
Update hints when repository scope changes
Consider team ownership and project boundaries

3. Configure Appropriate Confidence Thresholds

0.2-0.4: Low threshold, includes more candidates (default)
0.5-0.7: Medium threshold, balanced selection
0.8-1.0: High threshold, only strong matches
Start with default (0.2) and adjust based on results

4. Position in Workflow

Place repo.identify early in your workflow, right after the trigger
Use identified repositories in subsequent git.clone or agent steps
Consider fallback logic for cases where no repositories are identified

5. Monitor and Refine

Review identification results regularly
Adjust correlation settings based on accuracy
Update repository hints as projects evolve
Use workflow logs to understand identification reasoning

Common Use Cases

Issue Triage Workflows

Automatically identify relevant repositories for issue analysis:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 1
      minConfidence: 0.6
  
  - id: "analyze-issue"
    name: "Analyze Issue"
    action: "agent.session"
    params:
      goal: "Analyze the issue and provide technical recommendations"
      agentIds: ["senior-developer"]
      instruction: "Review the issue in context of repository: {{outputs.identify-repos.[0].repoFullName}}"

Cross-Repository Analysis

Identify multiple repositories for comprehensive analysis:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 3
      minConfidence: 0.5
      identificationHints: "Include frontend, backend, and shared libraries"
  
  - id: "cross-repo-analysis"
    name: "Cross-Repository Analysis"
    action: "agent.session"
    params:
      goal: "Analyze dependencies and integration points between repositories"
      agentIds: ["architect-agent"]

Feature Development

Identify repositories for new feature implementation:

steps:
  - id: "identify-repos"
    name: "Identify Repositories"
    action: "repo.identify"
    params:
      maxResults: 2
      minConfidence: 0.7
      identificationHints: "Focus on user interface and business logic components"
  
  - id: "plan-feature"
    name: "Plan Feature Implementation"
    action: "agent.session"
    params:
      goal: "Create implementation plan for the new feature"
      agentIds: ["product-manager", "senior-developer"]

Advanced Configuration

Repository-Level Hints

Configure identification hints in your repository settings:

Access Repository Settings: Go to repository configuration
Set Identification Hints: Add descriptive text about the repository’s purpose
Use Consistent Terminology: Align with ticket labels and project terminology
Update Regularly: Keep hints current with repository evolution

Correlation Management

Manage explicit correlations between repositories:

Map Ticket Repositories: Connect Jira projects to code repositories
Establish Relationships: Define which code repositories relate to which ticket systems
Review Accuracy: Regularly validate correlation effectiveness
Adjust as Needed: Update correlations when project structure changes

Next Steps

Now that you understand the repo.identify action, explore these related topics:

Repository Mapping: Learn how to set up explicit correlations
Git Clone Action: Use identified repositories in clone operations
Building Blocks: Explore other workflow actions and components
Quick Starts: See complete workflow examples

Ready to automate repository selection? Start by setting up explicit correlations and then add the repo.identify action to your workflows for intelligent, context-aware repository identification.

​Why This Action is Critical

​The Multi-Repository Challenge

​The Solution

​Overview

AI-Powered Analysis

Repository Correlations

Dynamic Selection

Multi-Repository Support

​Chaining with Git Clone

​Basic Chaining Pattern

​Single Repository Selection

​Critical Use Cases

​Jira Workflow Automation

​Cross-Repository Bug Investigation

​Feature Development Planning

​Basic Usage

​Simple Repository Identification

​Multi-Repository Identification

​With Identification Hints

​Parameters

​Required Parameters

​Optional Parameters

​How Identification Works

​1. Correlation Check

​2. Context Analysis

​3. Repository Hints

​4. Scoring and Ranking

​5. Filtering and Selection

​Output and Context

​Step Output

​Available Variables

​Template Examples

​Integration with Other Actions

​Following with Git Clone

​Multi-Repository Workflows

​Best Practices

​1. Set Up Explicit Correlations

​2. Use Descriptive Repository Hints

​3. Configure Appropriate Confidence Thresholds

​4. Position in Workflow

​5. Monitor and Refine

​Common Use Cases

​Issue Triage Workflows

​Cross-Repository Analysis

​Feature Development

​Advanced Configuration

​Repository-Level Hints

​Correlation Management

​Next Steps

Why This Action is Critical

The Multi-Repository Challenge

The Solution

Overview

Chaining with Git Clone

Basic Chaining Pattern

Single Repository Selection

Critical Use Cases

Jira Workflow Automation

Cross-Repository Bug Investigation

Feature Development Planning

Basic Usage

Simple Repository Identification

Multi-Repository Identification

With Identification Hints

Parameters

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

How Identification Works

1. Correlation Check

2. Context Analysis

3. Repository Hints

4. Scoring and Ranking

5. Filtering and Selection

Output and Context

Step Output

Available Variables

Template Examples

Integration with Other Actions

Following with Git Clone

Multi-Repository Workflows

Best Practices

1. Set Up Explicit Correlations

2. Use Descriptive Repository Hints

3. Configure Appropriate Confidence Thresholds

4. Position in Workflow

5. Monitor and Refine

Common Use Cases

Issue Triage Workflows

Cross-Repository Analysis

Feature Development

Advanced Configuration

Repository-Level Hints

Correlation Management

Next Steps