Add automated cleanup policy for stale draft PRs

[Copilot]

Draft PRs account for 9.6% of open PRs (25/260), creating noise in triage. Implements automated cleanup with warning phase before closure.

Implementation

Workflow: .github/workflows/draft-pr-cleanup.md

• Daily execution with fuzzy timing to distribute load
• Queries draft PRs via GitHub MCP tools
• Calculates inactivity from last commit, comment, or label change

Two-phase cleanup:

• Days 10-13: Add stale-draft label + warning comment
• Day 14+: Auto-close with reopening instructions

Exemptions: Skip PRs labeled keep-draft, blocked, or awaiting-review

Safe-output limits: 20 comments, 10 closures per run

Inactivity criteria

A draft is stale when it has no:

• Commits to branch
• PR comments
• Label changes
• Title/description updates

Target: Reduce draft rate from 9.6% to <5%

Original prompt

---

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Add draft PR cleanup automation policy</issue_title>
<issue_description>### Problem

Analysis of recent PR activity (Jan 24-28) shows 25 draft PRs (9.6% of total 260 PRs) remain open, with some potentially abandoned work-in-progress items. This creates clutter in the PR list and makes triage more difficult.

Proposed Solution

Implement automated cleanup policy for stale draft PRs:

1. Warning phase (10 days of inactivity):

   • Post comment: "This draft PR has been inactive for 10 days and will be auto-closed in 4 days unless updated"
   • Label: stale-draft

2. Cleanup phase (14 days of inactivity):

   • Auto-close with comment: "Closing inactive draft PR. Feel free to reopen if work continues."
   • Keep stale-draft label for tracking

3. Exemptions:

   • PRs with keep-draft label
   • PRs marked as blocked or awaiting-review
   • PRs with activity in last 10 days

Implementation

Create workflow: .github/workflows/draft-pr-cleanup.md

---
engine: copilot
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 2 * * *'  # Daily at 2 AM UTC
safe-outputs:
  max:
    issues: 0
    pull_requests: 0
    comments: 20  # Up to 20 stale draft warnings/closes per run
---

Review all open draft PRs and:
1. Identify drafts with >10 days of inactivity (no commits, comments, or label changes)
2. For drafts inactive 10-13 days: Add warning comment and `stale-draft` label
3. For drafts inactive >14 days: Close with cleanup comment (unless exempted)
4. Exempt PRs with `keep-draft`, `blocked`, or `awaiting-review` labels

Use GitHub MCP tools to query drafts, check activity, and post comments.

Success Metrics

• Draft PR rate drops from 9.6% to <5%
• Faster PR triage (less clutter)
• Clear communication to PR authors
• Exemption system prevents premature closure

Context

• Current draft PRs: 25 (out of 260 recent PRs)
• Estimated abandoned drafts: 10-15
• Impact on ecosystem: Minor but improves maintainability
• Priority: P2 (this week)

Related

Agent Performance Report - Week of January 24-28, 2026

AI generated by Agent Performance Analyzer - Meta-Orchestrator

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

• Fixes Add draft PR cleanup automation policy #12168

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